There were standing ovations Friday for longtime Great Bend resident Jean Cavanaugh and for Great Bend native Mike Goss, the two newest members of the Great Bend High School Hall of Fame.
Cavanaugh, who moved here with her husband Dr. Clair Cavanaugh in 1952, was recognized for a lifetime of community service. Goss, who was born at St. Rose Hospital in Great Bend and graduated from GBHS in 1978, was chosen for his outstanding career achievement.

Jean Cavanaugh
“Jean Cavanaugh is a woman who has influenced thousands of people in Great Bend — specifically, thousands of children,” said Mark Mingenback, who introduced the inductees. “She is a true community icon.”
Always active in the community, Cavanaugh was a charter member of the Pilot Club and served on the Great Bend USD 428 Board of Education for more than 30 years. Years ago she began volunteering at Riley Elementary School, where she would listen to children reading to her. The school has many migrant Hispanic students, and Cavanaugh built some longtime friendships as she encouraged those students to play soccer, stay in school and continue their education past high school. She has established three scholarships given annually to GBHS seniors, including one scholarship designated to minorities. The Jean Cavanaugh Soccer Complex was built in 1999 on land donated by Cavanaugh.
“I’ve been very happy in this community,” Cavanaugh said. She encouraged audience members to “keep supporting Great Bend and make our school system one of the best in the country.”

Mike Goss
“Mike Goss is a true product of Great Bend,” Mingenback said. The former student body president was a member of the debate team that won the state championship and he was the first four-year varsity letterman in GBHS history as the captain of the tennis team.
Goss graduated from Kansas State University and later attended Harvard Business School where he earned a Master of Business Administration with Distinction, indicating a top 10 percent finish in his class.
He has served as executive vice president, chief financial officer and a member of the board of directors of Playtex Products Inc., and later as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Digitas Inc. He joined Boston-based Bain Capital in 2001 and was there until he retired in 2014 to pursue personal business and philanthropic interests. However, he recently returned to the workforce with international art auctioneer Sotheby’s, where he serves as executive vice president and chief financial officer in New York City.
“Every person’s story is a mix of some smarts and hard work, chutzpa and luck,” Goss said. His upbringing in Great Bend provided all of those. “I felt like I was very well educated here,” he said. “Adult role models taught me what hard work is all about. ... I think I’m really lucky to have grown up in Great Bend.”