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Jack Sagabiel
Inducted: 2007

Jack graduated from Manual in the first co-ed class, 1950-1/2. At Western Kentucky University, where he earned his B.S. and M.A. degrees, he was vice president of the Class of 1956 and was voted "Mr. Senior." He earned an L.L.D. from John Marshall Law School in 1975. In between active duty stints with the Army Reserve from 1956-1959 he returned to Western and served there for 30 years, primarily as assistant dean of students and dean of men. Since 1986 he has been involved with Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society, an honorary society established at the University of Illinois in 1923 to encourage and recognize high scholastic achievement among members of the first-year class. He earned the Association of College Honor Societies Certificate of Distinction in 2000 and as a member of the Bowling Green Kiwanis Club was Kiwanian of the Year in 1965 and earned a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. He is also a life member of Sigma Chi Social Fraternity and has served as president of the Bowling Green Masonic Lodge.

Harvey Sanders
Inducted: 1995

Mr. Sanders was the groundskeeper at Manual Stadium for 35 years. The stadium is in his name, officially changed in 1984 by the Board of Education. He always thought the biggest part of his job at the stadium was making sure everything was in order for the games including the fields, track and dressing rooms.

George Sauer
Inducted: 1996

Although a 1950 graduate of Male high, George Sauer served Manual as Principal from 1971 to 1979, a time of great change and upheaval for the school. During his tenure Manual changed its emphasis from manual arts, for which it got its distinctive name, to one with a more comprehensive focus. The YPAS (Youth Performing Arts School) was opened, the forerunner to the school becoming a "magnet," or one that has no attendance boundary. He is now married to the former Charlene Sabens. They have a son, Jeff, and a daughter, Jennie, and three grandchildren. He is the first person to be inducted to both the Male and the Manual Halls of Fame.

Nicole Scherzinger
Inducted: 2007

Nicole, a 1996 YPAS graduate, is a singer, actress, dancer and songwriter currently best known for her work as the lead vocalist in the Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum international recording group The Pussycat Dolls. Nicole was born in Honolulu but grew up in Louisville. At 14 her first professional play was at Actors Theatre of Louisville in the play La Bete. She went on to perform in the Humana Festival's The Survivor. She furthered her studies at Wright State University majoring in theatre arts, garnering the lead roles of Velma Kelly in Chicago, Miss Sara Brown in Guys and Dolls and Julie LaVern in Show Boat. In 2001 she competed on the WB's television series Popstars, where she earned a spot in the female pop group Eden's Crush. In Los Angeles she landed acting roles in feature films and television. In 2005 she was asked to front the Pussycat Dolls and to record their debut album, PCD. Aside from their multi-platinum success the group was nominated this year at the Grammys for "Best Pop Vocal," won 2006 "Best Dance Music Video" at MTV's VMAs, was nominated for three American Music Awards and Nicole was recently named Complex magazine's "Woman of the Year" for 2007. She will be debuting her first solo album entitled "Her Name Is Nicole" in late summer 2007.

Martin F. Schmidt Inducted: 2005	Martin was editor-in-chief of The Crimson and graduated as valedictorian of his class in 1936. He then went to work at the Coca-Cola Bottling Company, the family business begun by his grandfather Frederick S. Schmidt, during summers away from Tulane University where he was editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper. He returned to the company in 1940 with a BBA degree and stayed through 1967, leaving only for four years in the Navy in World War II. In 1968 he moved on to the Louisville Free Public Library as head of the Kentucky Division, and in 1973 he moved to the Filson Club to replace its retiring librarian. In 1982-83 he became director of the club after serving on its board of directors for many years. The author of Kentucky Illustrated, a compilation of the earliest lithographs depicting state history, he is also on the board of directors for the Kentucky Historical Society and helped build the new history center in Frankfort and the Coca-Cola Museum in Elizabethtown. He and his late father, below, are the only father and son combination in the Hall of Fame.
Martin L. Schmidt Inducted: 1997	Martin Schmidt played baseball four years at Manual and captained the team his senior year in 1909. He was also elected treasurer of his class. He worked long hours after school and he spent his summers working with his father at the Coke bottling plant. He became President of the Manual Alumni Association in 1927. He served as President of the Kentucky State Bottlers Association in 1923.
Kenny Schmied Inducted: 2008	A 1928-1/2 graduate of Manual, Kenny was a member of the band, orchestra, Mitre Club and Annual staff. He entered politics relatively late in life, when in 1960 he was called upon to arrange a local rally for Richard Nixon’s presidential campaign. His performance and ability impressed party leaders, and in 1961 he was tapped as the party’s third ward alderman candidate. When Mayor William O. Cowger was elected, Schmied was chosen aldermanic president. He was elected Mayor in 1965. After leaving City Hall in 1969 he devoted much of his time to his job as president of American Home Supply Co., the family-owned business his father built, but he retained an interest in civic affairs, being chosen chairman of the Louisville Zoo’s governing commission in 1972. On April 5, 1973 he suffered a fatal heart attack.
Joseph D. Scholtz Inducted: 2001	Joseph D. Scholtz was born in Louisville, graduated from duPont Manual Training High School in 1908 and quickly asserted himself as a businessman. Early in his career he was vice president of Joseph Denunzio Fruit Company, and later was president of the municipally owned Louisville Water Company and headed the city's parks department. He was elected mayor in November of 1937 and directed the city's affiars for four years. He left office a week before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and joined the Office of Civilian Defense, where he became regional director for nine states. In May 1943 he was commissioned a major in the Army and was sent to North Africa and Italy. He ended the war by serving as a lieutenant colonel attached to the British Eighth Army. He was discharged in 1945. In 1947 he was appointed Louisville postmaster, serving until 1959. His accomplishments as mayor included the establishing of Seneca Park, planning the building of Standiford Field, aiding in the city's switchover from streetcars to buses, and brokering equal pay for black and white teachers. Joseph passed away September 25, 1972.

Bill Schooley
Inducted: 2002

Bill Schooley has the distinction of earning more varsity letters (10) at Manual than any other athlete in the history of the school. Graduating in 1945-1/2, Bill earned three letters in football, four in basketball and three in baseball. Shortly after graduation he joined the U.S. Coast Guard on the “buddy system” with friends and teammates J. W. Duke and Hal Taylor. After a two-year hitch, he used the G.I. Bill and a scholarship to attend Centre College, where he again played all three sports. After two years he joined the Louisville Fire Department where he played on a very successful semi-pro baseball team along with former Manual greats Kenny Braun and Ray Holton. After seven years playing baseball for the LFD, he directed his athletic interests toward the pursuit of gold. In 1957 he became an assistant pro at the Iroquois Golf Course under the tutelage of Pete Doll. He planned, laid out and helped build Sun Valley Golf Course before becoming a full-fledged pro in Madison, Indiana. Over the next 30 years he served as resident pro at courses in Columbus, IN, Owensboro and Russellville, KY. Bill has been retired for three years but still plays golf every day. He and his wife Myrtle live at Woodson Bend Resort, a retirement community in Somerset, KY. His two sons are now golf pros.

George F. Sengel
Inducted: 1998

George "Chink" Sengel is the sole member of the legendary 1938 National Championship Manual football team to make a career in the game. In fact, at 75 years of age he was still scouting part time for the Buffalo Bills, having devoted 60 years to the sport. His teammates honor him today and also celebrate the 60^th anniversary of the 28-20 defeat of New Britain, Conn. In the Sugar Bowl which led to the title team. Since 1968 Sengel has scouted for eight different NFL teams, the last 19 for the Buffalo Bills who, one might recall, participated in four consecutive Super Bowls from 1990 to ’93.

Rudy Sengel
Inducted: 2006

Rudy had an outstanding high school career in both football and track at Manual. A 195-pound tackle, he was the heaviest of the starters on the 1938 National Champion football team as well as their place kicker. In the National Championship Game on New Year's Eve, 1938, Rudy kicked all four extra points as the Crimsons beat a heavily-favored New Britain, Conn. team 28-20 to claim the title.
In track he was a State Champion shot putter three straight years -- 1937, '38 and '39, and his record throw his senior year -- 38 feet -- stood for many years. Rudy captained the track team in 1939, and in his years of varsity participation Manual won the State Championship under Coach Brad Jones all three times. Rudy went on to the University of Michigan on a football scholarship and earned his freshman numerals and played as a sophomore before WWII broke out. He joined the Navy in 1942 and served throughout the war. When he came home he married the late Mary J. Goodenough, also a Navy veteran, and took a job with International Harvester. In 1968 they moved to Arizona and there he worked for John Deere until he retired in 1986 at age 65.

Nancy Niles Sexton
Inducted: 1998

Nancy Niles Sexton, Class of ’52, enters the Manual Hall of Fame along with her uncle, John Jacob Niles. She is the producing director and founder of Walden Theater and has taught and worked with young performers for over thirty years. She holds a B.A. in English/Drama from the University of Kentucky and has done graduate study at Yale Drama School.

Clarence Sidebottom
Inducted: 2004

As a halfback in 1938, Clarence led his team to the one victory that has been long celebrated as the greatest in Manual’s history. In Baton Rouge, LA he scored three touchdowns to lead the Crimsons over a highly favored team from New Britain, CT in one of only two "official" National Championship High School games ever played. The score was 28-20. Clarence grew up across from Thurston Park where he played football in the sandlots. He was recruited heavily by St. Xavier, but chose Manual instead. He played a lot as a junior, and in his senior year became a triplle-threat, running, passing and kicking. In January of 1938 he married La Von Waits, dropped out of school and went to work for American Air Filter where he retired after 45 years of service. His work career was interrupted by service in the marines during WW II. After the war he got his high school diploma. Clarence and La Von’s two children, Gary and Dianne, both graduated from Manual.

Suzanne Sidebottom
Inducted: 2005
Alumni Achievement Award

In 2005 Suzanne completed her twentieth year of teaching at Manual. She was the driving force behind the much-respected Visual Art Magnet. She administers the program for 200 art majors, including five art faculty members, two art galleries and seven studios. She has watched scholarships awarded to Manual art students grow from $2,000 the first year to over a million annually for the past 15 years. A graduate of Vanderbilt University, Suzanne earned a M.A. at Indiana University and has served on the J.B. Speed Art Education Panel for seven years and the Conrad Caldwell House Education Panel for five years. She has garnered an impressive array of awards, including: Jefferson County Secondary Teacher of the Year, an ExCEL Teacher Award, Ashland Oil's Teacher of the Year, National Scholastics Art Educator of the Year, and Jefferson County Art Teacher of the Year. She has exhibited her own work at the St. James Art Fair for 25 years, the Louisville Visual Art Association, the Jubilee Gallery, the Speed Museum and the Norma E. Brown Gallery, among ohers.

Ronnie Siers
Inducted: 2002

Ronnie was the leading rebounder and co-leader in scoring on one of Manual’s favorite basketball teams – the one that sustained a heartbreaking loss to North Marshall in the final game of the 1959 State Tournament. He was voted All-District, All Regional, and All-City in both his junior and senior years. In 1959 he led the Reds to an L.I.T. Championship. He was the leading scorer in the North Marshall loss and made the All-State Tournament Team and the Courier-Journal All-State Team. As a scholarship player at Memphis State he led his freshman team in both scoring and rebounding. The next year he returned to his home state, transferring to Lindsey Wilson College where he led his team once more in the same categories as well as free-throw shooting. He was named a Junior College All-American in 1961. He worked briefly for Hillerich & Bradsby, then became Sales Manager for Durkee Foods until 1982. He was National Sales Manager for Louisville Edible Oil Products before moving to Salisbury, Maryland in 1985 to become Head of Sales for the Grain and Oilseed division of Perdue Farms, a job he still holds. Feeling the need to reach out to others, and after three years of studying theology and counseling, he was ordained a minister in August of 1984. He serves St. Francis DeSales Catholic Church in Salisbury and is on the Board of Directors of Make-A-Wish Foundation. Maryland selected Ronnie to represent his state at the Bush inauguration, where he was moved by the sight of Manual’s Choir performing. He and his wife June have three children and four grandchildren.

Neal Skeeters
Inducted: 1997

Neal earned five letters in football, basketball, baseball, track, and swimming. Skeeters displayed his ability as early as 13 when he won the National Athletic Achievement score for the Louisville YMCA. As a halfback/fullback he was also co-captain of the football team. He was selected by the basketball team as MVP. In 1957 Neal signed with the Cincinnati Reds. His Manual team in a combined three years had a record of 71 to 18.

LaVelle Smith, Jr.
Inducted: 2006

LaVelle graduated from Manual in 1983, in the fifth year of the Youth Performing Arts School, having been voted "Most Talented" by his senior Crimson yearbook. Today he is on the cutting edge of the entertainment industry with his award-winning dance routines for stage, television, video and film. As a choreographer, he has created attention-grabbing steps for artists such as Michael and Janet Jackson, the Rolling Stones, TLC, En Vogue, Teena Marie, Diana Ross, Rod Stewart, Destiny's Child and Beyonce. He has been the five-time winner of the MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography -- for "My Lovin'," in 1992; for "Free Your Mind" in 1994; for "Whata Man" in 1995; for "Scream" in 1995, and for Beyonce's "Crazy in Love" in 2003.
LaVelle has also received the Motion Picture Video Producers Award twice for Outstanding Choreography (1994 and 2004). He is one of the youngest inductees into the Miller's Gallery of Greats and has received numerous other award nominations, including the Emmy and the Bob Fosse Award for Best Choreography. In 1999 he was European Choreographer of the Year.

Marlyn Yaden Smith
Inducted: 2001

Marlyn Yaden Smith, Class of '54, is but one more example of how hard work still pays dividends. "Dividends" couldn't be more apt since she has spent the last 46 years working for a bank. She was hired as a switchboard op0erator and typist for the old Royal Bank and Trust Company in September 1956 and worked her way up to become the first female Executive Vice President in April 1995. During that time Royal merged with the Bank of Louisville. Marlyn survived breast cancer in April, 1992 and wants everyone to know "There is life after cancer." Since being promoted, her resume reads like the civic leader she has become. She served as Kentucky Derby Festival Chairwoman in 1995, and was chairwoman for the Louisville Theatrical Association, producers of the Broadway Series, in 1996 and 1997. She served on the Board for the Association for ten years. She was in the 1981 Class of Leadership Louisville and now is a board member of that organization's alumni association. She has also served as an executive board member for the Louisville Collegiate School Parents Council and the Jefferson County Child Abuse Authority, now called "a Family Place," and was a board member of the Minority Venture Capital Corporation. Marlyn has also served on the Business Advisory Committee for Jefferson Community College, Southwest, is still with the Host Committee for Churchill Downs, and was a member of the Jefferson County Police Chief's Advisory Board in 1997 and 1998.

Gene Snyder Inducted: 1997	Gene Graduated from Manual 1945 1/2. He took pre-law at U of L and received his L.L.B from the old Jefferson School of Law, he was granted a juris doctorate from Louisville. He served as Jefferson City Attorney from 1953-1957 and was elected Magistrate of the first Magisterial District of Jefferson County in 1957. He was President of the First Magisterial District Republican Club, and President of the Jeffersontown Optimist Club. Later the Gene Snyder Freeway was named after him.
	Jack Speier was a three-sport letterman at Manual and was co-captain of the 1948 football team (along with Benny Evans) that claimed the State Championship after finishing undefeated and untied (They beat Male 14-0.). He played center and linebacker. He was also a sophomore third baseman on the 1947 baseball team which won the first ever State Title sponsored by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA). In 1949 he entered Centre College on a scholarship and played football and baseball. As a "Prayin' Colonel," he lettered in both sports all four years and was elected co-captain of the Centre football team in 1952 and co-captain of the baseball team in 1953. Jack was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon and Omicron Delta Kappa fraternities and graduated with a bachelor's degree in business. During the summers he played professional baseball in the Philadelphia Phillies chain from 1951 to 1953, plying his trade in the cities of Lima, Ohio, Bradford, Pa., and in Salt Lake City. Jack served two years in the army, but mostly played baseball at Fort Knox from 1954 until he joined Owens Corning Fiberglas Corporation in Louisville in 1955. He held various management positions at six different locations, and in 1973 was promoted to the home office in Toledo, Ohio, as a division manager. Retiring from Owens Corning in 1986 after 31 years of service, Jack moved from Toledo to the Tampa Bay area in 1988, then to Lakeland, Florida, in 2001. He is a member of the Shrine, Scottish Rite, Masons and is also an elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Lakeland. He is also a great fan of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jack is married to the former Jane Edson of Martinsville, Ind. They have three grown daughters-Jackie, Jennifer and Laura-- and one grandson.
Jack Speier Inducted: 2003

Ramona Boone Stenzhorn
Inducted: 2000

Ramona Boone graduated from Manual in 1960, so full of Manual spirit and very much a part of the school culture. From there she entered U of L, and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in 1964. She continued her education during her career as an educator in the Virginia Beach City School system, receiving a Master's from the College of William and Mary, and also earned her Doctor of Education Degree. She began as a 6th grade teacher in Virginia Beach, and was then the youngest principal ever appointed to the system, which resulted in her being named one of the "outstanding Young Women in America. She was a principal at every level: elementary, middle and high during her career, but her longest-held position was as the principal of Salem High School. She belonged to many organizations including Business and Professional Women's Club, National Association of Secondary School Principals, the Delta Kappa Pi Honor Society, and she was appointed to the governor's Board for Licensing of Professional Counselors. The mayor of Virginia Beach once wrote that "her warmth, charm and intellect drew people to her like 'bees to honey'. Ramona always gave credit to other rather than taking it for herself. Her sparkle, smile and flare made those who worked with her feel like winners."

Joan Scoggin Stewart
Inducted: 2004
Alumni Achievement Award

Three of Manual’s Presidential Scholars chose Joan Stewart as their "Most Influential Teacher." Joan has retired from Manual at the end of the 2003-2004 school year, having taught there since 1971, working under three principals. At one time or another she has taught every math course offered, and been involved in extracurricular activities. She was sponsor of the "Dazzlers," Manual’s dance team. She started the team in 1975 and was instrumental in changing the concept from "drill" teams to "dance" teams across Jefferson County. She coached the Dazzlers for 24 years, taking a hiatus from 1983 to 1991 when she founded and sponsored the Ladybirds dance team at the University of Louisville. And fou four years she organized and directed the State Fair competition for cheerleaders and dance teams. She has also co-written curricula for the Math/Science/Technology magnet program, has sponsored the math team, has served on the pilot teacher transfer committee and has helped develop placement tests for the MST program. She’s been nominated for Who’s Who in American Teaching many times. She currently serves as chairperson of her neighborhood association, Vice Chairman of the Louisville Neighborhood Council, and chairs the Old Louisville Holiday House Tour Committee. She also started the summer concert series in Central Park in 2003 and is an organizer for the Central Park Centennial Committee.

Joseph Stopher
Inducted: 2003

In 1997 Joseph Stopher was still snapping up honors. That year he received the prestigious Grawemeyer Award from the University of Louisville. Prior to that he was named Outstanding Lawyer of the Year in 1971 by the Louisville Bar Association and by the Kentucky Bar Association in 1987. In 1988 he received the Jeffersonian Award from the Jefferson County Public Schools, and in 1991 was given the Distinguished Service Award by Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. At Manual he was president of his class and was a first honor graduate. All during high school Mr. Stopher worked after school and on the weekends delivering five-gallon bottles of his father's invention-Anita Spring Water. After Manual he earned a bachelor's and a law degree from U of L. He was admitted to the Bar in 1937 and was hired by a law firm fresh out of school. He is now a retired senior partner in the same law firm --Boehl, Stopher and Graves-- one he has seen grow from six to 25 partners and which now has offices in Paducah, Lexington and Southern Indiana. He still serves as President of the Gheens Foundation, a position he has held since 1982. At age 88 he spends three hours a day at the law firm and four or five at the Gheens Foundation. He was also a member of the Kentucky State Fair Board from 1968 to '96, a Trustee at Georgetown College from '69 to '73, a Trustee at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary from '55 to '85 and was on the Board of Directors for Liberty-United Bancorp, Inc. from '68 to '86. He and his wife, Marie, have three children-Edward, Ann and Robert. Both sons are trial lawyers, "both better than I ever was," claims Mr. Stopher.

Edwin F. Struss Inducted: 2008	Edwin Struss graduated from Manual in 1926, then attended U of L and earned his Master’s Degree in chemistry at the University of Wisconsin. He also had a respectable academic career in football, serving on Neal Arntson’s team at Manual and lettering at U of L. After returning to Manual as a chemistry teacher, he supported the football program by working the pass gate at home games, and even did a short stint as Athletics Director, filling in for John Turner in the pre-Charmoli days. He was named “Teacher of the Year” in the Louisville Public Schools in 1972, two years before he retired. He passed away on June 27, 1985.
James W. Susemichel Inducted: 2008	Jim Susemichel, Class of 1949, has the distinction of spending 50 years with the same company. He was hired as a salesman for a small concrete block manufacturing company on Ralph Avenue in 1956. When the original owners sold out, the five businessmen who bought it turned control over to Jim and told him to make it work. By the time he retired as CEO in 2007, he had diversified by adding a brick business and had grown the company, Modern Concrete, into five thriving locations today. It is estimated that Modern Concrete does about 70% of all residential masonry business in Jefferson, Oldham and Bullitt counties. Jim is now actively involved in two favorite endeavors. He sits on the Boards of Directors of Brooklawn Children’s Home and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Hal Taylor Inducted: 2002	In 1944-45 Hal captained both the basketball and baseball teams at Manual and was co-captain of the football team. As a senior he was named to the All-State teams in both football and basketball, a rare occurrence in Kentucky. In the fall of 1945, Hal joined friends and Manual teammates Hal Phillips and Leonard "Babe" Ray in the backfield of the University of Kentucky. He joined the Coast Guard for a two-year hitch and then returned to college at Western Kentucky, where he capped his grid career by leading the OVC in touchdowns. Known as "Hustlin’ Hal," he once scored three touchdowns in a six-minute span. At Western he also captained an OVC champion baseball team and later served the school as a graduate assistant in both sports. Commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Army upon graduation, he taught mine warfare at Fort Knox. Two years later he returned to Louisville to coach at Eastern Higfh. When Seneca High opened its doors, Hal started both its baseball and football programs and was named "Baseball Coach of the Year:" in 1965. He retired from Jeffersontown High after 30 years in education. Hal says his manual arts training at Brook and Oak served him well: He has done extensive work for Habitat for Humanity, and has built church camp cabins as well as a log addition to his home. An elder at Jeffersontown Christian Church, he has taught adult Sunday School for the past 30 years. He and his wife Tyler have three children and six grandchildren.

Berenice Morledge Townsend
Inducted: 2002

Berenice was graduated from Louisville Girls High School in 1943, in the midst of World War II, and seven years before it closed for good. To understand her story, first a background summary of LGHS history: "Female High School," as it was originally called, opened its doors in April 1856, almost five years before the first shots of the civil War were fired. The first class graduated nine young women. An alumnae association was formed in 1878, and in 1898 the school moved from what was actually a mansion at First and Chestnut Streets to a new home at Fifth and Hill. In 1934 the school changed sites for the last time, moving into a gorgeous new Gothic structure at Second and Lee Streets, named Reuben Post Halleck Hall. Before 1950 the first floor housed Halleck Junior High and the upper two floors belonged to Girls High. Today, of course, this building is the duPont Manual High School we all know and love. In 1950 co-education brought LGHS and duPont Manual Training School together. In 1985 a group of LGHS graduates under the leadership of Lois Kissler Bordner reorganized the LGHS Alumnae Association, and seven years later decided to start a scholarship fund. Ms. Townsend has served as chair for this fund since its inception in 1992, and to date has administered almost $30,000 given to women graduates of Manual. Berenice is married to Jay Memory Townsend. Mem serves on Kosair Hospital's Board of Governors, and Berenice serves on the Auxiliary Board of Kosair and of King’s Daughters and Sons Nursing Home. She was elated last year when the Manual auditorium was officially named "Louisville Girls High Auditorium."

Whitney Boyles Trowbridge
Inducted: 2007

Whitney, a 1996 alumna, graduated in the top ten percent of her class. Majoring in Musical Theatre, she divided her time between Manual and YPAS and was a member of the Beta Club, Key Club, National Honor Society and the Student Council. She was also a member and dance captain of the YPAS tour group, "Louisville's Next Generation." It was Saundra Commons, her YPAS counselor, who introduced her to beauty pageants,. In five years of competing for the Miss Kentucky title, Whitney earned over $55,000 in scholarship money. In 2000 in her reigning year as Miss Kentucky, Whitney served as a representative for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. She went on to become fourth runner-up to Miss America and was nationally recognized for her volunteer work with AIDS awareness and the education of youth through her A.N.G.E.L. program. Locally she has worked tirelessly for the Louisville AIDS Walk and the AIDS Volunteers of Lexington. Her academic credentials include a master's degree in communication from UK in 2003. She has also performed with professional theater companies such as Derby Dinner Playhouse and Music Theatre of Louisville. She went on to the directorship of the Miss Louisville Scholarship Program at Manual for five years. She was made an honorary Kentucky Colonel and was recognized by the Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana with a patch made in her honor for work with Girl Scouts throughout the state. She currently works for the corporate headquarters of Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse. She, her husband Tyler and son Jackson currently live in Charlotte, NC.

Lou Vassie
Inducted: 1997

Lou led the revival of the Alumni Association in 1992, voted Baseball Team Captain and Class President - 1954, named Louisville "Amateur Baseball Player of the Year" in 1954 and played Professional Baseball for 9 years. Lou was a Professional All-Star 6 times, tied 3 Professional hitting records and was the second baseman on 3 Triple-A Championship teams. He was "Louisville Pro Baseball Player of the Year for 1958", named the AAA Indianapolis Indians All-Star second baseman for the years 1956 thru 1981 and named second baseman on the Topps National All-Star Team in 1961. His autographed bat is now part of Hillerich & Bradsby Company's Wall of Autographs in their Baseball Museum.

Lowry Watkins, Sr.
Inducted: 2004

Lowry Rush Watkins, Sr. became a millionaire before he was 35, lost it all in the Great Depression, refused to declare bankruptcy and made a million all over again. A native of Paducah, Watkins moved to Louisville at the age of three in 1900. He graduated from Manual in the class of 1914-1/2. When World War I erupted he enlisted in the Army Air corps in 1917. He was discharged in 1918 with the rank of lieutenant. From 1918 to 1922 he became the top salesman at the Peaslee-Gaulbert Paint company. In 1922 he founded the Lowry Watkins Co., which by 1930 became the largest insurance agency and second largest real estate company in Louisville. He was elected to the Louisville board of Aldermen in 1926 and served through 1928. He made his money in real estate and insurance, but his first love was horses. He was nationally known as an avid fox hunter, a renowned steeplechase rider and was one of the founderts of the Oxmoor Steeplechase in 1940. He organized Kentucky’s first polo club, the Louisville Country Club polo team, in 1923. In 1954 he founded Harmony Landing Country Club. In 1973 he was named Realtor Emeritus by the National Board of Realtors, and he retired in 1978. He married Barbara Bullitt in 1942, and they had a daughter and two sons. Watkins passed away in 1981.

Patricia Watson
Inducted: 1999

Patricia Watson was the school's Executive council Sponsor from 1986-96, developing Red-White Spirit Week. She also organized Basketball homecoming during the same time. She was also the faculty's Dare to Care sponsor, receiving the Outstanding Community Service Award from the Arthur Kling Center for Senior Citizens in 1996. In 1986 she received the Hands Across America award from the Jefferson County Judge Executive. She has been the Future Homemaker's Association sponsor since 1978 and also has written and implemented a Fashion Design Curriculum for the Board, for which she earned a trip to New York for her and her students in 1989. She has also served as Senior Class Sponsor in 1981 and 1985 and been involved in the Summer Enrichment Program both in 1997 and 1998, but she maintains her first love is Girls Basketball, and she has supported the Lady Crimsons for 20 years.

Chris West
Inducted: 2000

West was the starting quarterback for the Crimsons as a sophomore, and his gridiron exploits earned him All State and honorable mention All-American accolades. In basketball he was the first man off the bench as a freshman and earned a starting guard position for the next three years. As a senior he averaged 22 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8 assists per game. As a senior, Chris made the Kentucky-Indiana All-Star Team as well as the All-State team and was voted "Mr. Manual" in 1982. Choosing basketball over football as his college sport, West signed with U of L and graduated in 1987 and spent the next three years playing basketball in Europe, Southeast Asia and South America. In 1990 he returned home to help coach at Manual. He coached one year at Fairdale, then worked two years at Boys Haven and the City of Lousiville before going to work in 1996 for Boy Scouts of America where he now holds the title of Senior District Executive. And this is not his first Hall of Fame induction. Last year in a similiar ceremony, he was recognized as one of the top five executives for the Southern Region, BSA, for 1999.

Bob Weihe
Inducted: 2000
Community Friend Award

Weihe was known as an "angel" of sorts, helping support endeavors in local schools over the years. Indeed, almost every school in Jefferson County owes Bob a debt of gratitude for his support over the years. He retired in January from Coca-Cola Bottlers of Louisville, for whom he worked since 1958. A Bellarmine graduate, he was named Youth Marketing Manager for Coke in 1984. He first served the county by coaching grade football for 20 years. During that time he coached St. Francis of Assissi to three Toy Bowl championships, and officiated high school basketball, both boys and girls, for 25 years. His ties to Manual began with the newest era. Because of his familiarity and reputation for integrity, Bob was chosen by Principal Joe Liedtke to serve on the intial screening committee to accept applicants when Manual was first made a magnet school.

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Bob White
Inducted: 2001
Community Friend Award

Bob White (Community Friend Award 2001) was hired on at The Courier-Journal in early March of 1959, when Manual's athletic program was at its zenith: In March 1959 the Manual basketball team became State Runners-up; In June the baseball team won its fifth State Championship under Ralph Kimmel; in November the football team went undefeated, won the first-ever AAA State Title, and defeated Male 62-0 on Thanksgiving Day. And the track team won the State Title in June, 1960. Bob is a member of the Kentucky High School Athletics Association Hall of Fame, the Kentucky Sportswriters Hall of Fame, and has received numerous journalism awards. He remains one of the most respected men in Kentucky sports history. He is a trusted friend of all principals, directors of athletics, coaches and athletes involved in the business of high school sports. Three generations of high school athletes owe him respect.

Don Whitehouse
Inducted: 1999

Don Whitehouse tallied 522 points, averaging 15.8 in 33 games, to lead the city in 1950-51, a 7th Region record at the time. This earned him the coveted Hasenour Trophy. He was voted Most Valuable Player in the Louisville Invitational Tournament his senior year and was All-L.I.T. both in '50 and '51. he also made the All-State Tournament Team. He still holds two records at Morehead: most free-throws shot in a game (29), and most free-throws scored in a game (21).

Ben Williams
Inducted: 2004

Ben Williams was one of very few three-sport stars at Manual, earning a total of seven athletic letters. He earned varsity letters in baseball in 1947, ’48 and ’49 and was the co-captain his senior year. He lettered in basketball in 1948 and ’49 and in football in ’47 and ’48. He played for Mike Basrak’s 1948 state champion football team that was undefeated and untied, and for Ralph Kimmel’s 1947 state championship baseball team. After graduating from Manual, Ben attended Centre College, where he lettered in baseball and football all four years, 1950 through 1953. He served a year as an assistant football coach at Glasgow High, and volunteered the next year for the U.S. Army draft, expecting to serve in korea. Instead he was sent to Puerto Rico to train native inductees. After his service he went to work for corning Glass Works, becoming North American Sales Manager in 1973 until his retirement in 1987. He and his wife Betty moved to Sedona, AZ in 1994. He has served as an Elder in the Presbyterian Church and is also a docent for the Sedona Historical Society. They have two children, Steven and Susan.

Samantha Williams
Inducted: 2008

Samantha was a four-year starter in varsity basketball at Manual from 1988 through 1991. She was All-District, All-Regional and in her senior year was named a Parade and Street and Smith’s High School All-American. She won a full scholarship to Auburn University where she was a four-year starter from 1992 through 1996. After college she played for the San Jose Lasers of the Women’s American Basketball League in 1996-97, and then began a coaching career. After working at Columbus State, Auburn, and DePaul University, she currently coaches the Blue Devil guards at Duke University.

Vernon Wold
Inducted: 2000
Alumni Achievement Award

Wold's dedication to Manual is outdone only by the length of his tenure at the school. he is in his 24th year at Second and Lee after teaching his first nine years at Sourthen Junior High School. He teaches drafting and architecture, and while drawings are mostly computer-generated now, he also requires that his students learn how to use the T-square and triangle. He is also in charge of a technology component called "Option 2000". He has always been a goodwill ambassador for the school and has been eager to involve himself in most any facet of the school. He's been as versatile as any coach in the annals of the school, coaching three sports for a number of years. He adds, "I have my won personal history of Manual stored in my brain. It's been a great school and a good run."

Danny Woo
Inducted: 2002

Dr. Danny Woo is currently one of the most respected medical doctors in town. In a special survey of the medical community in June 2001, Louisville Magazine named Woo the top nephrologist in the city. Danny graduated from Manual in 1971. Not only did he work hard at academics, but he was involved in activities and served as Student Council president his senior year. He earned a scholarship to the University of Louisville as a chemistry major, and after only three years was accepted at its Medical School in 1975. He did a two-year residency in internal medicine at University Hospital and three years on a nephrology fellowship. He then went into practice with a Louisville group and has worked for Jewish Hospital since 1980, where he has held many positions on the executive board. He continues to do television ads for Jewish. In 1985-86 he donated his time to the artificial heart program and its patients, and co-authored two medical articles about the procedure with Dr. William DeVries. Dr. Woo likes to read, attend historical lectures and travel to historical sites and museums. He is a lifetime member of both the Filson Club and the Chinese Association. He and his wife have three children, Amanda, Andy and Chris, all of whom attended Manual.

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Steve Wright
Inducted: 2001

Steve Wright began playing football when he was in the seventh grade at Barrett Junior High. Gene Fagan and Bob Milton, who coached kids at Cherokee Park on Saturday mornings, told him he had a future in football and convinced him to attend Manual. Steve lived in Atherton's district, but was allowed to enroll in Manual's pre-engineering curriculum. He became a Courier-Journal All-Stater, at 6-5 and 275 pounds, playing offensive tackle and defensive end for the Crimsons from 1957 to 1959. He finished his prep career as a member of that undefeated State Championship squad that beat Male 62-0 on Thanksgiving Day. He also lettered in track and field, winning both shot put and discus championships in city competition and the KHSAA state shot put championship for 1959. After being highly recruited, he signed with the University of Alabama and played for the legendary Paul "Bear" Bryant. The Crimson Tide won a national championship in 1961, and before his college career was over, he found himself as a member of an Orange Bowl and two Sugar Bowl championship teams. Steve was drafted fifth by the Green Bay Packers, and played offensive tackle for Vince Lombardi from 1964 to 1968 and participated in the last NFL Title Game against the Browns and in the first two Super Bowls. Those historic Packer teams remain the only ones in the NFL to win three championships in a row. Steve was traded to the Giants in 1969 where he was chosen as the model for what was then the American Express Gladiator Award. This bronze sculpture is still given today as the Walter Peyton Man of the Year Award. He was traded again, this time to the Redskins, and was reunited with Lombardi, who died shortly thereafter. He also played with the Bears and Cardinals, and spent his last two years with the World Football league. In his final year in pro ball, he wrote a book of his experiences titled I'd Rather Be Wright, and also appeared on several radio and television talk shows relating his experiences in football. After his football career, he entered the veterinary pharmaceutical industry where, 25 years later, he's still actively involved as a regional manager for an animal health company. He remains an active supporter of the NFL Alumni Association and the NFL Retired Players Association.