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Seven to be inducted into Hall of Fame

Warren schools alumni honored

Tribune Chronicle

WARREN — Seven alumni will be inducted into the Warren High Schools’ Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame for the Class of 2017.

Eileen Patrone with the Warren City Schools’ Foundation Board of Directors said the number of alumni inducted each year varies depending on the number of nominations, and the Hall of Fame now has 236 alumni who have been inducted in the 25 years of the hall’s existence.

“I believe that each year we select some of the finest Warren graduates,” Patrone said. “They are truly an inspiration to our present students.”

The inductees for the Class of 2017 are Steven T. Arnold, Dennis Blank, Shari Harrell, Lark T. Mallory, David Lee Morgan Jr., Susan E. Penksa, PhD., and Deryck Toles.

l Arnold is the first African-American head coach in Warren City Schools history, and has been inducted into the Trumbull County African-American Achievers Association Hall of Fame as well as having received the Inspiring Minds Community Award.

l Blank is the creator of the Warren Homecoming, which brings many former Warrenites back to visit, along with civic group and community business participation. Blank has worked for Fortune Magazine, Money Magazine and the Time Corporate Marketing Group.

l Harrell is the chief executive officer of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley and is in charge of operational oversight, general administrative responsibilities, fund development and promoting philanthropy, among other things. Harrell was instrumental in the purchase and preservation of the Harriet Taylor Upton House, and has received numerous community awards.

l Mallory is the general counsel and director of community development, financial institution investments, for the Affordable Housing Trust for Columbus and Franklin County. Mallory has been inducted into the Trumbull County African-American Achievers Association Hall of Fame, honored as a Business First Forty Under Forty, and named to the Ohio Super Lawyers Rising Stars.

l Morgan is a 10th-grade English teacher at Massillon Washington High School and has worked for Youngstown State University, the Warren Tribune Chronicle, the Akron Beacon Journal, the Raleigh News Observers and WYTV in Youngstown. Morgan also is a Trumbull County African-American Achievers Hall of Fame inductee, and has been honored as one of the 10 featured authors in the state by former Gov. Ted Strickland.

l Penksa is a professor of political science at Westmont College, Santa Barbara, Calif., and founded a global consulting practice whose clients include international organizations, national governments, and nongovernmental organizations. Areas of the globe her work focuses on include Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Pakistan.

l Toles is a former linebacker with the Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons and the Indianapolis Colts, and is the founder and CEO of the nonprofit organization Inspiring Minds which helps to empower, inspire and engage the youth in Warren.

“I am proud to be a part of this organization, not only for recognizing and honoring outstanding alumni but also because we award scholarships and hope to one day give each graduating senior from Warren G. Harding some form of financial reward, no matter where they might further their education,” Patrone said.

Aside from the alumni, there are also two educators who will be receiving the Distinguished Faculty Award, which is selected by each of the inductees into the Hall of Fame. This year, the two recipients are former Warren Western Reserve and Warren G. Harding sociology and social studies teacher Lynne Grischow, and former Warren G. Harding and Warren Western Reserve English teacher Suzanne Fowley, according to a news release.

The 25th Awards Dinner will be May 6, with a social hour beginning at 5 p.m. and dinner being served at 6:30 p.m. The tickets are $30 and can be obtained either from Patrone at 330-544-0431 or by downloading a reservation form from the Warren City Schools website by April 24.

news@tribtoday.com

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