Diverse group of inductees to Comet Hall of Fame

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

Homecoming Week is a time to celebrate the present, look toward the future and honor the past.

That last part — honor the past — will culminate on Saturday morning at the Comet Hall of Fame Brunch at the Elks Lodge in Charles City, when the latest inductees to the Comet Hall of Fame will be presented.

2018 Comet Hall of Fame Inductees are Tye Darland, Cathy Darland, Nathan Dishman, Al Hastings, Marilee Monroe and Jerry Newton.

The event Saturday will begin at 10 a.m. Those interested in attending should purchase tickets at local banks, the Charles City High School, and Charles City Community School District Central Office.

Sara Stewart of the Charles City Community Excellence in Education Foundation said this year’s hall of fame class is a diverse group, both in age range and in the variety of accomplishments of each inductee.

“It’s an excellent representation of people who have done outstanding things in our community, and people who received an education here and have gone on to do excellent work around the country,” she said. “We’re just honored to have them.”

The honor, presented since 2012 by the Charles City Community Excellence in Education Foundation, was created to recognize and honor distinguished alumni, or contributors, who have brought honor to the Charles City Community School District through their achievements in academics, activities, athletics and performing arts.

“The Charles City Excellence in Education Foundation, the booster club and the performing arts committee are all pleased and excited with this year’s selection of hall of fame inductees,“ Stewart said. “This group shows how Charles City provides a wonderful foundation for achievement and for a variety of community endeavors.”

The brunch will also include a Master of Sports recognition and Master of Performing Arts recognition.

The 2018 Master of Sports honorees will be presented by Larry Wolfe, high school associate principal. The sports award is given to graduates who earned five letters or more in three sports during high school.

This year’s sports honorees are Theo Arndt, Tyreque Baker, Carter Klatt, Cade Hemesath, Branycia Mitchell, Payton Reams, Noah Schlader, Tayler Schmidt and Tre Walker.

The 2018 Master of Performing Arts honorees will be presented by high school vocal director Derek Sturtevant. The performing arts award is given to graduates who earned six letters or more in two performing arts groups during high school.

This year’s performing arts honorees are Ashlyn Bauer, Hana Koenigsfeld, Derek LaBarge, Nicole Loftus, John Perez, Matt Thompson, Carter West, Mackenzie Wilson and Ryan Wolfe.

The high school vocal music group Rhymes With Orange will perform at the event and closing remarks will be given by Charles City Superintendent Mike Fisher.

THE 2018 COMET HALL OF FAME CLASS

(Information supplied by the Excellence in Education Foundation.)

Tye and Cathy Darland

Tye and Cathy Darland both graduated from Charles City Community High School in 1982 and continued their educations at the University of Iowa. In 1986, Cathy obtained her bachelor’s degree in finance and sought employment to support Tye while he studied at the University of Iowa Law School. Tye graduated law school with high distinction in 1989, and together, the couple made Kansas City their home.

Tye began his career with a Kansas City law firm. After four years, Koch Industries in Wichita, Kansas, recruited Tye, where he served for 12½ years as the main mergers and acquisitions attorney, eventually becoming the general counsel for Koch Industries.

In 2005, after Koch’s purchase of Georgia-Pacific, the Darlands relocated to Atlanta where Tye currently serves as the general counsel of Georgia-Pacific and leads a team of more than 55 attorneys. Tye was recently recognized as a Legend of the Law at the Burton Awards at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

Tye and Cathy said they are appreciative of the education they received at the Charles City Community School District. While they did not have the best equipment or a broad curriculum, they both recall dedicated and experienced teachers and administrators who gave them the confidence and courage to be the best people they could be and prepared them exceptionally well for life.

The Darlands believe it is their Charles City heritage that stressed the importance of being connected to their community; and therefore, they are passionate about serving others and their community in various ways.

Cathy was a frequent volunteer in their children’s schools and Junior League. She currently serves on the parent board for Georgia Tech Institute of Technology and serves as an advocate for sex trafficking awareness and prevention.

Tye currently serves on the board of directors and executive committee of Piedmont Healthcare, the Atlanta Police Foundation and Zoo Atlanta. Former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue appointed him to be on the Judicial Nominating Commission for the state of Georgia and serves of the Board of Visitors for the Georgia State Law School.

As philanthropists, Tye has been involved in capital campaigns for the Atlanta Police Foundation and the Atlanta Legal Aid Society; and together, the couple has endowed collegiate scholarships at the University of Iowa, Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt totaling more than $1 million dollars.

Tye and Cathy have been married for 34 years. Together, they have three children, David (Julia), Ben and Christina.

Nathan Dishman

Nathan Dishman graduated from Charles City High School in 1999. In 2003, he obtained a Bachelor of Music in education with a jazz emphasis from the University of Northern Iowa. He furthered his education and was awarded the Master of Music (2005) and Doctor of Musical Arts (2008) degrees in performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance.

Nathan credits his passion and love for music to the opportunities available to him as a Charles City Comet, including countless district, state and invitational competitions for marching band, jazz band and concert band. Furthermore, he acknowledges the support from the teachers and faculty throughout his education that pushed him to achieve more.

Nathan’s performance highlights include being selected two times as  one of six international tenor trombone participants selected by Joseph Alessi, principal trombone of the New York Philharmonic, to take part in the prestigious Alessi Seminar in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

He has also played with the Charlottesville Symphony, Des Moines Symphony, West Virginia Symphony, Cave Run Symphony and the DiMartino-Osland Big Band. Internationally, Nathan has also performed in Switzerland, Paris and Amsterdam and was recently a soloist in Brazil with the Amazonas Philharmonic in Manaus and for the Brazilian Trombone Festival in Joao Pessoa.

Nathan recently returned to Iowa as an assistant professor of trombone at Iowa State University. Prior to this, he had taught in higher education at the University of Virginia and Morehead State University in Kentucky.

In 2008, he published his book, “A Guide to Daily Maintenance for Trombone,” which is a unique resource that integrates Audacity technology, daily exercises and information collected from renowned performers and pedagogues. This past year, he also released his debut solo CD entitled “Conversations.”

As a community member, Nathan is passionate about creating outreach events and projects to help music reach individuals of all ages. While in Morehead, Kentucky, he developed the program Meet the Instruments, designed to expose second- through fifth-grade students with band and orchestra instruments.

He also provided many solo performances with high school bands to raise funds for students’ private music lessons. He hopes to continue similar outreach opportunities in his new community.

Nathan and his wife, Jennifer, will celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary in December. Together, they have two children, Kaydence and Hudson, along with two dogs, Noel and Bella.

Al Hastings

Al Hastings graduated from Manly High School in 1965 and obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in secondary mathematics with minors in physics and physical education in 1970 from Dakota Wesleyan University.

He later went on to complete a Master of Science in computers at Northwest Missouri State University and subsequently completed an additional 40 graduate hours in computer classes at several universities.

Since a young age, Al was a man of God, which impacted his life tremendously. He made sure he set a strong example with unwavering principles. He used his faith as a foundation to teach students to stand up for what they believed in and persevere when challenges arose. His faith fueled his passion for teaching and coaching young people.

His career began in Mount Vernon, South Dakota, as a secondary math teacher. After moving to Iowa, he taught and coached football in North Springs-Rock Falls and Turkey Valley prior to becoming a Comet in 1980.

During his 25-year Charles City tenure, he served in a variety of roles including a math and computer teacher, football assistant coach, track assistant coach and technology coordinator.

After he retired from the public-school system, he taught computers at Immaculate Conception School and served as a volunteer teacher at Gospel Lighthouse Academy in Floyd for 11 years.

Al had many rewarding experiences in connection to Charles City Community School District. He enjoyed working with many great mentors, including high school football coaches, teachers, students and community members, whom he valued and learned from every day.

Most notably, Al enjoyed serving as the district’s technology coordinator and establishing the district’s technology infrastructure. His leadership and passion for technology allowed him to create a system in which technology would be accessible by all students, faculty and staff.

In addition to teaching and coaching, Al served on the Charles City Broadband Committee, was the wide area network administrator for the Charles City School District and the city of Charles City, and was a board member of Iowa Teachers Education Council.

Al and his wife Sherril also owned the Hart Motel in Charles City from 1977-1987.

Al married his high school sweetheart, Sherril, and they shared 51 years of marriage before his death in 2017. Together, they have two daughters, Mary Jensen and Melissa (Robert) Romero, and four grandchildren.

Marilee Monroe
Marilee Monroe graduated from Colwell High School in 1951. As a student, she developed a deep admiration for teachers, leading her to serve as an instructional assistant for five years at the Charles City Community Junior High School. In this role, she worked with the social studies and English departments and supervised students during lunch and study hall.

In 1974, Marilee was elected as the Floyd County recorder. As recorder, she was a devoted servant to her constituents and served as president of Iowa State Records’ Association from 1988 to 1990.  In 1996, she was elected president of Iowa State Association of Counties. Two years later, Marilee retired from the Floyd County’s Recorder’s Office after 24 years of service.

Marilee’s deep commitment to Charles City and the city’s youth is illustrated by decades of collaboration with teachers to bring community and history into the classroom.

Developing activities such as Iowa Caucus simulations, third-grade bus tours of Charles City and history lessons of Floyd County, Marilee is eager to share her love of her community.

She counts herself fortunate to witness firsthand the quality of education Charles City students receive. In addition, she describes her work with students as one of her most rewarding experiences and enjoys reminiscing and reading countless thank-you notes received from students throughout the years.

As the 1990 Charles City Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year and the 2016-2017 Lincoln Elementary Volunteer of the Year, Marilee is no stranger to Charles City’s youth and adults.

She is passionate about serving her community, which is noted in her commitments to numerous organizations throughout the years. Marilee has been involved with the Salvation Army for 40 years and provides leadership for the Red Kettle Campaign. She is also involved with Iowa Big North and a drug recovery program called So Far — Sober for a Reason. In addition, Marilee volunteers at the Charles Theater, the Rockford Fossil Park and the Floyd County Museum.

Marilee married Ernest “Bud” Monroe in 1953. After 50 years of marriage, Bud died in 2003. Together, they have four children, Mitchell (Anne), Julie (Bill) Fee, Mark and Malinda (Wes) Quinn, seven grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.

Jerry Newton
Jerry Newton attended Rudd School District until the completion of his junior year, when he moved and graduated from Greene High School in 1957.  After graduation, he spent the next six months on active duty with the Army Reserves.

In 1961, he obtained his bachelor’s degree in physical education from the University of Northern Iowa and returned to active duty until he was discharged in 1962.

He was hired by Fredericksburg Community School District and taught biology, driver’s education and physical education, while also coaching baseball and girls’ basketball. He also served as the district’s athletic director for the last 10 years of his Fredericksburg tenure.

In 1973, he earned his Master of Arts degree in health and physical education and was hired as a Charles City Comet, teaching middle school life science and earth science courses until health education was added to the curriculum. He remained in this position until his retirement in 1999.

During his 25-year tenure as a Comet, Jerry served as the girls’ basketball coach for 22 seasons and the softball coach for 13 fall seasons and 26 summer seasons. He coached basketball teams that won 7 conference titles, made three state tournament appearances, and ended his career with a 307-166 record in Charles City.

As softball coach, his teams won or tied for 21 conference titles in 24 years, made 17 summer state tournament appearances, made five fall tournament appearances, and ended up with a 1051-191 record in Charles City. His combined career wins as a coach from Fredericksburg and Charles City was 501-247 in basketball and 1070-217 in softball.

Jerry’s success in coaching has earned him recognition at both the state and national level. He is a member of the Iowa Softball Coaches Hall of Fame (1991), Iowa Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame (1994), and the National Softball Coaches Hall of Fame (2009).

In addition, in 1998, he was named the National Softball Coach of the Year and in 2005, awarded the Golden Plaque of Distinction by the Iowa Girls’ High School Athletic Union.

As a member of the Charles City community, Jerry shares his passion for athletics by officiating several cross-country and track events every year. In addition, he is a member of the Comet Booster Club, Elks Lodge, Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited and the Izaak Walton League. He also enjoys watching a variety of Comet athletics and activities.

Jerry and his wife, Joyce, have been married for 55 years. Together, they have two children, Jeff (Angie), Jolyn (Mike) Dailey, and four grandchildren.