This fall, San Marino will recognize SMHS graduates or former San Marino-area schools’ students as inaugural members of the San Marino Alumni Hall of Fame.
The selected honorees, high school graduates or students who have attended a San Marino school for five or more years, and have achieved significant professional, duty or community service recognitions.
This idea was inspired by Burt Kanner, an SMHS math teacher and water polo/swimming coach from 1969 to 1992, who was recently inducted into the Los Angeles Unified School District Hall of Fame. Following that recognition, he became curious if San Marino honored its own distinguished graduates. Finding that San Marino had no such recognition, and personally knowing about the many accomplished alumni he had taught, he shared the idea with some of his former students and athletes and the Hall of Fame came to fruition.
The Hall of Fame Committee includes Sri Abboy (Class of 1990), Avery Bayle Barth (’78), Yvonne Cheng (’90), Debi Mann Cribbs (’88), Andrew Crowell (’83), Jon Crowley (’80), Alex Kim (’92), Laurie Dryden Modean (’78), Fred Sohl (’78), Jeff Stroud (’79), Bill Ukropina (’74) and Bill Youngblood (’74). Burt Kanner serves as founder emeritus and adviser to the committee, along with advisers Nick Curry (’61) and Melanie Nagahiro (’80).
Nominations are currently being accepted. To encompass the widest range of nominees of all eras, the San Marino Hall of Fame is seeking alumni of outstanding excellence from SMHS, the South Pasadena/San Marino High School, or public schools serving San Marino students before the founding of the school district. Accomplishments will be recognized in, but not limited to, the arts, athletics, business, education, health care, jurisprudence, literature, journalism, military, law enforcement, community service, science and technology.
Nominees need to have graduated from SMHS or South Pasadena/San Marino High School, or attended schools in the district for five years, and have graduated from high school at least 10 years ago.
Exceptions for postgraduation and residency criteria will be made for military or civilian acts of heroism, courage or bravery resulting in the saving or protecting of human life.
The committee invites the community to participate in this effort by recommending nominees.
To receive a nomination form, email a request to sanmarinohalloffame@gmail.com.
Applications will be accepted until April 30, after which a nomination review committee will determine the final candidates for this fall’s installation ceremony. Nominees not selected this year will be eligible in the future.
Tickets will be available to attend the fall celebration. For further questions or to get involved with the Hall of Fame, email sanmarinohalloffame@gmail.com or call (626) 399-2024.
First published in the April 11 issue of the San Marino Tribune
