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2024 Hall of Fame 

 The 2024 Hall of Fame Banquet and inductee presentations will be held on October 12, 2024. Do you know a Galion High School Graduate that deserves recognition for outstanding accomplishments in their careers and communities?  Please fill out a nomination form for that individual to be considered for that honor.  Nominating forms are due by June 1, 2024.  Click on the banner below to print out the nominating criteria and and form.  Provide as much information as possible, but most importantly nominate some one you feel is deserving of recognition. 

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2012 inductees into the Hall of Fame 

2011 Inductees into the Hall of Fame

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2012 Inductee Bios PDF Print E-mail
Wednesday, 24 October 2012
Lt. Col. John Jack” Karnes
  
Class of 1950 (Posthumously)
John Karnes
 A young man “on a mission” might be the best way to describe John Karnes. He was determined to take a high road of achievement. He grew from a quiet, un-assuming teenager in high school to a tall, slim weightlifter cadet at West Point.  Graduating with the GHS class of 1950, he was second in his class academically and a member of the National Honor Society. As an Eagle Scout he was a qualified National Rifle Association marksman and won the Johnny Appleseed Council rifle championship. He entered Ohio State University as a pre-med student. He earned his Varsity “0” letter as a freshman on the rifle team.  
 
In 1951 he received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. After graduating from the Academy he trained as a navigator bombardier. He was assigned to a B-52 that flew 24 hour missions over the North Pole before, during, and after the Cuban Missile crisis.  
 
In 1965 John enrolled at Texas A&M University where he graduated with a Master’s degree in Chemistry and was assigned to the Air Force Academy as an associate professor of Chemistry. While there he was involved in several programs that helped Air Force families with disabled children. He also served as an academic instructor for the football team.  
 
In 1971 he was transferred to Tan Son Jhut AFB in Vietnam where he flew as mission commander on an EC-47 reconnaissance aircraft. While there he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with 3rd Oak Leaf Cluster and the Air Medal 1st Oak Leaf Cluster. In 1974 he was transferred to March AFB and, while serving as a chemist, he identified and solved a major pollution problem which threatened the water supply of Riverside, California.  
 
In 1976 he retired from the Air Force and became director and instructor of chemistry for 15 years at Blinn College in Bryan, Texas. During his academic career he earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from West Point and Master’s degrees in Educational Curriculum and Chemistry from Texas A&M. John related that he considered his time at the Air Force Academy the most satisfactory experience of his career.

  

John passed away in 1996 and, at his request, was buried at the U.S. Air Force Academy cemetery. John was married to Sandra Bachman of McAllen, Texas and they had one son and two daughters.

 


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Mr. Bernard G. Elliker

Class of 1951

Bernard Elliker

Mr. Bernard G. Elliker was born in Galion, the youngest of three sons of the late Rev. and Mrs. R.R, Elliker. He attended Galion schools, graduating in 1951 after participating in National Honor Society, Ohio Boys’ State, and track. He served as editor of the yearbook – “Spy” and president of the GHS Marching Band. He graduated from THE Ohio State University, cum laude, BA Political Science, in 1955 and married high school sweetheart, Colleen Downing, GHS 1952.  

He began employment with the National Security Agency in a distinguished career that covered some five decades retiring from government service in 1997. During his career Mr. Elliker rose to senior executive rank, serving in a number of managerial capacities including chief of staff for a major agency component, deputy chief of an operational component, executive assistant to the NSA deputy director, chief of the NSA intelligence staff. He attended Harvard University in 1968-69 on a fellowship where he earned a master’s degree. He attended the National War College in 1980-81.  He spent three years in Hawaii as deputy chief of operations at the agency’s headquarters there. He was a key player in the on-site intelligence support in New York to the US ambassador to the UN during the critical period following the seizure of the USS Pueblo. Upon his retirement he was presented with the Intelligence Community’s highest civilian award by then Director of Central Intelligence, George Tenet, in 1997. His dedication to his country and the agency’s mission was exemplary throughout his career, as his family can attest, based on long hours and unceasing pres-sure. He remains passionate about his country’s stance as a bastion of democracy and freedom against all threats, “foreign and domestic.”     

 Bernard is a lifetime booster of his alma mater (Go Bucks!) and the Washington Redskins! In fact, he joined the Washington Redskins Marching Band as a trumpet player in 1962 participating until 2000.   

Bernard considers his home life and his Galion school and experiences as foundations for whatever successes were achieved in his professional career. He and Colleen, his wife of 57 years, live in Laurel, Maryland on the outskirts of Washington D.C.. Their two daughters live in the area and their granddaughter recently graduated summa cum laude from Stevenson University.   

  Bernard Elliker hopes that future Galion high school graduates will consider federal service upon completion of their formal academic education. It brings personal satisfaction in terms of rewards that go well beyond any monetary considerations.

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Dr. David Fisher

Class of 1960
 David FisherDavid A. Fisher graduated from Galion High School in 1960 where he was a member of the National Honor Society, Hi-Y, Future Teachers of America, Boys’ State Delegate, and Jr. member of the Ohio Academy of Sciences. During this period David was also JR. Assistant Scout Master and an active member of the Methodist Youth Fellowship. 
 
After graduation he entered the Carnegie Institute of Technology, graduating with a B.S. degree in Mathematics in 1964; graduated from the Moore School of Electrical Engineering, Univ. of Pennsylvania, with a M.S.E.in 1967. His final degree was a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University in 1970.  
 
Dr. Fisher was not a member of the military; however, he twice served as an executive within the Office of the Secretary of Defense. From 1976-77 he was Staff Specialist for Command, Control, Communications and Computers in the Defense Directorate for Research and Engineering. From 2007-2009 he was Chief Engineer for CREATE, a program to improve the design of ships, aircraft and antennas using high performance computers. He is a member of numerous professional organizations.  
 
Dr. Fisher has had a distinguished career as an engineer, scientist and entrepreneur. He is an innovator and inventor who has worked in industry, academia and government. He has been involved in a variety of community and volunteer activities. He is currently an Emeritus Professor at Carnegie Mellon University and he continues to lecture at universities and professional society meetings in the U.S. and Europe.  
 
He was active as a Boy Scout leader in Virginia and later, in Pennsylvania. In 1992, he hiked the entire Appalachian Trail which runs more than 2100 miles from Maine to Georgia. He and his wife, Amanda, have four sons, two daughters and eleven grandchildren.


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Mr. David Robinson
 
Class of 1965
 David Robinson
David Robinson, born in 1947, was an ordinary student, played sports, lettered in football, and was active in the Choir, Glee Club, and Drama in the Galion schools. He graduated in 1965 without many distinctions. After high school he attended Ohio University, earning a BFA (‘70) and an MFA (‘75) from Ohio University’s School of Film.  Raised in the Episcopal church, David served as an acolyte and a member of the choir. In college he began his lifelong spiritual journey based on a blending of Eastern (Zen Buddhism) and Western (Christianity) religions. David attends Chelsea Community Church in New York City and served on the board of trustees for 4 years; 2 years as chair. 
 
In 1975, while teaching at Denison University, David began studying modern dance and making film/dance collaborative pieces with choreographer Susan Alexander. Their work was exhibited in the United States, Great Britain and Paris,France. During 10 years working together they received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts. 
 
In 1977 David moved to New York City to be immersed in a world of the arts.That year he made his first trip to Guatemala to make a documentary film. Other assignments would take him to Holland, Belgium, Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Sicily, Lipari, the Canary Islands, Germany and Hungary. 
 
David began collaborating on films with performance artist Pat Oleszko in 1978. Those films have been shown world wide. He worked with Dance Work, a London dance company, on a piece funded by a grant from the Arts Council of Great Britain, and he worked with the Groupe de Recherche Choreographique de la Opera de Paris, for a year, developing a ocumentary project. He has exhibited work at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and was included in the show “8mm Film, Big as Life” at the Museum of Modern Art, in New York City. In 1987 David was a “distinguished” guest artist at the San Francisco Art Institute.  
 
In New York, David learned carpentry and cabinet making and works in the trade. From 1995 to ‘97 he was the head of maintenance at Ring Lake Ranch, an ecumenical retreat center, outside of Dubois, Wyoming.  
 
David returned to Guatemala again in 1998, 2003 and every year since 2007. His interest in bird watching took him to Lake Atitlan and the village of San Pedro La Laguna, in the western highlands. There he became involved with the Tz’utujil maya and began recording an archive, in digital video, of their language, traditions and customs, in order to preserve them. He is learning their language and has plans to also record the oral history of the Tz’utujiles of San Pedro La Laguna. 
 
ADVICE FOR TODAY’S GALION STUDENTS:
 

Remember what Yogi Berra said, “if you come to a fork in the road, take it”. And remember that no matter where you go in life, ..there you are. And, even if you don’t leave Galion, the journey is what’s most important. Every event in your life, every person you meet becomes woven into the fabric of your life and soul. Some of those threads are golden, and they shine for ever. Respect yourself, respect others and be responsible for your actions


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Captain James A. Petersen, USN (Retired)

Class of 1972

James Peterson

Captain Jim Petersen spent most of his early years in Galion as the second oldest of a family of eleven children. While a student at Galion High School he discovered his leadership talent and became president

of both his sophomore and senior classes.  Since both his uncle and father were in the United State Navy during World War II, Jim decided to attend the United States Naval Academy which he entered immediately following graduation from GHS. It did not take long for Jim to decide that the decision to go to USNA was one of the best ones that he had made to date. He excelled in academics and intramural sports which prepared him for life as a Nuclear Submariner upon graduation.

 He married the former Louise Heibertshausen (GHS 1973) upon graduation andhelvetica, sans-serif they have tspan style=hree children Jacki, Greg and Matt of whom he is very proud. As a submariner, Jim excelled and moved rapidly through various leadership positions receiving awards as Junior Officer of the Year and medals for his leadership and innovative ideas. He also taught Chemistry, Materials and Radiological Fundamentals at the Navys Nuclear Power School. As a result of his success in the classroom, he was selected to run officer training for Nuclear Power.

 Jim had many mentors throughout his life. The most prominent was his father, Jim, who recently passed away and who was an inspiration to his son. In addition, his paternal grandmother did much to encourage Jim to be fiscally responsible by investing for the future as she did for her family.

 When given the opportunity, Jim transferred to the Naval Reserve and started an almost 30 year carefont-family: /span, er as a financial planner serving in many different roles.  In addition, he continued his naval career retiring in 1998 as a Navy Captain (0- 6). As a financial planner and entrepreneur, Jim found his niche in life. He won numerous awards as a salesperson and leader at various levels of the industry.  He continues his study of the industry having achieved most top designations such as Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Leadership Fellow (CLF), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), and Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) as well as a number of others. Jim is currently finishing a Masters of Science in Management with an emphasis in Leadership and also has an MS in Financial Services. He is currently on a number of Boards of Directors including the Board of Trustees for the University of Tampa having previously served on theChancellor’s Advisory Council for Texas Christian University.

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Dr. Patrick Michael Epperson

Class of 1976

Patrick Epperson

Dr. Patrick M. Epperson was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana to Edgar and Patricia Epperson on January 14, 1958. The family moved to Galion, Ohio in 1962 and Patrick attended Galion School from kindergarten until his graduation in 1976.  He was a National Merit Scholar, and played football for four years as a guard and center. He chaired a March of Dimes Walk-a-thon during high school and was Student Council president his senior year.

After high school graduation, Patrick attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, California where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry in 1981.  He spent his junior year abroad at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan where he studied Japanese language and history. After  occidental, he had a summer internship at Proctor and Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio. From there he enrolled in graduate school at the University of Arizona in Tucson where he earned a PhD in Chemistry in 1987. His research dissertation was the “Application and characterization of charge-coupled device array detectors for analytical spectroscopy”. His work along with that of his advisor and fellow graduate students earned him the Lester Strock award in Analytical Spectroscopy for using these new and strange detectors that replaced vacuum tube devices. 

In 1987, Patrick joined Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLN) where he has served in a series of technical and leadership positions in Environmental and Analytical Chemistry, Stockpile Stewardship and Radioactive Waste Management. More recently, Patrick was selected to join a group of research scientists at LLNL’s National Ignition Facility. This is a science research project and facility whose mission is to develop the worlds first economically sustainable fusion energy source. It is a huge honor to be selected to work on this important scientific project.

While in graduate school, Patrick married his college sweetheart, Leila Cruz, a biology and nutrition major. They have three children, Jon, a freshman at the University of California, Berkley; Alejandra, who enlisted in the US Navy Nuclear Propulsion program; and Paul, a junior in high school who just received his Eagle Scout award. The family is active in the Asbury United Methodist church in Livermore. Patrick is a board member of the Livermore Valley Charter Preparatory School and is a regular judge at local school science fairs.

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  Dr. Nathan C. Hall

Class of 1987

Nathan Hall

Nate Hall and his family came to Galion when his father, Reverend Alston Hall, became pastor of Galion St. Paul United Methodist Church. As a junior, Nathan was a member of Galion’s 1985 State

Championship Football team and as a senior he was named to the first team All NOL, second team Northwest District, and honorable mention All Ohio. He holds the record for yards receiving in a single season and participated in the North All Star game. He graduated from Galion High School with the class of 1987.

 

Nathan graduated from Mt. Union in 1991 earning a B.S. in Chemistry degree. 1991-1995 was spent at the University of Kentucky earning a PhD in Analytic Chemistry and a Post-Doctoralfellowship. Dr. Hall received his Medical Degree at the University of Cincinnati in 2000 and his 2000-2001 Internship in Emergency Medicine at the University of Tennessee.


Dr. Hall, MD, PhD is a tenured Associate Professor of Radiology as well as Division Chief, Nuclear Medicine at The Ohio State University Hospitals. He serves as vice chair of the imaging committee for the National Cancer Institute Alliances for Clinical Trials. He is an active member of several professional organizations: The Society of Nuclear Medicine, the SNM Clinical Trials Network-Trial Design Committee, and the National Cancer Institute, Image Steering Committee. His research has been documented in more than fifty peer reviewed journal articles. He has earned many awards and fellowships since 1990, the most recent being Faculty Researcher of the YearMolecular Imaging.

He and his wife Cathy and their children Rylee, Lauren, Bryson and Avery live on a goat farm near Centerburg, Ohio.

The recommendation for Dr. Hall to become a Galion City Schools Hall of Fame honoree comes from a patient who experienced his care after surgery. He took the time to visit the patient, encouraging him and displaying great compassion.  As physician in charge of nuclear medicine at The James, he was very attentive to the patient during hours and days of scans. Dr. Hall’s presence and knowledge was very comforting during a difficult time.

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Mr. Herbert C. Krichbaum

Outstanding Galion Educator

1955-1980

 Herbert Krichbaum

Herbert C. Krichbaum graduated with high honors from Crestline in 1938 and entered Capital University in September of that year. While attending Capital his summers were spent playing with the 7 piece

Lewis Girton Dance Band and working at Andrews Dairy.

 Unfortunately, Herb’s education was interrupted when the United States entered World War ll following the attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor. He was in his senior year at Capital University when he was drafted into the Army. He spent the next 50 months in the infantry and was discharged as a Tech/Sargent after serving as an instructor in many fields, including bugle calls. He returned to Capital where he received his BSM degree in 1947 majoring in instrumental music and minoring in English.

Mr. Krichbaum began his teaching career with one year at Leesville/ Whetstone followed by eight years at what is now Ontario, teaching grades 1-12. In 1955 he began his career at Galion in charge of vocal music in junior and senior high. After obtaining a Master’s Degree in Vocal Music Education, he became head of Galion’s Fine Arts Department which included choirs, glee clubs, ensembles, soloist and elementary music programs.  He prepared scripts and announced band shows at football games. His instrumental and vocal musicians took part in Ohio Music Education Association contests. He commented that sometimes he needed four buses to transport the students to these events! He says that his greatest accomplishment was adding Music Appreciation, Theory and Harmony to the curriculum so students could minor in music.

 Mr. Krichbaum retired from teaching in 1980, but he has remained active in the Galion Community. He has received many awards, including Galion Citizen of the Year (late 60’s), and Rotarian of the Year (late 80’s). He was honored with a plaque commemorating his 30 years as Messiah director and in 2000 because became choir director emeritus of First United (now Christ United) Methodist Church.

 Herb married Millie Jean Adams who is deceased; their daughter Melanie is married to Felix Azzola and they have presented him with five grandchildren.  Later he married Virginia Brant-Krichbaum and she has three daughters and nine grandchildren..


 


 

 

 
 
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