Below are the inductees into the Great Bend High School Hall of Fame:
2008 – Skip Yowell, Jack Kilby and John Keller
2009 – Jack Bowman, Sean Murphy, and Tim Weiser
2010 – Jenny Allford and Glenn Opie
Biography Jenny Allford http://www.gbtribune.com/section/1/article/2421/
Biography Glenn Opie GBHS Inducts two new members http://www.gbtribune.com/section/1/article/2423/
Great Bend High School has announced its inductees to the GBHS Hall of Fame for 2010, and the honors go to two individuals who made differences in the lives of those in the classroom and in the community as a whole.
This year’s class includes long-time music teacher Jenny Allford and GBHS grad, local attorney and Argonne Rebel advocate Glenn Opie. Allford was nominated by current GBHS vocal music instructor Susan Stambaugh and Opie was nominated jointly by Jim Heaton, Robert Parrish and Dr. Roger Marshall.
The induction banquet will take place Feb. 18 at the Highland Convention Center and tickets will be available at a later date. The induction ceremony will take place at the basketball game versus Dodge City that evening.
This marks the third year for the HOF. Past inductees include globe-trotting JanSport founder Skip Yowell and microchip inventor Jack Kilby.
After the nominations come in, a committee made up of administrators, teachers, School Board representatives and local residents make the final determination. Nominees must be students, teachers or community members who have made a significant contribution to community or country.
Jenny Allford
Allford graduated from Kermit High School, Kermit, Texas, in 1949. She attended East Texas State University from 1949-1951, and transferred to Texas Technological University where she received her Bachelor of Music Education degree in 1953. Allford continued her education, taking courses at Wichita State University, Fort Hays State University, Kansas State University, and Kansas University.
She began her teaching career in 1953 in Plainview, Texas, as a junior high choral music instructor. She moved to the high school the following year and continued teaching in Texas until 1969. In 1969, she accepted the vocal music position at Roosevelt Junior High School in Great Bend. She taught at Roosevelt until 1978, and then moved to Great Bend High School, where she continued to teach vocal music for 16 years, until her retirement in 1993.
"Jenny Allford has a love and passion for Great Bend High School, its students, and its traditions," Stambaugh wrote in her nomination. "She has been an inspiration to her students and colleagues throughout her teaching career and taught a love for music."
Allford has served as director of the Chancel Choir at the First United Methodist Church as well as service pianist. As an educator, she served on numerous state organizations.
Glenn Opie
Opie graduated from GBHS in 1944. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., in 1950, and his law degree from the University of Kansas in 1954. Following graduation, he served in the United States Navy during World War II. Glenn has been a lifelong resident of Great Bend.
"Glenn is perhaps best known for the work he and his wife, Sandra, did in training and managing the Argonne Rebels Drum and Bugle Corps," his nominators wrote. Nearly 1,700 boys and girls participated in this summer activity that spanned 22 years and brought crowds to Great Bend for drum and bugle crops competitions. The corps won three national championship titles in the American Legion contests in the early 1970s. The Opie’s still hear regularly from former corps members all over the country.
Opie served as the drum major for the Northwestern University Band in the Rose Bowl in 1949, and later as drum major for the University of Kansas Band, while working on his law degree at KU. He also ran on college track teams and helped coach the sport.
He has served at the state level for the Kansas Bar Association, been on the Unified School District 428 School Board in Great Bend, active in Boy Scouts and is a long-time member of the Great Bend Rotary Club.
"Glenn Opie has been a lifelong resident of Great Bend and has touched the lives of thousands of people," the wrote. He built a very successful law practice, raised a family, and stayed involved in numerous organizations, activities, and associations. "His optimism, leadership, and dedication to our youth and his service to the community over the years have been second to none. Glenn is truly one of the ‘greats’ of Great Bend."
He has also been actively involved in the effort to built the Jack Kilby memorial in front of the Barton County Courthouse.
