March 16, 2009

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) -- Tonight, a bill introduced by U.S. Congressman Jason Altmire (PA-04) to rename the Freedom Post Office in honor of John Challis, a heroic and much-beloved local teenager who died from cancer last August, passed the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously. Congressman Altmire’s legislation would officially rename the Freedom Post Office, located at 601 8th Street, as the “John Scott Challis, Jr. Post Office.”

“John Challis inspired countless people with his joy and his determination to live every single day to the fullest,” Altmire said. “The impact John had on this community and on people across the world will never be forgotten. Renaming the Freedom Post Office in his honor is one more way in which we can pay tribute to this remarkable young man.”

John Challis was diagnosed with cancer on June 23, 2006. Despite his illness, John made the most of every day he had, hitting a now-famous single in Freedom High School’s baseball game against Aliquippa and graduating with his high school senior class. John also met with and inspired players from many major sports teams, including the Pirates and the Penguins. A few months before his death, John helped to start the John Challis Courage for Life Foundation to help other student athletes with life-threatening illnesses be involved in sporting events.