March 28, 2024

Nominations sought for first class of NHS Hall of Fame

NHS Hall of Fame

Newton Senior High School graduates have been, and continue to, make great strides in all walks of life. There’s always been the pride in recognizing NHS alumni.

Now, there is an official NHS Hall of Fame. The initial NHS Hall of Fame class will be inducted during Reunion Weekend at the All-Classes Brunch, June 7, at Newton Senior High School.

Nominations are being asked for from NHS alumni and Newton community members.

Nomination forms for the Hall of Fame are online at: www.newton-cardinals.com. Just click on the forms button at the top of the main page, and go to Hall of Fame nomination form.

Nomination forms and information on the 2014 NHS Alumni Brunch can be obtained at the Newton Senior High School office. Members of the Newton High School Alumni Association will receive a nomination form in the spring issue of the association’s magazine, ALUMNI NEWS, which will be mailed out later this month.

Deadline for nominations is April 30.

“We’re excited to be starting the Newton High School Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame Committee represents many decades of alumni and community members with different backgrounds, which will become very important when evaluating nominees within the nine categories,” said Bill Peters, NHS principal.

The purpose of the Newton High School Hall of Fame is to honor individuals organizations that have made exceptional achievements in their field, significant contributions to Newton High School, or unique contributions to their communities at the local, state, national or international levels. Hall of Fame inductees will serve as examples of the quality education that NHS provides and as role models for current students and staff to achieve success in their chosen fields.

Newton alumni who have distinguished themselves in the fields of athletics, arts (including authors, musicians, visual artists, and journalists), business, education (at any level), government, science, or service (non-profit or religious) are eligible for nomination. Additional categories for consideration are retired staff from the Newton Community School District, and any individual or organization that has made outstanding contributions to the success of Newton High School.

“It’s great that we’ll be inducting honorees on an annual basis — considering the number of distinguished Cardinals to choose from,” Peters said. “For me, being a Cardinal has always been a work of pleasure, and the Hall of Fame is another illustration of how the Red Pride tradition is alive and well in Newton.”

NHS athletic director Scott Garvis said there’s always been an informal “hall of fame” at Newton. He said he and others talked about the opportunity to establishing a real hall of fame.

“It kind of took off on us. We’ve only been working on it for a little over a month. We formed a committee, set by-laws, and the process to nominate and select members for the hall of fame,” Garvis said. “We have things in place now.”

Members of the hall of fame committee come from alumni, the NHS alumni association board, NHS administration, teachers, coaches, activity advisors, students, a community member — business or resident — of Newton, and a board of education member.

The initial NHS Hall of Fame committee has Peters and Garvis, Gary Kirchoff, NHS Alumni board member Mark Hallam, Stan Kirchoff, Tom Hill, Ed Ergenbright, Tom Weeks, Dave Kalkhoff, Bruce Hoffmeier, Jody Gooch, Avery Wilson, Rob Kahn and current NHS students Sydney Bergman and Chandler Sturtz.

“We couldn’t have been more pleased when Bill (Peters) approached us about adding the Hall of Fame ceremony to Reunion Weekend this year,” Hallam said. “Our all-classes brunch is a long-standing alumni event, including class representatives, retired teachers, and a presentation from Bill on student achievements and the latest improvements to the high school. With the Hall of Fame ceremony as the centerpiece and tours of the high school this year, this year’s brunch will be one of the best ever.”

The NHS All-Classes Brunch on Saturday, June 7, at Newton High School. Buffet will be served starting at 10 a.m. with the program beginning at 10:30. Alumni from classes holding reunions can RSVP with $9 to their class representative.

Tickets for the brunch may also be purchased at the NSH Alumni Association's All-Classes Open House at the Iowa Speedway on Friday, June 6, or online at: www.totalgatesolutions.com/SelectEventTickets.aspx? eventId=53072 .

Information about the All-Classes Brunch is available at: www.NewtonAlumni.org and on Facebook: Facebook.com/NewtonIowaAlumniNews.