Brunch showcases some of NHS’s top achievers

When Dr. David Jones spoke at Newton High School’s 2016 All-Alumni Brunch on Saturday, he managed to address both the struggle and excitement of football and importance of a powerful and inspirational education.

Jones was among the six NHS alums inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame, open to nominations for athletic, community and professional accomplishments over time. The longtime economist and author represented the class of 1956, one of the many classes recognized in the countdown of five- and 10-year classes involved in the “roll call” part of the brunch.

“Football and the rigorous curriculum were both indispensable in preparing me for everything in my career,” Jones said. “Thank you, Newton, Iowa, for helping me, and — Go Cardinals.”

The Hall of Fame inductions, now in their third year as a part of the brunch, helped recognize some of the brightest and most visible representatives of Newton High School in the world today. Cindy Cohn, a 1982 NHS graduate, is president and executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, devoted to defending individual rights in the digital world.

The San Francisco resident was recognized among the 100 most influential lawyers in America by the National Law Journal. She praised the efforts to recognize standout graduates in the Hall of Fame and said her background in Newton Schools — particularly at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School — helped prepare her to devote much of her life to helping the American people get enough information to make good decisions.

“They say sunshine is the best disinfectant,” Cohn said. “For at least the last 10 years, we have been living in a time where enough technology exists for the government to circumvent rights, but also for citizens to use it and their courage to protect themselves.”

Also honored at the banquet were inductees Treye Jackson, Dr. Andrew Hershey, M.D., and the late Lyle D. Goodhue, Ph.D. and Frank “Bucky” O’Connor. Jackson, who now lives in Indianola, came to the banquet with his wife, Jennifer, and his parents, Harvey and Pat.

Jackson, an accomplished football and track star at NHS, smiled as he went through some of the memorabilia laid out in the NHS rotunda, as much of it involved either Cardinal football in general or the 1980 state-champion team. When he spoke at the brunch, he remembered a particular track meet that inspired him.

“It was a relay, and I took off like a rabbit,” Jackson said. “I started to really feel it, and I beat the second-place guy by about a step. That let me know I could accomplish a lot.”

Hershey had a previous commitment, and his mother, Jean McCardell Hershey, came to the brunch to thank everyone involved in her son’s Hall of Fame honor. Goodhue, an inventor, was represented by his sons, Jack and Charlie, and O’Connor, a Hawkeye men’s basketball coach killed in a car accident, was represented by his nephew, Mike O’Connor.

The roll call asked each group from a year ending in one or six (i.e., 2011 and 2016) for their class mottos. Many did not know their mottos; members of the class of 1976 joked about stealing the Star Trek mantra “Live long and prosper.”

The class of 1941 had one representative. That class’s motto was “Find a path, or make one.”

The banquet ended with the “Che-cha-rah-rah-rah” of the NHS Loyalty Song.

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com