WASHINGTON PARK HIGH SCHOOL HALL OF FAME NEWSLETTER 2008-2009 James Madsen - Class of 1978 Dr. James Madsen graduated from UW-Madison in 1982 with degrees in applied math, engineering and physics, and philosophy. He moved on to the Colorado School of Mines, where he was awarded an IBM Research Fel- lowship in 1986 and earned a Ph.D. in applied physics in 1987. Jim began his postdoctoral research at the University of at Amherst and for the past twenty years has taught physics at UW-River Falls, where he has received several awards in both teaching and research, including the Wisconsin Association of Physics Teachers Award for Service and Teaching Excellence. For the past ten years Dr. Madsen has been involved in the IceCube Project, which is a research venture and international collaboration of 250 scientists building a new type of telescope at the South Pole. Jim is currently residing in River Falls with his wife, Linda Madsen, and they have two children, Joshua and Megan. Both of Jim’s parents, as well as his four brothers and five sisters, are Park graduates.

Phillip S. Olson - Class of 1949 Phillip Olson graduated from Carthage College in 1953 and Indiana University in 1957 with degrees in Music Education. A Professor of Music at New Jersey City University from 1967 - 1996, Olson made a name for himself in the early 1960s as a soloist and chorus member on a variety of TV shows including the Gary Moore Show, TV specials, the Sing-A-Long, and a host of PBS TV shows. Phillip also has performed as a soloist and background singer, and traveled on tours throughout the United States with , , Kate Smith, and Lena Horne. He has also been active in both the Boy Scouts and Little League in Demarest, New Jersey, and still performs as a soloist and as conductor of the Men’s Chorus of the Upper Valley, which includes many alumni of the Dartmouth Glee Club. Phil and his wife Rosie currently split their residence between a home in Tenafly, New Jersey, and one in Vermont. They enjoy traveling in their retirement and visited Russia last July. James R. Jorgensen - Class of 1966 James Jorgensen graduated with honors from UW-Madison and he later received his MBA from Stanford University in 1972. Since graduat- ing from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, Jim has started over 25 enterprises in fields ranging from retail to manufacturing, from Internet to mail order, and from oil exploration to insurance. Most of these entities remained small, while two have reached market caps in excess of $1 billion. Jim has also taught graduate level classes at the University of Redlands and at Stanford and continues to mentor graduate and post graduate students from each school. He has also been active in youth sports, CASA of Santa Clara County, and the Los Altos Educational Foundation. He resides in Los Altos, California, and is currently helping launch a website entitled The World Biography Project. Introducing Your Class of 2009 2009 Inductees Three Park High School alumni were inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame at the annual graduation day luncheon on June 7th. Now numbering 222 of Park’s most illustrious graduates, the Hall of Fame began in 1974 by directing Principal James C. Thompson. Inductees include graduates from as far back as 1929 and as recent as 1991. Hall of Fame members must be Park graduates, have graduated at least 10 years ago and achieved noteworthy status in the person’s profession or in the area of humanitarianism. A brief letter of nomination indicating the nominee’s name, year of graduation and accomplishments may be sent to Park High School. A committee of Park teachers and administrators reviews resumes submitted by nominees before the final selection is made. This year’s inductees are: JAMES R. JORGENSEN (1966) JAMES MADSEN (1978) PHILLIP S. OLSON (1949) NOMINATION AND SELECTION INFORMATION HOW ARE PEOPLE NOMINATED FOR THE HALL OF FAME? Over the years, many inquiries have been made about the nomination procedure. It is as follows: 1. The Hall of Fame Committee sends a letter to the Journal Times requesting nominations from the community. Letters soliciting nominations are sent to the Journal Times in early December and mid-July. 2. Copies of this newsletter are sent to the contact people who organize the various class reunions. 3. Current Hall of Fame members who receive this letter are reminded of a classmate whom they want to nominated and send in the name. WHAT ARE THE NOMINATION CRITERIA? In order to be nominated for Park’s Hall of Fame, a person must meet three qualifications. They are: 1. The nominee must be a graduate of Park High School. 2. The nominee must have graduated at least ten years earlier. 3. The nominee must have made noteworthy achievements and/or contributions to his/her chosen field or to humanitarian causes. HOW ARE NOMINEES SELECTED FOR INDUCTION TO THE HALL OF FAME? Not every person nominated can be selected for the Hall of Fame. A faculty selection committee reviews the nominations and biographical data received on each of the nominees, and, based on the committee’s decisions, nominees are selected for induction. The selection process takes hours and hours of reading, discussing and reviewing before final selections are made. Nominees who are not selected in one year may be nominated again. This year’s Hall of Fame Committee is composed of the following faculty members: Mr. Dan Theilen, Directing Principal; Mr. Glenn Schultz, Gudiance Counsler and Chairperson; Mr. Jim Kerkvleit, Activities Director; Ms. Christine VanDer Geest, Gudiance Counsler; Mr. Tony Arndt, Social Studies Teacher; Ms. Sherry Babicky, Foreign Language Teacher; Mr. Matt Geisler, English Teacher; Ms. Judy Kuchera, Secretary. January 31 is the deadline for accepting nominations for any given year. At the end of this newsletter you will find a statistical breakdown of the 222 members of the Hall of Fame. Do you know which class has the most members? Do you know the earliest and most recent classes to have members? Did you know that Hall of Fame inductees are assigned a category at the time of their induction to indicate the major area of their accomplishments? Categories include science, education, government, humanitarianism, business, and the arts. The next class to have eligible members for induction into the Hall of Fame is the class of 1999. Hall of Fame Scholarship A scholarship program started in 1986 and funded by contributions from Hall of Fame members awarded two $1500 scholarships to seniors Steven Henning and Kimberly Rouze. Steven Henning During my four years at Park I have been very active, both in and out of school. I have played trombone in the Band and Jazz band for four years. I also competed on the golf team and bowling team. I was inducted into the National Honor Society my junior year and participated in the Western Field Studies program my sophomore year. I also was awarded a National Scholastic Art & Writing Gold Key. I have been enrolled in CP and AP classes all four years, maintained high honors, and received an AP Scholar Award. I have been very active outside of school in the Boy Scouts of America. I earned the rank of Eagle Scout and gone on to receive my bronze, gold, and silver palms. I was inducted into the Order of the Arrow and became a Brotherhood member. I will be attending the University of Wisconsin Madison this fall and will be majoring in chemical engineering.

Kimberly Rouze Kimberly has had a great experience at Park throughout the years. She has thrived inside and outside the classroom. As a hard worker, she has excelled with her grades, maintaining high honors all four years. Her passion for dance inspired her to become a member of the varsity pom-pon squad which she was on for four years. She was a two-year captain of her squad which enhanced her leadership skills. She was also a member of the French Club. As a junior, she was inducted into the National Honor Society. She continues to help out the community with her pom-pon squad raising money for the Susan G. Komen foundation and the March of Dimes, participating in community events, and helping out the school. She has volunteered with All Saints and the United Hospital System. Helping out the community is very important to her. She has been very active and involved and she thinks that this foundation at Park will take her far in life. Kimberly plans to attend the University of Wisconsin Madison next fall and at this point is undecided about a major. And Other Business... All Hall of Fame members are invited to visit Park and view the Hall of Fame display case located in the Theater foyer. Three solid oak plaques hold individual black brass name plates bearing the name and graduation year of each of the 222 Hall of Fame members. Plaques are arranged according to year of induction into the Hall of Fame. In addition, each year large photographs and accompanying biographical information of the year’s current inductees are mounted in a separate display case along with photographs and information about the Hall of Fame scholarship winners. The current inductees display will be available for viewing from July through June of the next year. The display case is an impressive sight. Come and see it! (Please feel free to contact Ms. Kuchera in the main office in advance and ask for a tour of the building as well.)

The Hall of Fame is now a feature on the Park High School web site. Please visit the site and view the listings of inductees, articles and information that is available there. If you have ideas for web features, please email us and let us know. Our web address is: www. racinepark.org HALL OF FAME STATISTICS 2009 Number of Inductees per Year 1974 08 1992 04 Number of Inductees by Gender 1975 08 1993 06 TOTAL 1976 04 1994 03 Female 47 222 1977 03 1995 07 Male 175 1978 03 1996 08 1979 01 1997 07 Number of Inductees by Class Year 1980 00 1998 07 1929 05 1954 03 1981 00 1999 08 1930 03 1955 10 1982 03 2000 09 1931 01 1956 02 1983 00 2001 06 1932 08 1957 06 1984 00 2002 06 1933 04 1958 05 1985 15 2003 06 1934 02 1959 03 1986 12 2004 08 1935 03 1960 05 1987 13 2005 08 1936 04 1961 06 1988 16 2006 06 1937 04 1962 02 1989 06 2007 05 1938 03 1963 07 1990 12 2008 04 1939 05 1964 03 1991 07 2009 03 1940 10 1965 10 1941 05 1966 07 Number of Inductees by Field 1942 07 1967 03 1943 02 1968 02 FIELD NUMBER 1944 03 1969 06 Arts 29 1945 10 1970 04 Athletics 07 1946 10 1972 03 Business 34 1947 02 1973 02 Education 46 1948 04 1974 04 Environment 02 1949 05 1975 01 Government 15 1950 08 1978 01 Humanitarianism 19 1951 03 1984 01 Journalism 03 1952 10 1985 01 1990 01 Law 13 1953 02 1991 01 Medicine 26 Military 07 Please send all correspondence to: Religion 02 Washington Park High School Science 19 Hall of Fame Committee 1901 12th Street Racine, WI 53403

As the Hall of Fame grows so does our mailing list! We are delighted to send you a newsletter each summer. However, if you no longer wish to receive the newsletter, please let us know. You can get in touch with us by email, letter or phone (address and phone number are included in this newsletter).