Excerpt from the September 2020 Legacy Ledger (Issue 1):
This column is intended to share with you some of the great NAHS and FCHS alumni and their contributions to our community, our nation and the world. Both high schools have honored special graduates in their respective Alumni Halls of Fame. As you read these profiles, you may think of schoolmates, who ought to be nominated for induction into the Hall of Fame at either school. Some have achieved great success in business and industry, some have been educators. There are those who served our nation, others who are healers or entertainers.
Some have served in public office; some have created companies. There are some who are no longer with us, and in future issues of this newsletter, we might share some of their stories. Taken altogether, they make up a broad cross-section of all the reasons that we are proud to be Bulldogs and Highlanders. In each newsletter, we want you to meet… or let us re-introduce you to… some special people whose education began with the New Albany-Floyd County School system.
Sherri earned her bachelor’s degree in Professional Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. She is also licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration in Air Traffic control, as an Airline Dispatcher and a pilot. Her naval career began with active duty as a facility-rated air traffic controller in Alaska, and later in Nevada. In 2003, she served the Amphibious Construction Battalion One at Camp Patriot in Kuwait. Four years later, she was deployed to Forward Operating Base Ripley in Afghanistan, most notably becoming the first female enlisted sailor to fly the UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) Tigershark platform supporting Special Operations Forces in the region. Since her retirement from the U.S. Navy, Sherri has been a leader at UPS Airlines, initially in flight control management, and more recently contributing to innovative uses of small unmanned aircraft (drones) for civilian use.
We asked Sherri, “How did your time at Floyd Central High School help you to pursue your career?” She answered, “My years at Floyd Central instilled in me the belief that I could do anything, preparing me for my education in aeronautics and nearly 30 years in the U.S. Navy.”
Jim earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at Indiana University and returned to Kentuckiana, reporting for newspapers in Jeffersonville and Louisville. He transitioned to the corporate world, as a PR professional for the Ford Motor Company and, later, in the shipbuilding industry. Returning to Ford in 1984, he began building a 24-year leadership career in corporate communications, including marketing campaigns for the Mustang and the F-150 pickup truck series. After a one year hiatus at Mazda in Hiroshima (2000-2001), he became global executive director of public affairs at Ford and founded the Ford Volunteer Corps, providing disaster relief efforts throughout Asia and the Americas. In 2006, Jim returned to Bloomington, joining the faculty at the former IU School of Journalism, teaching for four years. In retirement he has been deeply dedicated to Rotary International, including the creation of the Rotary District Global Scholarship. He was recognized as one of the IU Media School’s Distinguished Alumni in 2019.
We asked Jim, “How did your time at NAHS prepare you for your career?” He answered “At NAHS I was sports editor of our school newspaper, reporter for WNAS radio, and consul (president) of Junior Classical League (Latin club). Renowned Latin Teacher Alice Ranck was a terrific mentor and helped me realize that we live in an amazing world with unlimited possibilities. She saw in me what I didn’t see in myself. If you see a turtle on top of a fence post, you know that turtle didn’t get there by itself. Alice Ranck and other NAHS faculty and friends put me on that proverbial fence post.”
Read the entire September 2020 Legacy Ledger (Issue1):