Dick Bodwell is the recipient of the first Chagrin Falls Alumni Association Community Service Award. Dick graduated in 1955 and married his high school sweetheart, Pudge Fischer ’56. They have been married 48 years. After entering the insurance business and living in Chicago, Detroit, Albuquerque and Houston, Dick and Pudge decided that they would like to raise their family in Chagrin Falls. Together they have three children: Brad *78, Beth ’81 and Greg’83. Since their return in 1970, Dick has given his time to many groups in the Chagrin Valley including: working with youth as a coach and umpire through the Chagrin Athletic Association, serving our schools and athletic programs as a Board member of the Chagrin Falls Booster Club and member of the CFHS Advisory Committee, service to his church as a Sunday School Teacher, Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Good News Jail and Prison Ministry at the Geauga County Jail, and as a councilperson, Village Council President, and then Mayor. For the last two years he has been the Parade Marshall of the annual Memorial Day Service that takes place at Evergreen Cemetery. Dick’s service to the community has been recognized in the past as he has been the recipient of the Kemper’s President’s Club Cup in 1979, John Alden’s Top Hat Award in 1990, and the Chagrin Valley Jaycee’s Distinguished Service Award in 1992. Dick also enjoys playing golf. He and Pudge spend their free time traveling, collecting antiques and spending time with their five grandchildren-all boys!

Doug Baker’s career in the performing arts began in his senior year when he was director of the Orange and Black Review. Early in his chosen vocation he was manager of numerous Broadway productions in New York City. Presently, Doug is in his 14th season as general manager of Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles. It is one of the largest and most active theatre companies in the nation. CTG stages programming year round at the 750-seat Mark Taper Forum and the 2000-seat Ahmanson Theatre at the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County. Attendance exceeds 800,000 people a year. He is on the Board of Governors of the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers and has been a guest lecturer at the Yale School of Drama and California State University. Doug was a founding trustee of Musical Theatre Works, a non-profit theatre based in New York City. He has worked closely with such stars as Carol Channing, Mary Martin, Yule Brynner, Mickey Rooney, Ed Asner, Carol Burnett and many others.

John Church has used his Chagrin Falls High School education to make a contribution in the education world. His 35-year career includes experience as a middle school teacher, assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent. He recently retired after eleven years as Superintendent of the Polaris Career Center in Middleburg Heights, Ohio. The Career Center’s purpose is to provide career-based education to approximately 800 high school and 18,000 adult students. He has served as an officer of the Ohio Joint Vocational School Association and many other Ohio and national educational organizations, including: The Association of Supervisors and Curriculum Directors, The Ohio Career-Technical Association, The National Career-Technical Association, The Buckeye Association of School Administrators, The Ohio School Boards Association and The National School Boards Association. Involved in his community, he is a member of the Quality Community Partnership and Southwest Arts Council Executive Board.

David Boardman has enjoyed a distinguished career as an investigative reporter and newspaper editor. Employed by the Seattle Times since 1983, he is currently Assistant Managing Editor. Stories and projects which he has directed have won many national prizes and awards, including Pulitzer Prizes in 1990 and in 1997. The first was in National Reporting, for coverage of the Exxon Valdez oil spill and its aftermath. The second prize was in Investigative Reporting, for an exposé of fraudulent practices in the federal tribal-housing program. He has been a Pulitzer finalist on three other occasions. Last year, he won the Associated Press Managing Editors’ Public Service Award. David is a graduate of Northwestern University and the University of Washington.

Linda Bartlett Hobgood’s skills of communication have enabled her to enjoy a successful career that has included vast experiences in politics. She is currently an instructor and director of The Speech Center at the University of Richmond in Virginia. She supervises individual and group practice for oral presentations and also teaches classes, including Theory and Pedagogy. She has made many presentations on public speaking and served as a campaign manager, political consultant and speechwriter for several political candidates. Linda was graduated from the University of Virginia in 1975 with a B.A., with distinction, in history. In 1976 she earned an M.A. in speech communication. During the Nixon administration, she was a White House intern and Staff Assistant to the Office of the First Lady.

Gregg Albers excelled as a student and athlete at Chagrin Falls High School. Today, he is a highly accomplished physician in Lynchburg, Virginia. He is the founder of Light Medical, Inc., a group of medical professionals providing care to the entire family. Dr. Albers is also the Medical Director of Pathways, a drug and alcohol treatment program in Lynchburg. He has written four books and authored numerous articles and reviews. Named to Who’s Who in Health Care/ Medicine in 1998, he can be heard on Health Journal, a weekly radio program aired on more than 700 stations.

The “class clown” at Chagrin Falls High School came to be known as a “comic genius” in Hollywood. Tim Conway has achieved monumental success in motion pictures, television, and on stage. His work in television has earned him five Emmy Awards, including four on The Carol Burnett Show. He also won an Emmy for his guest appearance on Coach in 1997. Among Tim’s movie credits are The Billion Dollar Hobo, The Prize Fighter, The World’s Greatest Athlete, and The Apple Dumpling Gang. His stage career includes 182 appearances as Felix in The Odd Couple. He earned a Cleo Award for his work in TV advertising spots for Chase Manhattan Bank. In 1989, he received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Long-time residents may recall Tim’s references to Chagrin Falls during episodes of McHale’s Navy in the 1960’s

Co-Valedictorian of her class, Kathy remembers Dale Richmond’s Senior Government Day as one of her most influential experiences at Chagrin Falls High School. She became active in student government at Hiram College, where she became the first female senator elected. Enroute to an M.S. degree in special education from Eastern Montana College in 1980 and an Ed.D. in adult and higher education from Montana State University in 1993, Dr. Kelker has influenced thousands of families. She is Executive Director and Co-Founder of Parents, Let’s Unite For Kids (PLUK), a parent training and information center which, since 1984, has imparted information about assistive technology to consumers and professionals in the education, rehabilitation and medical fields. Kathy is the author of Taking Charge: A Handbook for Parents of Children with Emotional Handicaps. She has received several awards for her work, including the Development Disabilities Service Award for her significant contributions to the quality of life for the disabled citizens of her state, and the Professional of the Year Award from the Montana Chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children.

Mexico City is a long way from Chagrin Falls Village, but one of this capital city’s residents has not forgotten the dedication and commitment of his former teachers in Chagrin Falls Schools. In 1994, Lee Crawford was awarded the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest honor that the Mexican Federal Government bestows upon foreign individuals. He was the first U.S. citizen to receive the award since 1936. For ten years, he was director of Packard Electric’s Mexico West Operations. Lee was lauded for his efforts with the people, the environment, and the community. He serves on the board of directors for the United Way of Mexico, and in 1994 was named “International Man of the Year” by United Way. He is currently in charge of the Delphi Components Group of General Motors in Mexico, which includes 48 manufacturing facilities, employing more than 65,000 people. He began his GM career at Packard Electric following graduation from Kent State University, where he studied architecture and Pre-law. Formerly a resident of El Paso, Texas, Lee recently moved to Mexico City.

A student of deep and varied interests, Don Bullock’s list of achievements stretch from the halls of Chagrin Falls High School to the far reaches of outer space. While still a student at CFHS, he visited the United Nations with the Junior Council on World Affairs, being among the first group from the United States to visit the Soviet Legation Headquarters. An early fascination with chemistry and his love of the great outdoors, steered him to the forestry program at Michigan Technological University, where he earned a degree in physics in 1957. By 1963, he had acquired an M.S. in Applied Physics and Ph.D. in Physics, both from UCLA. Currently, Don is Chief Scientist for Lasers and Optics in the Space and Defense Sector of TRW, Inc. He has been with TRW since 1961. His innovative, technical accomplishments have served to advance our country’s defense and space programs. In 1972, he independently designed the optical resonator for the first high-power chemical laser, the Baseline Demonstration Laser (BDL). He has 16 publications and several patents. In 1989, Don was awarded the TRW Chairman’s Award for Innovation, recognizing his performance enhancing contributions, and laser weapon systems. In 1990, he was elected to TRW’s Space and Defense Technical Fellows Program.