Woodrow Wilson High School Alumni Association Names 2019 Hall of Fame Members
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Woodrow Wilson High School Alumni Association Names 2019 Hall of Fame Members DALLAS, TX - The Woodrow Wilson High School Alumni Association will induct 14 distinguished individuals into the Woodrow Wilson High School Hall of Fame on October 26, 2019. This is the school’s highest honor recognizing alumni, faculty and staff who have made significant contributions in their personal and professional lives or who have made extraordinary contributions towards the continued excellence of Woodrow Wilson High School. The Woodrow Wilson High School Hall of Fame induction ceremony will occur at 11 a.m. at the school, th 100 S. Glasgow, as part of the school’s 90 anniversary celebration. The Woodrow Wilson High School Hall of Fame was established in 1989 in celebration of the school’s 60th anniversary. New members are inducted every five or 10 years. Currently, 109 individuals have been awarded this prestigious distinction. The following individuals are 2019 inductees into Woodrow Wilson High School Hall of Fame: MARCA LEE BIRCHER (Teacher 1975-2003). Marca Lee Bircher is Woodrow Wilson High School’s long-time, award-winning choir director and school musicals producer/director whose outstanding choral and theater arts programs brought great acclaim to the school. Her choir students consistently won the highest awards in regional and state competitions. In 1979, she founded a show choir class, establishing a performing ensemble, The Variations, which appeared in venues across the city, state and nation. Throughout the years, she also directed students in 28 full-scale Broadway musical productions enjoyed by patrons from near and far. Retired from teaching in 2003, Governor Rick Perry awarded Marca Lee Bircher the state’s most prestigious Texas Medal of Arts Award. JARRELL GIBBS (Class of 1956). Jarrell Gibbs is the retired president of TXU Corp. Over the course of his 22-year career at TXU, he served in various senior executive positions. While president, the corporation provided electrical service to more than 1/3 of the State of Texas and 9 million customers globally, with 22,000 employees and annual sales totaling $17 billion. He retired in 2002. Prior to joining TXU, Jarrell Gibbs served more than 20 years in the U.S. Army, commanding units on three continents, retiring at the rank of Lt. Colonel. He served two tours of duty in Vietnam. Throughout his life he has given generously of his time and financial resources to many charitable interests, including Texas A&M and York College. PAUL GOODRICH (Class of 1966). The Reverend Paul Goodrich is a respected leader of the North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church (UMC). For 43 years, he served five North Texas churches, significantly growing membership, raising millions of dollars for capital improvements, while attending to the many needs of thousands in his congregations. Among his appointments, from 1995-2006 he was senior pastor of Custer Road UMC in Plano, Texas, doubling its size to become the second largest United Methodist church in North Texas. A stellar role model for UMC pastors, Paul has held numerous senior leadership roles in the UMC North Texas Conference, including serving on the Board of Trustees, Board of Ordained Ministry, and Clergy Housing Committee. He was named All-City, All-Southern and All-American as a receiver at Woodrow. WWHSAA page 2 PAUL HARRIS (Principal 1964 – 1970). Paul Harris was a beloved Dallas Independent School District principal, serving five area schools over a long career. From 1952 to 1970, he was principal at Lakewood Elementary, J.L. Long Junior High School and Woodrow Wilson High School, establishing a legacy of educational excellence for the Woodrow Wilson High School community. He then served as Curriculum Director of the newly established Skyline Career Development Center, the first high school in the nation to offer magnet school curriculum. Paul Harris led the development of nationally recognized, objective-based curriculum for the school’s 24 clusters. Upon retirement, he began painting and became an accomplished artist, winning numerous competitions. Paul Harris passed away in August 2019 at age 101 with wife Clara at his bedside. Awarded Posthumously. MIRIAM HISER (Class of 1979). Miriam Hiser is a trial lawyer and founder of the Law Offices of Miriam Hiser in San Francisco, California, with extensive experience representing businesses and individuals in state and federal district courts in commercial, business and bankruptcy litigation. Her lifetime of volunteer service, generosity to and mentoring of others positively transformed numerous underprivileged individuals, and her community activism has benefited numerous organizations. An open water swimmer and member of the South End Rowing Club, she swam the English Channel on the South End’s only all-female relay team in 2011, the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim relays in 2012, soloed the Straits of Mackinaw in 2017 and in 2019, and has completed over a dozen half-marathons, numerous triathlons and 80 Alcatraz crossings. RICHARD MAXIMOFF (Class of 1961). Richard Maximoff is an internationally recognized concert artist, conductor and record producer. Trained by classical icons at the Juilliard School on violin and viola, he has had a successful New York City-based career spanning 50 years, performing for Presidents, heads of state and with top musicians of the 20th century. He was founder and member of the Grammy-nominated Hampton String Quartet that produced several albums, including the largest selling album in history for a string quartet. In 2013, he founded the Chester Baroque Orchestra in New Jersey, a nonprofit organization that promotes community engagement in the arts. DIXON M. MOODY (Class of 1955). Dr. Dixon M. Moody, Professor Emeritus (Neuroradiology) at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, led a renowned research lab using novel techniques to investigate brain complications of heart surgery and neurodegenerative disorders in adults and germinal matrix hemorrhage in newborns. Active faculty member for 34 years, he also served as Principal Investigator for 24 years, responsible for continuous extramural funding, exceeding the 95th percentile in total National Institute of Health awards in the nation. Recipient of the prestigious Jacob K. Javits and Charles A. Dana Foundation research awards, he received the highest lifetime research career award from both the American Society of Neuroradiology and the Radiological Society of North America. During the Viet Nam war he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. PERRY NICHOLS (Class of 1929). Perry Boyd Nichols was a Texas Regionalist artist of emerging influence in the 1930s and 40s, an era of great significance to the Texas and Dallas art world. His diverse and multifaceted art career included painting, printmaking, woodworking, and teaching. In 1932, he exhibited his works with eight other young Texas artists, later known as “The Dallas Nine”. He assisted in creating plaster reliefs for the exposition buildings of the 1936 Texas Centennial, which still stand today in Fair Park. He is also well known for numerous murals in landmark buildings around Dallas. Perry Nichols’ art is held by the Dallas Museum of Art, SMU and private collectors. Awarded Posthumously. WWHSAA Page 3 MICHAEL OROZCO (Class of 1991). Constable Michael Orozco is a 20-year law enforcement professional elected by the public to preside over Dallas County Precinct 5, where he serves 400,000 persons. The precinct spans 108 square miles and includes the Woodrow Wilson High School feeder pattern. His office performs numerous law enforcement functions in the execution of the County’s criminal and civil process. He is intimately involved in the many communities he serves, including the Woodrow Wilson community where he lives and proudly raises his son and daughter as Wildcats. Michael Orozco is the first Woodrow Wilson High School graduate to be elected Dallas County Constable. LAWRENCE PAYNE (Class of 1969). Lawrence Payne is Executive Vice President of Spurs Sports & Entertainment (SS&E) which owns or operates the San Antonio Spurs (NBA), San Antonio Rampage (AHL), Austin Spurs (NBA Development League), San Antonio FC (USL), Silver and Black Give Back (501c3), the AT&T Center, Toyota Field, and STAR Soccer Complex. Under his direction, SS&E has built one of the highest-rated and most extensive broadcast and digital line-ups in professional sports. His many responsibilities include serving as executive producer for every project from contract negotiations to the look of the content. He also leads the organizations corporate partnership sales and is lead negotiator on all broadcast agreements. In 2015, Forbes magazine named the Spurs the best-run sports franchise in North America. GEORGE ROYSTER (Teacher 1936-1967). Colonel George Royster was the legendary band director at Woodrow Wilson High School and J. L. Long Junior High from 1936 to 1967. In his early years, he not only directed the Woodrow band, but also the chorus and orchestra, while advising the flag corps and majorettes. He is especially remembered as director of the all-male Woodrow Wilson High School R.O.T.C. Band, known for its precision marches in full-dress uniforms and military order, of similar style to the Texas A&M Aggie Band. Colonel Royster was a talented musician, respected instructor, and man of great character and discipline. He instilled all these traits in his students, and his students excelled on and off the field. Awarded Posthumously. RICHARD VITALE (Class of 1991). Richard Vitale is a recognized leader in the Dallas business and philanthropic community. As Senior Vice President at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, he helps guide the bank’s Healthcare, Education & Not for Profit Practice for North Texas. Among his many community endeavors, he has chaired the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce, White Rock YMCA, and is founding president of the Woodrow Wilson High School Community Foundation, a Texas nonprofit supporting excellence in education in the public schools of the Woodrow Wilson feeder pattern in the form of loans, grants and scholarships.