The Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame was the brainchild of Frank Calvin. He and then-Superintendent, Louis Cardamone, formed a committee of school personnel and community leaders to develop the Warren High Schools’ Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame. Original committee members were Frank Calvin, Louis Cardamone, Rozen Patterson (Lymor), the late Frank Bubba, Audrey Freeman, Scott Lehman, Myrtle Angel, the late Augusta Barrick, Martha Ellers and Suzanne Fowley. The first induction banquet was held in 1993.

2023-2024 News & Updates

March 22, 2024

Reserve your seat for the Warren High Schools’ Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame 32nd Annual Awards Dinner

The Board of Directors of the Warren City Schools Foundation and the Committee of the Warren High Schools’ Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame 32nd Annual Awards Dinner will be held Saturday, April 27, 2024. 

Reservations are due by April 5, 2024. To attend, please download the RESERVATION FORM. 

Warren G. Harding High School

860 Elm Road, NE

Warren, Ohio

 

5:00 – 6:30 P.M. – High School Tours and Social Hour

6:30 Dinner

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RESERVATION FORM

 

Yes! I would like to attend the Alumni Hall of Fame Dinner on April 27, 2024.

 

Please indicate the total number of reservations needed: ________________ (Cost is $30.00 per person.)

 

Please make checks payable to: Warren City Schools Foundation.

 

Deadline for reservations is April 5, 2024.

 

 

September 14, 2023

Warren High Schools’ Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame Accepting Nominations for the Class of 2024

WARREN – The Warren City Schools Foundation’s Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame committee is currently accepting nominations for the Class of 2024. 

“Outstanding graduates” will be inducted during the 32nd Annual Ceremony in Spring 2024.

Honorees are those graduates who have made significant contributions in their fields, as well as society, the state or on a global scale. A nominee must be a graduate of one the three Warren public high schools: Warren High School, Warren G. Harding High School or Warren Western Reserve High School. 

The first class of the Hall of Fame was inducted on May 14, 1993.

Anyone who knows a well-qualified or deserving graduate who has been out of high school for at least 12 years can fill out a nomination form.

Nomination forms are available at the Board of Education Office. Or, you may download a nomination form through this link: WCS’ DHOF 2022 Nomination Form.  

Nominations should be mailed to Alumni Hall of Fame, 105 High Street NE, Warren, Ohio 44481. The deadline for nominations is November 1, 2023.

2022-2023 NEWS & UPDATES

WCS’ Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame 2023 Program 

WCS’ Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame 2023 Yearbook 

If you are a WCS’ Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame member and would like to update your biographical information, please email warrenschools.pr@warrencityschools.org  

May 8, 2023

The Board of Directors of the Warren City Schools’ Foundation and the Committee of The Warren High School’s Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame inducted seven new members into the Class of 2023 during the 31st Annual Awards Dinner Saturday, May 6, 2023, at Warren G. Harding High School.

The new members are Jill Christein-Merolla (WGH Class of 1983); Shawn Cupples (WGH Class of 1983); Kenneth Davis  (WGH Class of 2004); Atty. Stanley A. Elkins (WWR Class of 1977); Joseph Kotwis (WGH Class of 1984); Wendy Marvin (WGH Class of 1980); and Kirk Stiffler, MD, MPH  (WWR Class of 1988).

Stiffler and Marvin were not able to attend. However, Stiffler’s father, Wayne, shown in the inductee group photograph, accepted his award for him. Marvin’s award also was accepted on her behalf.

The purpose of the award is to honor those individuals who, through their performance and achievements, reflect credit on the Warren High Schools (Warren High School, Warren G. Harding, and Warren Western Reserve), so that today’s students may find inspiration from the past and establish goals for the future.

Beverly A. Barile, who worked for Warren City Schools for 16 years teaching English at West Junior High School, Warren G. Harding High School and Harry B. Turner Seventh Grade School, was also recognized as this year’s Distinguished Faculty member.

 

About the 2023 inductees:

  • Jill Christein-Merolla (WGH Class of 1983), Warren, OHJill Christein-Merolla completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Education in 1987 and her Master’s Degree in Education Administration in 1992, both from Youngstown State University. In 1987, she joined the Warren City Schools as an elementary teacher at McKinley, Horace Mann, Roosevelt, and Dickey Avenue Schools. She was awarded the A+ Teacher Award by the Tribune Chronicle in 1992. In 1997, Jill advanced into administration as a middle school principal at Turner, and an elementary principal at Secrest, McGuffey K-4 and McGuffey K-2 at the Emerson Building. In 2010, Jill transitioned to central office leadership as Supervisor of Community Outreach and Grant Development where she led two major national initiatives in Warren with CASEL, Collaborative for Academic Social Emotional Learning with former U.S. Congressman Tim Ryan and worked collaboratively with SMARTS (Students Motivated by the Arts) to make Warren City Schools an Any Given Child school district, one of 25 with the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center in Washington, D.C.
  • Shawn Cupples (WGH Class of 1983), Scottsdale, AZAfter graduating from Warren G. Harding in 1983, Shawn Cupples attended Thiel College where he was a four year letterman on the football team, member of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity, and served in the United State Marine Corps reserve. After earning a degree in Accounting and Business Administration, he accepted a position at Deloitte Touche in the Audit and Assurance department working as a Certified Public Accountant. In 1994 he accepted a finance position with General Nutrition Corporation and was transferred to the United Kingdom. In 2001, he returned to the United States and worked with GNC in various roles including Vice President of Internal Audit and Vice President of International Business Development. He currently resides in Scottsdale Arizona and is the Financial Controller for Paddy O’ Furniture. He has been involved with several charitable and social justice organizations including the Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and the Keystone Progress Education Fund.
  • Kenneth Davis  (WGH Class of 2004), Bourbonnais, Ill.  Kenneth Davis is father to Ethan (6) and Kennedy Davis (4) and husband to Brittney Davis. Kenneth is owner of Grow Pro Genetics LLC and Account Manager at Syngenta Seed, KWS Cereals USA and Bayer Crop Science. He graduated from The Ohio State University, Agribusiness and Applied Economics with a Bachelor’s degree and received his Master’s degree from Iowa State University, Seed Science and Technology.  Ken is a YMCA Youth Sports Coach and Morning Star Baptist Church Men’s Ministry Leader during his free time. Kenneth is also a recipient of The Ohio State University CFAES Young Professional Award.
  • Atty. Stanley A. Elkins (WWR Class of 1977), Newton Falls, Ohio Atty. Stanley A. Elkins attended Defiance College and graduated with a degree in both Criminal Justice and Psychology.  He obtained his Juris Doctorate from the University of Akron, School of Law in 1984.  Mr. Elkins was admitted to practice law in Ohio in May of 1985.  He has served as a prosecutor for both the City of Warren and Trumbull County.  Attorney Elkins currently serves as Chief Prosecutor of the Juvenile Division of the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office. Stanley has been a member of Second Baptist Church for over fifty years, where he serves as an Usher and Trustee.
  • Joseph Kotwis (WGH Class of 1984), Canal Winchester, OhioJoe Kotwis attended Clemson University and graduated in 1988 with a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering. After two years with International Paper in South Carolina, he enrolled at North Carolina State and earned a Masters in Management graduating in 1992, while designing part time in Research Triangle Park. Joe married and moved to Iowa in 1992 for a 31-year career with Dupont. He transferred to West Virginia 2000 and then to Ohio 2006. Joe consulted across most films and laminates businesses in Dupont as well as external cell phone and aerospace customers. He was promoted to Technology Fellow in 2018 and retired in 2023, to pursue a manufacturing engineering consulting business.
  • Wendy Marvin (WGH Class of 1980), Warren, OH Wendy Marvin was born in Kimbrough Army Hospital in Fort Meade, Maryland. She arrived in Warren, Ohio at the ripe old age of 3 days. Her mother always told her this was the beginning of her wanderlust. Attending Laird Avenue Elementary, East Junior High and Warren G. Harding High School, Wendy went on to attend Kent State University where she spent eight years dabbling in this and that. She eventually became a medical assistant and never spent a day working in the field because working at the Trumbull YMCA not-for-profit sector while going to school was a job she loved. Wendy spent 34 years there before deciding to leave and move abroad. She received a teaching certification from the University of Miami of Florida for Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and this was the start of her life abroad, first moving to Paris, France, followed by China, Bali and her current home, Warsaw, Poland. It has afforded her the opportunity to travel to 42 countries of the world and she has never looked back.
  • Kirk Stiffler, MD, MPH  (WWR Class of 1988), Hudson, OhioKirk Stiffler enrolled in the combined BS/MD program at the Northeastern Ohio University College of Medicine, earning his Bachelor’s Degree at Kent State University and graduating NEOUCOM (now known as NEOMED) with his M.D. in 1994. The following three years were spent in the Emergency Medicine residency program at Summa Health System in Akron, Ohio. Afterwards, Kirk joined Summa Health System as an attending emergency medicine physician at the training program. He was awarded teacher of the year by the residents in 1999; soon began to perform clinical research; and eventually served as director of clinical research for emergency medicine. During much of that time, he also chaired the Institutional Review Board (IRB) ensuring patient safety for those participating in clinical research trials at the institution.  During that time, he completed his Masters of Public Health at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, was promoted to Professor of Emergency Medicine at NEOMED, and has published multiple peer reviewed research papers. After nearly two decades at Summa Health System, Kirk accepted a new role as Director of Emergency Medicine at University Hospitals Ahuja Medical system in Beechwood, Ohio during the late summer of 2017. In 2020, Kirk was instrumental in helping Ahuja’s Emergency Department navigate the coronavirus pandemic. Kirk has served as the Chairman of Ahuja’s Department of Medicine, and is currently serving as the President of the Medical staff. Throughout his career, Kirk manages to support various philanthropic organizations and is a dedicated father, son, and husband.