Five to be honored on homecoming with Comet Hall of Fame induction

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

The 2019 Comet Hall of Fame inductees are Greg Brunner, Austin Downey, Mike Duroe, Ralph Smith and Gary Schwartzhoff.

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 inductees will be introduced at the pep rally on homecoming, Friday, Sept. 27, at Charles City Middle School, and then they will ride in the homecoming parade. They will also be introduced at halftime of the football game.

The induction ceremony will be on Saturday, Sept. 28, at 10 a.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church. The public is invited to attend. Inductees will be honored and can give a speech at the brunch if they want to.

There is no limit to the number of individuals who can be inducted each year. The Charles City Athletic Booster Club, Performing Arts staff and the Excellence in Education Foundation make final selections for the Comet Hall of Fame.

The 2018 inductees were Tye Darland, Cathy Darland, Nathan Dishman, Al Hastings, Marilee Monroe and Jerry Newton.

Bios of the five 2019 inductees, as provided by the foundation:

Greg Brunner

Brunner graduated from Charles City High School in 2002. He obtained his MBA from the University of Iowa in 2019 and will complete a masters degree in business analytics in 2020. He is currently a senior data engineer with Des Moines Principal Financial Group.

Brunner credits his successful approach to life to the family atmosphere of the Charles City school and community and the many individuals who contributed resources of time, care, friendship, and guidance. He said he felt pushed and challenged in a manner that shaped his life and continues to help him succeed.

He has had an impact on those around him because of his openness to share himself with others. After becoming a Hawkeye, Greg always had time to come back to Comet Gym and work with younger kids.

Today, he continues to give of himself by participating in numerous nonprofit functions benefiting others. Brunner attends, speaks at or volunteers at events that are focused on helping underprivileged children. He also helps generate money and resources to create opportunities for social interactions with positive role models.

Brunner has provided more than 100 free clinics for kindergarten to second graders in baseball and basketball, focusing on sport fundamentals and the young players’ futures.

As an athlete, Brunner put the team above himself. Recognition of his success includes All-American, All-District and All-Big-Ten academic awards; first team All-District and All-Big-Ten; Big-Ten All-Tournament Team, Big-Ten Medal of Honor, Team USA Gold Medalist University Games; Belgian Cup Winner; and European Champion. In 2016, he was inducted into the Iowa High School Athletic Association Basketball Hall of Fame.

Brunner and his wife, Carin, live in Norwalk with their three children, Greyer, Remey and Ridley.

Austin Downey

Downey graduated from Charles City High School in 2006. He obtained an industrial mechanics degree from Central Community College in 2007. After working for a few years, he returned to school at Des Moines Community College and then transferred to Iowa State University where he received a BS in civil engineering in 2014 and a Ph.D. in wind energy science, engineering and policy; and engineering mechanics (dual major) in 2018.

Downey is currently an assistant professor in mechanical engineering with a joint appointment in civil engineering at the University of South Carolina.

Downey attributes his success to his opportunity to interface with some amazing faculty and staff in Charles City, specifically in the industrial arts program. This high school program helped develop his basic engineering and problem-solving skills. He also recalls building sets for the drama department’s fall and spring plays as a highlight of his high school experience.

Downey generously shares his knowledge and expertise of his profession. He has authoring more than 20 journal articles and presented at 14 conferences. Additionally, he shares his understanding of successful practice by partnering with South Carolina community colleges to assist students transferring to the University of South Carolina. He is passionate about this partnership, as he believes community colleges are one of the greatest resources available for students.

Downey has earned accolades including Research Excellence Award from ISU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2018, Best Paper Award from the 4th International Electronic Conference on Sensors and applications in 2017, Graduate Research Award from ISU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2017, and Visiting Scholarship from the United States Air Force Research Lab, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

In February 2019, he added a patent to his resume.

Downey lives in Columbia, South Carolina. His parents, Mike and Colleen, still live in Charles City.

Ralph Smith

Smith graduated from Charles City High School in 1969. He continued his education by obtaining a BA in history from Carleton College in Minnesota in 1973 and a JD from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1976.  From 1976 to 2018 Smith practiced law in Charles City, serving as city attorney for 20 years.

Smith served on the Charles City School Board from 2005 to 2010, including as board president. As stated by his nominator, Smith was the consummate professional in his disagreement of the elimination of special programs and the possible closing of an elementary school. Even with the challenges, Smith said he found his service on the school board to be a very rewarding experience, enjoying the work with his fellow directors, administrators and staff.

Smith’s dedication to serving the community also includes his participation in Rotary, Hospice, Fine Arts Century Club, Athletic Booster Club, First Security Bank Board, and the YMCA Foundation Board.

Being an active member of Rotary has been an important aspect of Smith’s community contribution as he has served as club president, Rotary district governor, and is often found working on a local project.

In recognition of his living the Rotary motto “Service Before Self,” Smith received the Jaycee’s Distinguished Service Award in 1985, Rotary Community Service Award in 2009, Rotary Service Above Self Award in 2010, and Chamber Man of the Year for 2009.

Smith and his wife, Ruth, have two children, Karl and Rachel (Craig) Otting, and one grandson, Atticus. His father, Jim Smith, resides in Charles City.

Gary Schwartzhoff

Schwartzhoff graduated from Waukon High School in 1970. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Central College in Pella, a Master of Music degree in choral conducting from the University of Northern Iowa, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting at the University of Missouri in Kansas City.

Schwartzhoff began his teaching career with the St. Ansgar School District and then became Charles City High School’s choral music teacher from 1977 to 1985.  He recalls this time fondly, loving the relationship of working with talented students and supportive parents and having the support of community officials, school administrators and fellow staff members.

Under his direction, his students achieved high ratings at state small and large group contests, and many students were selected for the Iowa All-State Choir each year. Schwartzhoff was also active in the Charles City community where he conducted the Charles City Singers and served as choir director for the United Methodist Church.

Schwartzhoff taught choral music at Ames High School before beginning his 25-year tenure as the director of choral activities at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. As a collegiate director, his choirs performed at state, regional and national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, the Intercollegiate Male Chorus, and the National Association for Music Education.

He served as the president of the North Central Division of the American Choral Directors Association and was also a member of the Intercollegiate Male Chorus Executive Board from 1993 to 2016.

In addition to conducting the Charles City Singers, Schwartzhoff was the founder and artistic director for the Ames Chamber Artists, and is the founder and has been the artistic director for The Master Singers in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, since 1992. In 2010, he was presented the Morris Hayes in Choral Music Lifetime Achievement Award in Wisconsin.

Schwartzhoff has conducted festivals recognizing former presidents of the United States in Washington. In July 2019, he conducted 14 choirs from the United States with full orchestra for the 75th Anniversary of D-Day and the Liberation of France Festival in Paris.

Gary and his wife, Nancy, live in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and have two daughters, Rebecca and Jenifer.

Mike Duroe

Duroe graduated from Charles City High School in 1973. In 1978 he received a BA in education from Drake University.

Duroe was always known as a competitor, beginning as a youngster, through his high school career and eventually as a Drake
University wrestler. While at Drake, Duroe was a four-time letter winner and served as captain of the wrestling team for two seasons.

Even though he had great success as a competitor, he will be better remembered for contributions to the sport of wrestling through his coaching.

Duroe coached USA Wrestling for 23 years, serving as an associate coach on six consecutive Olympic teams and on several men’s and women’s world teams. He was proud to serve as the first USA women’s freestyle wrestling team coach. He also served as head coach of Guam’s freestyle wrestling team in 2008.

Duroe was Cornell College’s most successful wrestling coach in history with multiple All-Americans and team titles. As a long-time coach for his beloved Hawkeye Wrestling Club, he coached, developed and mentored several world champions.

Duroe was a respected coaching figure at the collegiate, national and world levels. While he taught his athletes the determination to win, above all, he modeled and taught them to be good, kind and compassionate human beings.

Duroe received numerous recognitions for his contributions, including three Wrestling Hall of Fame inductions at the national and college level. He was on the U.S. coaching staff for the Pan American Games for two years and was named Volunteer Coach of the Year by the United States Olympic Committee in 2006 and 2007.

The Iowa Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame presented Duroe with the Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award in 2018 for his 38 years of commitment to the sport. He was also a member of the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Hall of Fame.

Duroe developed love of the sport in hundreds, if not thousands, of young athletes and taught them as much about leading a good and successful life as he did about the sport of wrestling. As stated by a Charles City friend, “his love of the sport was only exceeded by his thoughtfulness and love for those he held dear.”

Duroe died July 6, 2018, of brain cancer.