The Alumni Link A publication of the Sebring McKinley High School Alumni Association P.O. Box 141, Sebring, Ohio 44672-0141 Spring, 2013 Banquet set for June 29 The annual alumni banquet will be held June 29 at the Heritage Oaks Banquet Center located at the corner of Georgia Avenue and 12th Street in Sebring. Proprietors Joe Igro ’65, his wife Kelly McFerren Igro ’78 and Brad Rockwell ‘01 will once again provide a delicious buffet for all alumni to enjoy. The cost of the banquet is $20 per person. Those who wish to attend should fill out the form in this issue and send it to the association by June 21. The doors will open at 5 p.m. for socializing, and dinner will be served at 6:30. The evening will include featured speaker Shawn Jackson ’87, recognition of Distinguished Alumni Ray Crewson ’41 and Kathy Abmyer Myers ’69, a business meeting and more. Shawn Jackson is banquet speaker Shawn Jackson ’87 will be the featured speaker for the 2013 Alumni Banquet. Principal at Alliance High School since 2010, Shawn became AHS assistant principal in 2007 and was also the basketball coach there for four years. Shawn is a graduate of Walsh University, where he played basketball for four years. He began his teaching career at Southern Local and then went to Glen Oak High School, where he was a social studies teacher and varsity assistant basketball coach for seven years. Shawn and his wife Mary (Zurbrugg) reside in Alliance with their four children. Committee selects two Distinguished Alumni Ray Crewson ’41, a former POW retired from the Air Force, and Kathy Abmyer Myers ’69, who retired from Sebring McKinley after 37 years of teaching, have been named Distinguished Alumni by the association’s Distinguished Alumni selection committee. Ray, a veteran of World War II, also served in Korea twice. In December of 1944 he and his crew were forced to parachute from their plane during a combat mission near Bitburg, Germany; they were taken into custody by the German Air Force and placed in a POW camp. The U.S. 7th Army liberated the Allied prisoners on April 29, 1945. After returning home to Sebring for a few years, Ray enlisted in the Air Force again in 1950, serving in Korea and other overseas tours. He was in the Retired Reserve from 1970-77 and then worked for the Ohio Bureau of Employment Services until 1982. He and his wife Dolores, parents of three SHS graduates—Linda, Don, and Dave--still live in Sebring. Kathy, a graduate of Kent State University, began her teaching career at SHS in the fall of 1976. During that time she fulfilled many roles including cheerleading advisor, Student Senate advisor, and mentor teacher while she taught junior high students language arts, and for a short time, sophomore English. Students remember her for the creative ways she helped them learn. Kathy also served on the Local Professional Development Committee. She and her husband Denny, also a retired SHS teacher, reside in Alliance. She and Denny have four children—Shane, Kerri, Ben, and Alli. A complete biography of both honorees will be included in the banquet program. Association presents awards The alumni association awarded several scholarships and other awards at the end of the 2013 school year. Seniors who received $1000 scholarships at the Senior Assembly May 23 were Noelle Poole and Ashley Rastetter. Jessica Brubaker received a $500 scholarship that was given through donations in memory of John Fahnert. At the sixth grade graduation ceremony May 28 Outstanding Sixth Grader awards were given to Joseph Clark, Charles DeYarmon, Isabelle Jackson, and Matea Kohl, while the Outstanding Sixth Grade Artist award went to Kaliann Smarr. Outstanding Eighth Grader awards were presented to Jarod Hunter, Danielle Porter, Kylie Shields, and Kyle Youmans on May 30. Each of the sixth and eighth grade award winners received a $25 check from the association. Reunion News The class of ’58 will hold its 55th reunion Aug. 24 at the log cabin at Silver Park in Alliance. The committee will be sending out notices to class members. For more information, contact Carole Wilson at 330-938-2142. The classes of ’72, ’73, and ’74 will hold their reunion the weekend of Aug. 9 and 10. On Friday classmates will meet at Chives in Alliance, and on Saturday they will have their reunion at the Sebring Mansion. Reservation forms have been sent out and reservations are due July 1. The classes of ’76, ’77, and ’78 will hold their reunion at the Sebring Mansion July 6. Thank you to the following people for their generous donations over the past year: Diane Greeneisen Keller ‘60 The Class of 1957 $500 to scholarship fund Class of 1944 IMO Stephen Redacre, Calvin Eckert, H. Leon May, Dorothy Albright Prittie, Alice Knecht Nezbeth, and Robert Jordan Polly Breckner Ellett ‘48 Sally Youmans Gednetz ’75 IMO founders Ruth Gottschall and Andy Safkow Leland ’58 and Betty Zurbrugg Esther W. Jenkins (nee Wright) Al Hindall Patricia Weaver Ernst ‘37 John ’50 and Jean ’51 Chambers Judy Kesig Sieg IMO Elizabeth Daniels Kesig ‘35 Ronald Neafie ‘51 Lloyd “Bud” ’46 and Nancy ’50 Cobbs IMO Ruth Wise Leonard “Sonny” Mullett ‘46 Paul ’60 and Sharon Lee ’62 Hobe Elizabeth Steve ‘45 Christine Scarpitti Plaks ‘68 Donna Jean Virden ‘45 Pat Boehmer Laing Elizabeth Steve ‘45 IMO John Fahnert Barbara Applegate Dorothy and Walter Fearn Sandra Guidry Diane and Richard Miller Janet Hauge Sandra Elftmann Janis ‘74 and Mark Ritter Jan Carli Cathi and Howard Friend Janice and Phil Courtney Terry ‘75 and Lisa Applegate Todd and JoAnn ‘72 Jones WKBN TV Ed and Mary Lamielle Karen Loy Athletic HOF inducts four Four athletes were inducted into the Sebring Athletic Hall of Fame Dec. 21. Honorees included the late Greg Riggar ’73 for basketball; Terry Applegate ’75 for football, baseball and basketball; Sarah Zurbrugg ’91 for volleyball and basketball; and Jake Zurbrugg ’93 for football and basketball. The Zurbruggs are siblings. Greg led the Trojans to the Final Four in 1973, making the All-Tournament team. Following high school graduation, he went on to play basketball at Muskingum College, playing through his senior year when he was sidelined for the final seven regular season games by cancer surgery. He graduated in 1977 and, after a two-year battle against cancer, passed away on October 17, 1978. An award in his honor, the Greg Riggar Memorial “Dedication to Sport Award,” is presented annually to the senior athlete at Muskingum College who shows excellence in associated areas of dedication to sport, leadership, and practice habits; is held in high esteem by his fellow teammates; and exhibits the qualities of loyalty and discipline. (continued next page) Terry received four varsity letters in football, four in baseball, and two in basketball. Terry was a member of the 1973 Tri-County Co-Championship team, being named Sebring’s Best Offensive Back that same year. He was varsity football captain in 1974 and was the catcher for the baseball team. While in high school, Applegate was also president of the National Honor Society and a Junior Marshal. Voted “Most Likely to Succeed,” he went to Kent State University where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in industrial relations in 1979. He has been employed at New Hampshire Insurance in Manchester, NH; National Data Communications in Dallas; and the Grandview Cemetery in Sebring. He retired in September 2012 after 23 years with Hewlett Packard/EDS. He now resides in Wilmington, Delaware with his wife Lisa and son Nathan. Sarah received four varsity letters in basketball and four in volleyball. Both her junior and senior years she made the first team for the Tri-County League and was named the Trojans’ top offensive player. As a senior, Zurbrugg was named to the District I, Division IV first team, playing in District I’s Senior Classic. In basketball her accolades began when she was a sophomore and received honorable mention for the All Northeastern Ohio Inland team and continued to receive awards throughout high school. She continued her basketball career at Mount Union where she was a three-year letter winner. A fifth grade teacher in the Cleveland City School District, she received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Union in 1995 and her Master of Arts degree from John Carroll University in 2006. She resides in Painesville with her partner Kate Mullen and their two children Levi and Edie. Jake Zurbrugg earned four letters in football and three in basketball. As a basketball player, Jake was named to the first team for the Tri-County League, the Northeast Ohio Inland District, and the Quad-County All-Stars. He was the Salem News Co-Player of the Year and was named third team All-Ohio his senior year. His senior season he was named to the first team for All-Review Area, Quad-County All-Stars, and All-Northeastern Ohio. In addition, he was named to the first team for the Tri-County League for offense as a tight end and first team for defense as a defensive tackle. He was selected to play in the Penn-Ohio All-Star game following the season. Zurbrugg continued his football career by playing for Penn State for one year when the team won the Citrus Bowl. He then transferred to Mount Union where he played football in 1995 and 1996 and was a member of Mount’s 1996 National Championship team. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Mount Union in 1997 and then received his Juris Doctorate degree from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law and was admitted to the Ohio State Bar in 2004 and is now a practicing attorney. He and his wife Erin reside in Hudson. Alumni News Two SHS graduates, 12 years apart in high school, are playing major roles as judges in Columbus. Judi French ’80 was appointed to the Ohio Supreme Court by Gov. John Kasich in December, becoming the state’s 155th justice on Jan. 1. Prior to her appointment, she served at the Franklin County Tenth District Court of Appeals, where she had served since 2004. Before becoming a judge, Judi had served as chief legal counsel to Gov. Robert Taft and was also an assistant attorney general and chief counsel for Betty Montgomery from 1997-2002. She has argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, most notably in the Cleveland school vouchers case where she argued for the state of Ohio’s position. As a result of Judi’s vacancy on the appellate court, Gov. Kasich named 1992 graduate Amy Courtney O’Grady to that position. Amy, who was serving as a senior assistant attorney general, is one of seven judges who hear appeals in the Tenth District court. Amy began her career in the Franklin County public defender’s office in 2000 and joined the attorney general’s staff in 2005. She has served on the state Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Mental Illness. Amy has recently been in charge of overseeing 80 employees in the attorney general’s crime-victim-services section. Both Judi and Amy are married, have children, and reside in the Columbus area. ***************************************** April Corbett ’03 has been named the Director of Digital Media for the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security. She is responsible for crafting and implementing a social media communications plan for the committee. She also ensures that public hearings are available to the public online. A political science and broadcast graduate of Otterbein University, she worked at the Ohio Statehouse before going to graduate school for public policy at George Washington University. While there she interned and was hired part-time as a communications assistant for Congressman Steve Austria (R-OH).
Posted on: Mon, 24 Jun 2013 00:31:58 +0000
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