Hundreds of Kirkwood’s most prominent citizens, including lawyers, politicians and television personalities flocked to KHS Saturday night for the first Kirkwood School District Alumni Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The evening included refreshments, photos and speeches and left many of the attendees feeling more than proud to be a part of the KSD community.

“[The inductees] are the people that we will look to and say, here’s what we value at Kirkwood High School,” Dr. David Holley, KHS principal, said in his speech to the audience. “We try to live values and model values. We want people to looks to us and say, this is who I want to be. Hall of Fame inductees, thank you.”

Inductees were selected through a “long and arduous” process, said Jim Velten, director of development. Over 63 nominations were submitted and eventually 24 of those were chosen to be inducted. Two individuals received the Pioneer Award, developed in order to recognize those who made great contributions to KSD but may not have attended the schools.

The evening started out in the Walker Commons, where Velten unveiled plaques bearing the names of each individual before inviting the attendees into Keating Theater for the ceremony. Each recipient was presented with their award before being escorted across the stage by a KHS student, and if the award was given posthumously or the recipient could not attend, a representative accepted in his place.

In their speeches, the recipients credited KHS and their experiences with the district in helping them get far in life.

“This is an appropriate time to give thanks to the staff, administrators and teachers for all they have done in the past, present and future. Kirkwood is in the best of hands,” Gary Schmidt, class of 1965 recipient, said.

Inductees also recounted memories of their time at KHS. Both Earl and Myrtle Walker, well-known around Kirkwood for their donations to the community, received the award. Earl told the story of meeting Myrtle in biology class at KHS and thanked the district for giving them the chance to succeed in life.

The night followed the theme of appreciation for Kirkwood and the school district.

“Each year I’ve seen Kirkwood get better and better,” Herb Jones, class of 1951 recipient, said. “That doesn’t happen by accident.”

For a complete list of recipients and their biographies, click here.