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Clark County Public Schools honors educators, athletes and community leaders at 2023 Hall of Fame ceremony
Summary
Clark County Public Schools inducted multiple educators, coaches, athletes and community volunteers into its 2023 Hall of Fame, recognizing contributions that include an engineer on the Artemis I launch, long-serving teachers and successful local coaches.
Clark County Public Schools honored educators, coaches, athletes and community volunteers at its 2023 Hall of Fame ceremony in Winchester, recognizing contributions to teaching, athletics and community organizing.
The ceremony highlighted inductees from multiple fields, including a STEM professional who served as a lead engineer on the Artemis I launch; long-serving teachers and coaches from George Rogers Clark High School and Clark County High School; posthumous recognition for a band leader; and community volunteers who have organized local history and youth programs.
Among those acknowledged, “Catherine” was cited for serving as the lead engineer for a space launch program and for helping facilitate the successful launch of Artemis I in November 2022. The program’s narration described her as an inspiration within the STEM community and noted her role in motivating others to pursue STEM careers.
The ceremony recounted athletic and coaching accomplishments tied to Clark County schools. Presenters noted a honoree who was a 10-time Ohio Valley Conference pitcher of the week, a three-time first-team All-OVC selection and a three-time OVC all-tournament selection; another honoree’s high-school coaching tenure from 1969 to 1978 was credited with growth and state and national recognition for both marching and concert bands. Tom Harper was introduced as a Hall of Fame inductee for his basketball career at George Rogers Clark High School; presenters said Harper averaged 25.5 points per game as a senior, led a 23-3 team, was named Mr. Kentucky basketball, played four seasons at the University of Kentucky and later had a successful high-school coaching career with multiple quarterfinal appearances and conference coach-of-the-year honors.
A posthumous induction honored a band leader who died in July 2011; the transcript notes his wife, Judy, and sons Allen and Chip Campbell accepted the award on his behalf. Another inductee, identified in the ceremony as Nancy Cheatham (presented as “Nancy Cheetah” then corrected in the narration), was described as a longtime science teacher whose former students recalled her passion for physics and biology and who introduced CPR and first-aid training into her classroom. Presenters noted she taught for decades and received local teacher-of-the-year honors.
The program also recognized Joyce (surname not specified in the transcript) for civil-rights-era activism and for founding the Winchester Black History and Heritage Committee in 2014; presenters credited her with volunteer work at the Winchester–Clark County Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Clark Foundation and alumni organizations. Ruth Thornberry was recognized for her longtime leadership of a cheerleading program with multiple state titles and national-competition appearances; the ceremony noted her daughter Jennifer Graham accepted the award.
Speakers at the event thanked Superintendent Dustin Howard and the Clark County Board of Education for creating the Hall of Fame and for supporting the ceremony.
The event focused on honoring individual contributions rather than taking policy actions; presenters repeatedly framed awards as recognition of service to Clark County schools and the broader Winchester community.
