Tippecanoe Valley Names TVHS 2013 Distinguished Alumni
Posted
Staff Report-
AKRON – The Tippecanoe Valley High School Distinguished Alumni Class of 2013 has been named. The seven members of this year’s class join a group of TVHS graduates who have led successful lives while making substantial contributions to their chosen field of work or have provided outstanding service to their community, state or country, according to a press release. “The Class of 2013 stands as a vivid example for all current and future students of what is possible for TVHS graduates,” it states. The Class of 2013 includes one graduate from the 1970s, Ron Newlin (’76); two graduates from the 1980s, Chuck Howard (’88) and Dr. Marilyn King Kindig Stahl (’83); three graduates from the 1990s, Orville Haney (’98), Brandon Miller (’92) and Dr. Cameron Vanlaningham (’98); and one graduate from the 2000s, Kenia Ramirez Rosas (’00). A formal dinner will be held in honor of the inductees Sept. 12 at 6:30 p.m. in the Tippecanoe Valley Middle School Commons. In addition to the meal, radio personality Rita Price will interview the inductees. Each inductee will also recognize a Valley K-12 educator that made a significant impact in his or her life. The TVHS Distinguished Alumni Class of 2013 will participate in Induction Day activities at TVHS Sept. 13. Induction Day will begin with a welcome breakfast, introductions and an orientation to the day ahead. Inductees will spend the morning meeting with students to share information about their lives and chosen careers. The inductees will eat lunch with the students, providing opportunities for individual interactions. In the afternoon, Rochester Telephone Company will conduct and record individual interviews with the inductees. Induction Day will conclude with the introduction of the Class of 2013 at halftime of the football game. At that time, a commemorative plaque will be presented to each inductee. The inductees are: Brandon Howard Miller Miller graduated from TVHS in 1992 and earned a bachelor’s degree from Manchester College (now Manchester University) in 1996. He went on to become business director for Warsaw’s Biomet, a medical device manufacturer specializing in reconstructive products for hips, knees and shoulders, fixation devices, orthopedic support devices, dental implants, spinal implants and operating room supplies. He and his wife, Deb, and their children reside in the house in which he grew up. He is a deacon in the First Christian Church of Rochester and a member of the board of directors of Little Lambs Preschool and Daycare. He also is a volunteer for the First Tee Youth Development Organization and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. He formerly served on the board of directors for Hope Hospice and Health Care. He has won three national advertising awards and has contributed to multiple patents in orthopedics and the automobile industry. Dr. Cameron Vanlaningham Vanlaningham likes to say he is especially famous for being in school and/or training ever since he graduated from Tippecanoe Valley High School in 1998. Third in his class at Valley, he went on to earn all A’s at Purdue University, Indiana University School of Medicine, Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies, his orthopedic surgery residency and the University of Louisville’s orthopedic trauma surgery training. His 14 years of study were aided by the Fred E. Gifford scholarship, E.D. Johns scholarship and an academic scholarship for medical school from Dr. and Mrs. Francis Price. He became a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and was chief orthopedic resident. He and his wife, the former Kelly Walters, and their two children now live in Kalamazoo where he is an orthopedic trauma surgeon at Borgess Hospital Bone and Joint Institute. Charles “Chuck” Howard Howard graduated from Tippecanoe Valley High School in 1988. He joined the U.S. Navy where he trained to be an electrician’s mate operating the nuclear power plant onboard submarines. He spent two years of his six-year enlistment as an instructor at the Nuclear Power training Unit in upstate New York where he taught officers and enlisted personnel. He returned to civilian life by earning a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University and a master’s in engineering management from Indiana Institute of Technology. He spent 13 years working for Navistar, the parent company of International Truck and Engine, once known as International Harvester. He was involved in the research and development of hybrid electric vehicles in truck applications as well as leading-edge battery technologies. Based on this work, he has been awarded six patents and has more pending. He also had a technical paper published by the Society of Automotive Engineers. Until he was sidelined recently by the sequester, he was a system engineer working with project engineers at Undersea Sensor Systems. He and his wife, Samantha, live near Silver Lake with their two sons. The family is active in Boy Scouts. The entire family is heavily involved in church activities. Dr. Marilyn King Kindig Stahl Stahl, a member of the TVHS graduating class of 1983, has come a long way since she performed as a singing group with her parents, Darrell and Mary Ann King, and her five siblings as the King Family back in the 1970s. Known professionally as Dr. Marilyn Kindig, she began her medical career as a nurse, graduating from Parkview School of Nursing in 1986. After graduating Indiana University in 1990 and Des Moines University with a doctor of osteopathic medicine degree in 1994, she completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology in 1998. She started Women’s Health for Life in 1998. Fifteen years later, in addition to delivering more than 2,000 babies, she is medical director of Heartbeat of Lima, Ohio, pregnancy center. She was chief of surgery at Lima Memorial Hospital from 2005-2010. She serves as chairman of OB/GYN management at Lima Memorial Hospital and is on staff at both Lima Memorial and St. Rita’s Medical Center. In 2011, Kindig expanded to robotic surgery and is currently learning functional medicine to help people without using medications. She and her husband, Doug Stahl, are parents of five children ranging in age from 10-20 who are active in soccer and 4-H. She currently is keeping busy at home with dairy goats and chickens, making cheese with organic goat’s milk. Kenia L. Ramirez Rosas Kenia Rosas was Kenia Ramirez when she enrolled in Akron Elementary School unable to speak or understand English. Through hard work and determination, combined with a great deal of intelligence, she became a successful student. After graduating from Tippecanoe Valley High School in 2000, she became the first member of her family to graduate from college when she received a bachelor’s degree in finance from Manchester University. In addition, she has attended human resource seminars. She works in human resources at Pike Lumber Company in Akron and sits on the Akron Community Relations Task Force, Beaver Dam Preschool Board and the Tippecanoe Valley School Improvement steering committee. She previously served with United Way of Fulton County. She and her husband, Victor, live in Akron with their two young sons. Orville M. Haney Haney graduated from Valley in 1998 and earned a bachelor’s degree in animal sciences from Purdue University where he was on the dean’s list with an A average. He is a lifetime member of Alpha Zeta, an honor society for agriculture. He worked at a few other jobs before returning to his home area to become the sixth generation of his family to reside on the dairy farm north of Akron. And it is as a dairy farmer that he has received local, state and national recognition. He was honored by the Kosciusko County Farm Bureau in 2010 and nominated as a person you should know by the Farmer’s Exchange. The Indiana Farm Bureau named him and his wife, Jessica, winners of its annual Young Farmer Achievement Award in 2012. In national competition they were named among the top 10 in the country. As chairperson of the Indiana Farm Bureau Dairy Advisory Committee, he has been sent to Washington many times to speak with legislators about national dairy policy and the challenges farmers face. J. Ronald “Ron” Newlin When the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame opened, a friend told Ron Newlin, “No matter what else you do in your life, this is going to make the short version of your obituary.” From 1987 until 1995, the 1976 TVHS graduate was executive director of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, leading a $2.5 million capital campaign to build the museum in New Castle, assembling its collection and designing its exhibits. Within two years, he was executive director of the Indiana State Museum Foundation, leading a $35 million capital campaign. Both roles led to his being named a Sagamore of the Wabash, the highest honor an Indiana governor can bestow on a citizen. As a non-profit consultant, Newlin has led workshops on fundraising, organizational development and social media for the Indiana State Library, Indiana Historical Society, Ball State University and American Association of Museums, among others. He worked as development director for the American Civil Liberties Union-Indiana before resuming his activities as a self-employed, non-profit management consultant. He has edited two magazines and written numerous articles on sports history and cultural tourism. He has coached youth basketball, worked with TVHS leadership and the Northern Indiana Community Foundation to engage other Valley alumni in their hometowns and served on a variety of church boards. He and his wife, Sally Hardgrove, are parents of three children ranging in age from 13 to 27. They live in Indianapolis.
