Newark High School can make a long list of graduates who have gone on to do great things, both locally and nationally.
One of those graduates, Judge Craig Baldwin, honored us in choosing to have his swearing-in ceremony in the high school auditorium.
Baldwin is the first Licking County judge in more than 100 years to be appointed to the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Ohio.
And the man who performed the ceremony? That was Newark graduate Greg Frost, Class of 1967, who is a federal judge.
One of Judge Baldwin’s classmates, Kurt Harden, emceed the ceremony. Harden is a school board member and also president of MedBen — a multimillion-dollar insurance company headquartered in Newark.
Another young man, Willie Henderson, is graduating this year. Henderson has been a great leader at Newark High School, and he will be attending the U.S. Naval Academy in the fall.
Many Newark alumni still live in, work in and contribute to the city, including Mayor Jeff Hall.
Newark City Schools is filled with alumni from district administrators like personnel director Barb Quackenbush to young staffers like American History teacher Baron Smith, a 2006 graduate, who organized the first NHS Community Clean-Up Day this past week — a project that saw 50 students pick up trash and spread mulch in parks citywide.
Newark High School graduates have been accomplishing great things for decades. Did you know that the first woman to successfully fly solo around the world graduated from NHS in 1940?
Geraldine “Jerrie” Mock flew around the world in a single-engine plane in 1964, and continued to set records for distance and speed for many years after.
We’ve had many professional athletes, as well: Woody English, Fred Schaus, Mike Collins and Derek Holland.
There are Newark Wildcats who have done amazing things worldwide and in the community in which they grew up. And there are about 300 Wildcats who will graduate in another month who are going to carry on that tradition.
I am proud to be a Wildcat.
I am proud the many people I’ve discussed here — and many, many more that are out there making a difference in the world — represent our excellent district and community.
I say it often, and it’s just as true today as it was 70 years ago, and will be 70 years in the future: It’s a great time to be a Wildcat!
- Doug Ute
- May 5, 2013