Karen Casey-Elliott
1957
While a student at Jeff, Elliott's activities were in the Card Section,
the Latin Club, and Yearbook. While at Purdue University she was active
in Alpha Xi Delta Sorority. Elliott was chosen as A Woman of Distinction
by Alpha Xi Delta, her college sorority in 2000.
Elliott graduated from Purdue in 1962. Elliot( received an MA. in
American Studies from the University of Minnesota. She received a Ph.D.
in American Studies in 1979. Her teaching career began in Lafayette
where she taught for three years at Oakland Elementary School. In 1973,
she eared an MA. in American Studies from the University of Minnesota
and a Ph.D. in 1979. While completing her degree she taught many courses
at the University of Minnesota.
Prior to the publication of her first book in 1982, she was a
managing editor at the Hazelden Foundation in Center City, Minnesota.
She eventually became the Publisher and Vice President of Hazelden
Educational Materials. Elliott's first book, Each Day A New Beginning.
sold more than 3 million copies and was followed by 14 more books. Her
life story and 15 books have been featured in the St. Paul, MN Pioneer
Press, the Naples (Florida) Daily News, and The Quill, (her college
sorority quarterly magazine). Her books have appeared on the cover of
Publishers Weekly. More than 20 titles are available in foreign
languages throughout the world.
She has done radio interviews for stations throughout the United
States and Canada and has been featured twice on NBC affiliate KARE in
Minneapolis. She has been a keynote speaker for many conferences dealing
with Addictions and Recovery over the years and has done many workshops
and retreats for people seeking guidance in recovery issues.
James P. Fields
1974
Fields was a student athlete at Jefferson High School and lettered
four years. Earning all state honors in baseball, he was a member of the
State Championship baseball team in 1974. He also lettered three years
in basketball and was a member of the 1974 Final Four team. Jim served
as President of the Fellowship of Christian Athlete and Vice President
of his senior class. He was elected to the 25 year Silver Anniversary
Team for the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Jim's father is Spider
Fields, who is an Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame member and former head
baseball coach at Lafayette Jefferson High School.
Fields serves as Vice President of Business Development for Menlo
Worldwide Logistics, a CNF Company, where he is responsible for managing
all global sales and marketing activities for the logistics company. He
also serves as an elected officer of Menlo Worldwide, holding that
position the past three years. Before his promotion to Vice President in
May 1996, Fields served as Director of Sales and Marketing for Menlo.
During his 20 year tenure with CNF, formerly Consolidated Freightways,
Inc. Fields has held various operations and sales positions within the
company.
Prior to joining Consolidated Freightways, Fields taught high school
business for three years at Muncie Central and Southside High Schools
respectively. He has earned a bachelor's degree in business education,
and a master's degree in secondary education and supervision from Ball
State University. After graduating from Ball State University he had a
short but successful tenure as basketball coach at Muncie Central for
three years, working with Bill Harrell.
Jim has kept very active in athletics, mainly as a coach of
basketball and baseball teams. He has served as head coach and general
manager of the North Oakland Reds, an advanced-play travel baseball club
for the past 5 years. His team finished 8th in the USSSA World Series
this past year. Most recently he has been a guest radio analyst for WLBC
Muncie, for the Ball State University basketball games played at
Eastern and Central Michigan.
Joseph N. Heath, Jr.
1953
Joe attended Xavier University on a basketball scholarship. Due to an
athletic injury his basketball career was shortened and he transferred
to Purdue University where he received his bachelor's degree in 1957 and
his master's degree in 1959. He completed additional administrative
graduate studies at Purdue. Joe spent over forty years in public
education as a teacher, coach, and administrator. He taught and coached
at Francisville, Winamac and Elwood before returning home to Jefferson
High School.
While in high school, Joe participated in basketball and baseball. He
has the distinction of being the only individual in the state of
Indiana to serve as a student/athlete, coach, teacher, director of
athletics and principal at the same school. In 1953 Joe was the
recipient of the Exchange Club's Sportsmanship Awards, and in March 1993
he was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.
Through the years, Joe had been involved in a variety of groups at
the local, state and national level. He has served as a board member of
the YMCA, Junior Achievement, United Way and Police Merit Board locally.
At the state level, Joe has served as a board member, vice president
and president of the Indiana State Coaches' Association, Indiana
Basketball Hall of Fame as a member, vice president, executive vice
president and president. Nationally, he served as a board member,
president-elect and president of the National Federation of
Interscholastic Coaches Association. His colleagues have recognized him
for his service by selecting him as the recipient of The District
Service Award, IBCA 1992; District 1 Athletic Director of the Year
1992-93; Indiana Athletic Administrator of the Year 1993; Indiana
Association of Educational Office Professionals Administrator of the
Year 1997; Midwest Athletic Director of the Year 1994; National
Federation Citation Award Winner 1995 and the Charles Maas Distinguished
Service Award 2001.
Joe probably is best known for his love of young people, generosity,
honesty, sports and devotion to his family and friends. As an educator
he maintained a simple philosophy that you follow the rules, teach by
example and reflect the highest standards of professionalism.
Norman R. Hertzer, MD
1960
Dr. Hertzer was salutatorian of the class of 1960. While at Jeff, he was
a member of the NCC champion varsity tennis team, played saxophone and
oboe in the band and orchestra, and was president of his class and the
Student Council. He also was the student manager of the varsity
basketball team and was the manager of the Indiana All Star basketball
team in 1960 and 1961.
Dr. Hertzer received his undergraduate and medical degrees with
distinction from Indiana University, where he was elected to Phi Beta
Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha scholastic honor societies. He trained in
General Surgery and in Vascular Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic
Foundation, and after serving in the Us. Army Medical Corps at Fort
Hood, Texas, he was appointed to the Cleveland Clinic staff in the
Department of Vascular Surgery in 1976. He later became the Chairman of
this department, a position he held for many years.
Dr. Hertzer is the author of nearly 200 scientific journal articles
and textbook chapters in the field of Vascular Surgery. He is an
Associate Editor of the Journal of Vascular Surgery and has been
president of the Midwestern Vascular Surgical Society and the national
Society for Vascular Surgery. He is a member of many other professional
organizations and has been selected as an honorary member of the New
England Society for Vascular Surgery, the Southern Society for Vascular
Surgery, and the vascular section of the Australian/Asian College of
Surgeons. In the year 2000, Indiana University presented him with its
Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Jack A. King
1954
While a student at Jefferson High School, Jack King was one of a few who
at that time participated in both sports and music. In 1953, he was a
member of the Lafayette American Legion Post 11 state championship
baseball team. His high school music career was highlighted by four
consecutive first place finishes in the state ensemble drum contests.
King graduated from Indiana University in 1958 with a B. S. in
Business Finance. After earning his J. D. in law from I U in 1961, King
returned to Lafayette and was a partner in the firm of Ball, Eggleston,
King & Bumbleburg from 1961 until 1970. At the age of 33, King was
appointed by Governor Edgar Whitcomb as the first judge of Superior
Court No.2 of Tippecanoe County. He was the youngest trial court judge
in Indiana at that time and was twice re-elected without opposition.
During his tenure on the bench, Judge King was appointed as a Special
Judge, both by the Indiana Supreme Court and
the Court of Appeals.
In 1978, he moved to Scottsdale, Arizona where he became Vice
President and General Counsel for several insurance companies
transacting business nationally. Over the next twenty years, King was
responsible for the resolution of several cases having national
prominence. Some of the most notable of which were the "People's Temple"
mass suicides and murders in Jonestown, Guyana; multiple class actions
in several states against the Denny's restaurant chain, emanating from
alleged racial discrimination; and one of the first lawsuits brought by
the tobacco industry against ABC- TV resulting from media reports on
nicotine addiction. An interesting and diverse career in the law has
taken King into state and federal courts in Indiana, Arizona, Texas,
Colorado, and California.
In 1998, King was appointed Executive Director of the Arizona
Insurance Guaranty Funds. These entities, which are divisions of the
Arizona Department of Insurance, provide assistance to consumers by
paying claims on behalf of insolvent insurance companies. As Executive
Director, King had oversight responsibility for significant litigation
involving the Guaranty Funds and personally resolved major lawsuits in
which millions of dollars were at stake. After inheriting an
organization embroiled in controversy, King brought about major reform,
ethics, economy, and stability, for which he was commended upon his
retirement from this position in October 2001
Dr. John Postlethwait
1962
While at Jefferson High School Dr. Postlethwait served as president of
the Junior Class, president of the NFL., and president of Hi- Y in his
junior and senior year. He was a Boys State delegate. Dr. Postlethwait
received his B. A. in Biology in 1966 from Purdue University and
completed his Pre-doctorate in Developmental Genetics from the
University of California, Irvine. In 1970 he received his Ph.D. in
Developmental Genetics from Case Western Reserve University. His
Post-doctorate was in Molecular Genetics at Harvard University.
Dr. Postlethwait is Professor of Biology at the University of Oregon,
where he teaches General Biology for non majors and Genetics and
Evolution, the introductory course for biology majors. His research on
the genetic mechanisms of embryonic development is supported by the
National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association. For
three one-year periods, Dr. Postlethwait conducted research supported by
Fulbright grants at the Institut fur Molekular Biologie in Salzburg,
Austria, the Laboratorie de Genetique Moleculaire des Eucaryotes in
Strasburg, France, and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in Oxford,
England. In 2000 Dr. Postlethwait received the Distinguished Alumnus
Award from Purdue University. Dr. Postlethwait has been involved in
numerous publications over the years.
A recipient of the Ersted Distinguished Teaching Award, Dr.
Postlethwait encourages active participation of undergraduates in
research and includes them as coauthors on publications. Currently Dr.
Postlethwait is participating in the federally funded University of
Oregon Workshop Biology program for innovative teaching of biology.