Six inducted into 2018 Comet Hall of Fame Saturday

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

When you put in 25 years of coaching at Charles City, there are bound to be some stories.

And Jerry Newton is a guy who knows how to tell them.

Newton was one of six inductees into the 2018 Comet Hall of Fame. The ceremonies, which wrapped up homecoming week, were held Saturday morning at the Comet Hall of Fame Brunch at the Elks Lodge in Charles City.

Other 2018 Comet Hall of Fame Inductees honored Saturday were Tye Darland, Cathy Darland, Nathan Dishman, Al Hastings and Marilee Monroe.

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.

Newton, a retired Charles City softball and basketball coach who founded the programs at Charles City, shared several stories from his coaching days.

“Oh boy, do we have lots of memories,” he said. “They come up all the time.”

Newton joked about all the time he spent over the years at the girls state softball tournament.

“Going to 17 state tournaments sounds great — and it is great — but keep in mind, that means that I’ve spent a total of four months, in the summer, living in a hot dormitory in Fort Dodge,” Newton said. “That’s four months of my life I’ll never get back.”

The laughs were plentiful, but Newton was also serious at times and grateful for the award.

“Anyone who knows anything about coaches knows you can’t do it by yourself, you certainly can’t do it without your family,” he said.

Sherril Hastings accepted the award on behalf of her late husband, Al.

“Al would’ve been honored and greatly humbled,” she said. “If you know him, you know that this award is well-deserved. I can say that, because I was his wife for over 50 years.”

During his 25 years at Charles City, Hastings served in a variety of roles, including as a math and computer teacher, football assistant coach, track assistant coach and technology coordinator.

“On behalf of my family, we would like to all thank the Charles City Excellence in Education Foundation for putting this all together and honoring these members,” Sherril Hastings said. “It’s a great thing that you’re doing and I hope you continue.”

Tye Darland’s brother, Todd, accepted the award on behalf of Tye and Cathy Darland, who could not attend. Both graduated from Charles City Community High School in 1982.

“The unselfish nature of the Charles City Community has inspired Tye and Cathy to give back to their communities,” he said.  “They are very proud of coming from Charles City, Iowa, and they will continue to represent this community to the best of their ability and live up to the values that are expected of them from growing up in this fine community.”

Dishman, a 1999 Charles City grad, credited 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

“I’m extremely honored to accept this award, I am proud to be inducted and proud to be a Comet,” he said. “What has a bearing on the success you achieve is the drive for excellence that’s instilled in each person, which happened right here. That’s attributed to the town of Charles City, the teachers, the coaches, community members and certain people along the way that made an impact.”

Monroe, the 1990 Charles City Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year and the 2016-2017 Lincoln Elementary Volunteer of the Year, has spent decades of collaboration with teachers to bring community and history into the classroom.

‘It’s been an unexpected honor, and I’m very pleased, and I’ve had a lovely time these last couple of days,” Monroe said. “In accepting this award, I look behind me, and I have a whole community with me.”

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

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

The 2018 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 were presented by high school vocal director Derek Sturtevant. The performing arts award is given to graduates who earned six or more letters in two or more performing arts groups during high school.

The 2018 performing arts honorees are Ashlyn Bauer, Hana Koenigsfeld, Derek LaBarge, Nicole Loftus, John Perez, Matt Thompson, Carter West, Mackenzie Wilson and Ryan Wolfe.

The Charles City Excellence in Education Foundation awards grants to teachers and students who have innovative projects designed to “engage, empower and inspire students in the classroom.” The foundation has granted more than $25,000 to staff and students to expand educational opportunities.

Projects that have received grants include STEM projects, the rock climbing wall at the high school, adaptive music classes, first aid CPR dummies for teacher training, 3D printers in social studies, robotics, Lego league, the elementary kindness retreat, the photojournalism camera and trout in the classroom.