Polk County Public Schools
The Polk County Public Schools Hall of Fame is seeking nominations from the community. Nominees should be individuals who attended a Polk County public school and made significant professional and career contributions in the arts, business, clergy, education, entertainment, government, law, military, media, medicine, science, sports or other fields.
The Hall of Fame was started in 1985 and has 99 members. 2011 inductees were Lakeland Mayor Gow Fields, U.S. Senator Kay Hagan, education official Ron Jeffries and law enforcement crime scene expert Edgar Pickett, Jr.
2012 inductees will be honored during a June event along with valedictorians and salutatorians from each high school’s graduating class of 2012. New members inducted into the Hall of Fame will be announced in May. The nomination deadline is Friday, February 24. Contact the Polk County Public Schools Community Relations Department at (863) 534-0699 or visit www.polk-fl.net under the “Announcements” headline to learn how to nominate someone.
Hall of Fame members are listed below with their year of induction. For profiles of the 99 members click here.
Gow Fields (Mayor ) 2011
U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan (government) 2011
Ron Jeffries (education official) 2011
Edgar Pickett Jr. (law enforcement) 2011
Dr. JoAnn Balingit (poet laureate) 2010
Chief Justice Charles T. Canady (Florida Supreme Court) 2010
Debbie Einmo (business executive and consultant) 2010
Robert Stackhouse (artist) 2010
Charles E. Canady (government) 2009
Ronald Fussell (NASA) 2009
Ronald Garl (golf course design) 2009
H.E. “Bert” Schulz (Florida Chemical Company founder) 2009
Dr. J. Larry Durrence (Polk Community College President) 2008
Maj. Steven Flett (U.S. Army) 2008
Dr. Mark Jaroszeski (chemical engineering professor) 2008
Dr. Sanford Meeks (radiotherapy physics) 2008
Paul Hughes (arts) 2007
U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam (government) 2007
Dr. Clinton Wright (educator) 2007
Dr. William N. Brown (university professor/author) 2006
Raymond Driver (community activist) 2006
Judge Ronald Herring (chief circuit judge) 2006
Dr. Joanne Whitaker (research and teaching physician) 2006
Vita Hinshaw (Chalet Suzanne entrepreneur) 2005
Katherine Blood Hoffman (university dean and professor) 2005
Dr. Gerard Hubbell (Hubbell Eye Clinic founder) 2005
Dr. Michael Washington (Centers for Disease Control engineer) 2005
Judge J. Dale Durrance (Teen Court founder) 2004
Col. William August Felt (U.S. Army, educator) 2004
Kathy Fountain (journalist) 2004
Diana Myrick (educator) 2004
Col. Freddie Austin (U.S. Army) 2003
Carol Jenkins Barnett (Publix executive) 2003
Judge Charles A. Davis, Jr. (State Court of Appeals) 2003
James Denmark (artist) 2003
C. Fred Jones (government) 2002
George G. Gause (government) 2002
Al Bellotto (agriculture) 2002
D. Burke Kibler, III (lawyer) 2001
Bobby Braddock (songwriter) 2001
Dr. James Ammons (educator) 2001
Jim Stafford (entertainer) 2000
Rowdy Gaines (Olympic swimmer, gold medalist) 2000
Glen Davidson (Davidson’s candy factory) 2000
Jerry Yachabach (aerospace technology) 1999
Frances Langford (actress, singer, radio star) 1999
Bill Duncan (educator) 1999
Bob Murphy (professional golfer) 1998
Dr. John Desmond (researcher at Stanford Univ.) 1998
Canter Brown, Jr. (historian and author) 1998
Dr. Kathryn "Kat" Quina (psychology professor) 1997
Robert F. Harris (V.P. Diversity Development, U.S. Postal Service) 1997
Hazel Haley (educator) 1997
Col. Edythe Turner (U.S. Army) 1996
Dr. Cecil "Chip" Murray (senior pastor, U.S. Air Force) 1996
Dr. John Allan Knight Sr. (Church of the Nazarene official) 1996
Dr. Orene V. Schoenfeld (physician) 1995
Forrest Sawyer (newscaster) 1995
Dr. William Theophlus Brown (psychiatrist) 1995
Maj. Gen. Joseph K. Stapleton (U.S. Air Force) 1994
Dr. Paul J. Sheffield (aerospace physiologist) 1994
E.M. Haynsworth (phosphate pioneer) 1993
Wogan S. Badcock Jr. (business) 1993
Dr. James Gardner (educator) 1993
Justice Stephen H. Grimes (Florida Supreme Court) 1993
Dr. James Morrison (strategic planning researcher) 1993
Janyce Ahl (historian) 1992
Dr. Peter Bennett (museum director and professor) 1992
Wilbur A. Pipkin (inventor) 1992
Ken Riley (pro football) 1992
FL Rep. Thomas W. Bryant (government) 1992
Dr. W. Clark Still Jr. (researcher) 1991
Wogan S. Badcock Sr. (Badcock Corp. founder) 1991
Dr. Wendell Blake (cancer research) 1991
Gordon Judy (aerospace research) 1990
Dr. Louise Cason (pediatrician and medical professor) 1990
Justice Charles Z. Smith (Washington State Supreme Court justice) 1990
Gordon Dugger (scientist) 1989
A.J. Hackl (business) 1989
Floyd E. Lay (sports and education administrator) 1989
FL Sen. Curtis Peterson (government) 1988
Dr. G. Leonard Tyler (space research) 1988
Marvin Pipkin (chemist) 1988
Dick Pope Sr. (Cypress Gardens founder) 1987
Clarence A. Boswell Sr. (lawyer) 1987
W.H. Stuart Sr. (cattle industry) 1987
Lt. Gen. William H. Fitch (U.S. Marine Corps) 1987
Floretta Dukes McKenzie (U.S. Department of Education) 1986
Marshall Holloway (physicist) 1986
Judge Roy Amidon (State Circuit Court) 1986
James A. Sweet (Scotty’s executive) 1986
John A. Vincent Atanasoff (inventor of digital computer) 1985
FL Gov. Spessard Holland (government) 1985
Gen. James A. Van Fleet (Commander U.S. 8th Army) 1985
U.S. Sen. Charles O. Andrews (government) 1985
U.S. Rep. J. Hardin Peterson Sr. (government) 1985
U.S. Sen. Park Trammell (government) 1985
FL Gov. Lawton Chiles (government) 1985
Ben Hill Griffin Jr. (citrus) 1985
