Latest news with #WallofFame
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Believe in yourselves, inductee tells students
Vietnam War veteran Lox Kellas (left) and former Blackcap Ken Rutherford stand in front of the King's High School Wall of Fame yesterday. PHOTO: LINDA ROBERTSON A Vietnam War veteran and a former Blackcap have been honoured by their secondary school in Dunedin. Lox Kellas and Ken Rutherford were inducted into King's High School's Wall of Fame at an assembly yesterday. Mr Rutherford, who attended the school from 1979 to 1982, said it was remarkable to be recognised among his peers. His message to the King's students was "you've just got to keep going". "There's a lot to be said about reacting well to life's experiences when they perhaps don't go the way they're intended to and to have a real confidence in yourself that you can still achieve lots." Two years after Mr Rutherford left school, he was facing one of the most feared fast bowling attacks in the world in West Indies' Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding and Joel Garner. He got three ducks in his first four innings and was subsequently dropped from the team. However, he worked his way back into the international side after scoring runs in domestic cricket and made 107 not out against England in Wellington in the 1987-88 tour. Mr Rutherford was now the Northern Districts Cricket Association chief executive. Mr Kellas, who attained the army rank of major, said the honour took him by surprise. "There are a lot more former pupils out there that have done a lot more than I've ever done," the Vietnam War veteran said. He recognised a few of the names on the King's Wall of Fame and did not expect to see himself on it. "Life's full of challenges and if you accept those challenges and do it well, that's the reward." Mr Kellas, who attended the school from 1961 to 1966, was awarded a Queen's Service Medal in 2007 for services to New Zealand Police. He was involved in the community through a variety of initiatives and organisations including as the Returned Services Association Otago and Southland district president, a founding member of the Dunedin Coastguard and a Otago Peninsula Community board member. Mr Kellas said he kept his remarks to the King's students very short and addressed them as "tomorrow's leaders". He offered them a Gaelic quote which translated to "lead but serve". King's principal Nick McIvor said it was great to celebrate the fascinating lives and remarkable achievements of former students. Alongside Mr Kellas and Mr Rutherford, Geoff Thomas, Philip Craigie, Al Fastier, Graham Fortune and Tony Merriman were also inducted into the Wall of Fame.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Missouri State University adds former employees Don Simpson, Kathy Davis to Wall of Fame
The founding leader of enrollment management and a champion for academic advising will be inducted into Missouri State University's Wall of Fame, an official recognition for former employees who made a lasting contribution. The MSU Board of Governors voted May 8 to induct Don Simpson and Kathy Davis. Together, they devoted 66 years to the campus. A formal induction ceremony will be scheduled for the fall. Their names will join 147 others on the wall. Simpson, who worked at the university from August 1978 through July 2019, was the founding leader of enrollment management and services. According to Missouri State, he played a pivotal role in shaping the unit and guiding the university through more than 25 years of sustained enrollment growth and supported the university's transition from Southwest Missouri State to Missouri State. Known for his sharp attention to detail and clear communication, Simpson was meticulous in reviewing data and policies, often working through complex scenarios to improve university systems and student services. He prioritized students, championed quality service and modeled servant leadership. David was director of what was then called the Academic Advisement Center for more than two decades, September 1993 through December 2019. It is now the Academic Advising and Transfer Center. She secured funding to launch the Master Advisor Program. Other initiatives included advisor workshops, advising notes and the Provost Academic Advising Council. Her work improved advising consistency, professional development and student support, earning national recognition for the university in 1997. More: Southwest Baptist University decides to 'dream big again' with new campus master plan Their names will be added to the wall outside of the Plaster Student Union Grand Ballroom. They were nominated and had the meet the following criteria: Work at MSU for at least 10 years, stopped working full-time at MSU at least five years ago, and significantly contributed to the success of students. This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State University adds two former employees to Wall of Fame
Chicago Tribune
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Four Triton College grads lauded on Alumni Wall of Fame
New faces inducted by the Triton College Alumni Association to its 2025 Alumni Wall of Fame represent a wide variety of professions, including a fire chief, journalist and business owners. Michele Fiore, Nicholas Steker, Madonna Fantetti Slepicka and Albin Lechowski received the recognition for making a significant impact in their profession and community. Michele Fiore combined her love of writing, performing and television to begin pursuing a career in journalism at Triton. 'While classrooms and teachers can't show you exactly what you'll face as a broadcast journalist in today's world, what Triton College did give me was invaluable, real-life working experience,' Fiore said. 'When I wrote for the Fifth Avenue Journal, I learned to look around my world to see the stories people were talking about, then I learned how to source people to talk about those topics, set up times and places to meet with them, conduct interviews, and finally to review everything that was said and put it all into a story. At Triton TV, I got to see what it was like to be in front of the camera, and also what it was like to be behind the camera, two very important experiences which determined which route I would take in my career.' She found herself covering many challenging stories, including in Chicago's Austin neighborhood on July 4, 2020, doing a story for FOX32 about a 7-year-old girl who had been killed by gang crossfire. 'As I spoke those sad words I could hear fireworks going off in the distance, and happy voices oohing and aahing at their beauty,' she said. 'Think about trying to hold back tears on live TV as you're in-the-moment hearing happy-happy, knowing a family is grieving the unbearable loss of a child. I went off-script calling out that it was truly a tale of two worlds in Austin that night.' Triton helped put Fiore on a path to see and report things she'll never forget. 'I grew up close to Triton in Elmwood Park and so this area will always feel like home,' she said. 'Being recognized here where my heart continues to be is surreal. I wonder what my 19-year-old self would think of all this. Like everyone, my career hasn't always been easy, so getting such a public recognition after years of putting in the hard work feels good. I only wish my parents had lived to see this day.' Nicholas Steker, Franklin Park Fire Department's battalion chief, attributes much of his success to what he was taught at Triton. 'I believe it provided me with a strong foundation within the fire service in our area,' he said. 'I attended classes at Triton College with several veteran firefighters, new firefighters, and those aspiring to be firefighters. Then, once I was hired in Franklin Park, many of my former classmates became mentors and vice versa. I had friendships now already forged through their fire science program. The built-in network led to long-term relationships.' Passionate about helping others, Steker enrolled in Triton's Fire Science Program in 1997 and earned his associate's degree in 1999. He was then hired as a full-time firefighter and emergency medical technician with the Franklin Park Fire Department. In 2004, he completed a bachelor's degree in fire science management at Southern Illinois University's satellite program which was held at Triton. Today he's in his 26th year with the Franklin Park Fire Department where he has climbed the ranks. He became a lieutenant in 2003 and battalion chief 20 years later. He's second in command of a 43-person department. In addition, he's come back to where it all began as he's an adjunct faculty member in Triton's Fire Science Program. 'Having the privilege to serve as adjunct faculty gives me the opportunity to pay it back,' he said. 'Society and students of today have changed so much. I try to teach that traditional fire service mentality that has led to my many successes. I do see a lot of myself in some of these kids. It's not for everyone and I tell them that's completely ok. The ones that are committed know that I will do whatever I can to help them.' In fact, one of Steker's former students now works with him in Franklin Park. 'I've watched him grow as a student, to a firefighter, and he just became a father,' Steker said. 'How rewarding is that? I'm grateful every day for the opportunities Triton has provided me with as both a student and as a faculty member that has now stretched almost 30 years.' Madonna Fantetti Slepicka had already earned her associate degree at Triton many years before she returned at age 50 to take a bread class. The problem was it was an all-day class and she couldn't get in so she took a class on food safety and another on chocolate. Like Forrest Gump learned with chocolates, Fantetti Slepicka had no idea what she was going to get out of the class. For the past 15 years she's been the owner and operator of River Forest Chocolates. Taking advantage of Triton's diverse array of educational offerings was something Fantetti Slepicka knew could benefit her career. After first getting her associates at Triton she moved on to Eastern Illinois University to attain her bachelor's degree in business. Jobs in retail, real estate and teaching took a backseat when she found a new passion: chocolates. 'I always went back to Triton to learn new things,' she said. 'Triton gave me my accounting and marketing background. It gave me all those tools in my box. When they told me I was nominated (for the Wall of Fame) I was flattered to be nominated. Reading the backgrounds of all those who have been nominated, it's impressive, it gets to be pretty overwhelming.' More than 40 years ago, Lechowski chose to attend Triton because of two things — its location and its heating, ventilation and air conditioning program. The number of homeowners and businesses who have benefitted from his services is innumerable. 'Since Triton's program was close to home, I was still able to work full time while attending college,' he said. 'I looked forward to school because I enjoyed the classes. Triton has always been an outstanding college.' Albin Lechowski is the owner and president of Al Air Inc. in Norridge. 'I learned a lot at Triton,' he said. 'And I learned a lot from my dad who always taught me to treat people the way you want to be treated and to do the job right and to be honest. It gives you a good feeling inside when you're doing good.' He's doing so well that even with his 68th birthday approaching in the fall, he's not sure when he'll retire, even after his recent accolades. 'I don't do the big jobs, but I still climb on roofs and go to the customers,' he said.' It's a good feeling troubleshooting, solving problems. I'm lucky. We're a family-owned business and my son is working right under me. As a Wall of Fame inductee, I'm honored and feel like I'm making a difference in my community.'
Chicago Tribune
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Lake Forest High School names three new members of the Wall of Fame
An elected official and business executive, an acclaimed writer, and a noted musician represent the latest entries into the Lake Forest High School Wall of Fame. The school inducted Carla Neuschel Wycoff, Margaret McMullan, and Clark Sommers at an April 13 ceremony. A member of the LFHS Class of 1966, Wyckoff was elected as Lake County Clerk in 2014 before moving on to other roles. She has also been an American Medical Association executive and worked in both the Lake and McHenry County State's Attorney's office. McMullan is an author of nine award-winning books and has received an NEA fellowship and a Fulbright professorship. She was part of the LFHS Class of 1978. Sommers, a jazz musician, is a Grammy-award winning composer and bassist. He graduated from LFHS in 1995. 'We look for individuals who have made a significant and lasting impact in their profession and community,' LFHS faculty member and Selection Committee member Carolyn Konz said in a statement. The Wall of Fame honor began in 2005, but there had not been an induction ceremony since 2019, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Previous honorees include actor Vince Vaughn, Matt Grevers, an Olympic gold medal swimmer, bestselling author Amy Krouse Rosenthal and the late Chicago sportscaster Tim Weigel.
Forbes
26-03-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why Chasing Perfection Will Kill Your Startup Before It Even Begins
Just be sure not to explode on your way up. getty There is an undeniable allure to perfection, and many make a habit of chasing it. For some entrepreneurs and engineers, striving for perfection is not just an ambition; it's a defining trait. They understand what excellence looks like and are willing to sacrifice nearly anything to reach it, which is exactly why they are where they are today. However, perfection has its time and place, and entrepreneurship is usually neither. Entrepreneurs must first identify what clients truly need and, more importantly, what they are willing to pay for. That's the real priority, with perfection being the end goal way down the road. The ability to build something clients want and to deliver it as early as possible is what sets successful entrepreneurs apart from the rest. Success doesn't come from perfecting a product in isolation; it comes from testing, learning, and adapting in real time. Luckily for us, there is a proven formula for achieving it: listen to your customers, do so early and stay open to adjusting your goals. A Swiss watch is a miracle to behold, and building one is as much an honor as owning one. But in entrepreneurship, the pursuit of perfection can be a costly distraction. Sure, the Wall of Fame of entrepreneurship has its share of revered builders who relentlessly chased perfection, Steve Jobs first among them. Joining their ranks is a dream many hold, but getting there is not at all an obvious matter. Many forget that even Steve Jobs' famed persistence for perfection emerged later in life. The Apple I, as close to a modern relic of entrepreneurship as one can get, is a far cry from perfection. 'It didn't need to be perfect, nor could it have been,' Feross Aboukhadijeh, CEO of Socket and an experienced founder with a series of successful exits and open source hits under his belt, notes. 'The key is to deliver something that solves a problem and to keep improving from there.' For Wozniak and Jobs, the Apple I met just enough client demand to chart a path forward, and what a path it's been. It's a lesson Feross learned early. His first startup, PeerCDN, had revolutionary peer-to-peer technology, but it failed to gain traction. 'The underlying tech was great, but there just weren't enough customers who would pay for it,' he admits. After that, his approach to building companies, and the products they exist to ship, has shifted to focusing on what is great and also sells: 'When I built Socket I spent a long time on the road, listening and talking to clients. If out of 40 people, 39 don't say they'll pay for it or if they aren't paying enough, there's no sense in building it.' Today, Socket's cybersecurity platform protects over 7,500 organizations and 300,000 GitHub repositories, all because Feross focused on what customers wanted him to build, not just what he wanted to create. Building a product where go-to-market and product-market fit aren't mysteries to solve later, but rather the starting point, is entrepreneurship at its best. Voltaire once warned us that perfect is the enemy of good, but it's more than that. For entrepreneurs, perfection is the enemy of getting started, gaining traction, and ultimately building a successful business on what might be a great idea waiting for execution. Jeff Gallino, CEO of CallMiner, puts it bluntly: 'Good ideas are everywhere. People who can execute are rare, and even rarer are those who execute only that which serves the client.' CallMiner mines over one billion customer interactions annually, providing conversation intelligence to companies ranging from airlines to retailers, and Jeff credits the company's success to its relentless focus on execution. 'When we launched, we focused on only the MVP and how well it served the client,' Jeff explains. 'Perfection is the enemy of good in software. You build as much as you need to sell, then iterate.' When founders obsess over perfection, they often forget what matters most: building something people want and will pay for, not just chasing a great idea. Wherever ideas are abundant but execution is rare, it's the companies that launch imperfectly, listen intently, and iterate quickly that come out ahead. This is a fact that Jon Bennert, CEO of Air Oasis, has also taken to heart. 'For us, customer feedback drives everything,' Jon explains. 'When we first started out, we would often innovate for the sake of innovation and our product lineup was something entirely different than it is today. Listening to what our customers actually want, and acting on it immediately, is something we've learned to do more of, not least because of how it's guided us to build products that sell themselves.' This mindset has transformed Air Oasis, helping the company scale its direct-to-consumer sales and maintain loyalty through rapid iteration. The company has also shifted its focus from internal R&D to a more collaborative approach where specialized third parties take over what 'perfectionist CEOs' might consider core-functions to the build such as PCB design. When Air Oasis started out, the company focused on building innovative products in-house. But over time, Jon realized that the 'build it and they will come' approach was flawed. 'It's really the customer who matters,' he says. 'They'll tell you what they want, and what they need. You just have to listen.' This responsiveness helped Air Oasis not only survive but thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic, when demand for air purifiers skyrocketed. 'When a customer emails us with a complaint, we start planning the next product that same day,' Jon says. Herein lies a fundamental truth about effective execution: the best products are not built in isolation. Feross and Jon demonstrated this by integrating their clients into the creation process. By continuously seeking feedback, they ensured that every feature developed and every adjustment made was purposeful, directly addressing what customers valued and were willing to invest in. Flexibility is the quiet force behind entrepreneurial success, and it flourishes when founders let go of chasing perfection. The ability to pivot, to adapt quickly when something isn't working or another thing could work even better, is often the difference between failure and enduring success. Scott Stevenson, CEO of Spellbook, knows this all too well. 'My first business was building a physical product that was a genre-bending innovation in the musical instruments industry, but commercially it never really worked out,' Scott begins. 'I'm glad I didn't double down on it any further than I did. If I hadn't let go of it, I would have never reached the core business idea that we've banked on for Spellbook's success today,' Scott adds, noting that Spellbook's foundations are built on personal frustrations with the legal industry's inefficiencies and hundreds of hours spent with lawyers, learning their workflows, before building something that fits seamlessly into how they work. 'Even with our legal product, we launched over 100 different marketing pages before we figured out how to build and market something that lawyers loved. That came from running a new experiment every week for 2 years. Fast iteration is everything.' The Spellbook team's flexibility and focus on learning from its users allowed the company to grow its revenue fivefold in a year. 'It's all about being the wind behind your customers' backs, not a roadblock,' Scott emphasizes. Lurein Perera, CEO of GiveCard, reinforces this idea of adaptability. His company provides financial infrastructure for nonprofits and governments to distribute cash assistance through prepaid debit cards. 'It's easy to assume you know what people need, but the reality is often very different,' Lurein shares. 'We've found that the key to success is starting small, listening, and iterating quickly to meet the actual needs of users.' GiveCard's ability to pivot based on client feedback has been a gamechanger for their client's social impact programs. 'One of our partners initially wanted a system for distributing food assistance, but as we engaged with end-users, it became clear that direct cash assistance gave them more freedom and dignity. That feedback reshaped how we approached the project,' Lurein explains. 'If we hadn't been willing to pivot, we wouldn't have been able to deliver a solution that truly worked for the people who needed it most.' The lesson Lurein learned is simple, yet powerful. Before you build, talk. Learn more about your clients with each moment spent building. And build only what you must. These three steps form the foundation of a perfect product-market fit: The path to entrepreneurial success is never as straightforward as a three-point list, but as the stories of the CEOs above show, these steps provide a strong starting point to ensure you're on the right track from day one.
