congratulations to the 2023 hphs alumni awards recipients!
Sponsorship opportunities
Join us as a sponsor!
Click below for opportunities to support.
Individual tickets will go
on sale
february 25.
HPHs alumni awards
Since opening its doors in 1914, Highland Park High School has graduated countless men and women who have gone on to distinguish themselves through outstanding professional accomplishments, exemplary community service, and loyal support of the school district. To honor such remarkable achievements, the Highland Park High School Alumni Association started the Alumni Awards program in 1989. Since then, we have honored nearly 150 Highland Park graduates, former staff, and community leaders.
nominations for the 2023 Alumni Awards has closed!
to make a nomination for 2024,
please Click to download the nomination form
and submit by Nov. 1, 2023
Awards criteria
Distinguished Alumni Award
The Distinguished Alumni Award shall be open to any alumni who attended Highland Park High School for a minimum of two (2) years and is at least 30 years of age at the time of nomination. Awards for alumni will be given for achievement in various fields of service which include, but are not limited to, the arts, athletics, business, education, entertainment, law, medicine, military, music, philanthropy, politics, public service, religion, and science. Please note that awards may be given posthumously and, in such instances, there shall be no age requirement.
Distinguished Young Alumni Award
The Distinguished Young Alumni Award may be given as a special award to recognize and honor any alumni who attended for a minimum of two (2) years and graduated from Highland Park High School and has achieved great success in their first 20 years after graduation. The Distinguished Young Alumni Award will be given for achievement in various fields which include, but are not limited to, the arts, athletics, business, education, entertainment, law, medicine, military, music, philanthropy, politics, public service,
religion, and science. Please note that awards may be given posthumously and, in such instances, there shall be no age requirement.
Distinguished Service Award
To qualify for the Distinguished Service Award, a faculty member must have completed at least ten (10) years of service to the District. At least three (3) years must have lapsed between the nominee’s last full-time service to the District and the end of the school year in which the award is to be granted.
Highlander Award
To qualify for the Highlander Award, an individual or group must have demonstrated significant commitment to HPISD through the giving of time, energy, and/or resources.
Please contact Meg Boyd, Director of Alumni Relations, at 214-780-3060 or meg.boyd@hpef.org for more information.
Past recipients
1989 – Andrew P. Rollins, Jr. '35*, Charles H. Webb, Jr. '51, Kyle Rote, Jr. '68, Ben W. Wiseman* (Service)
1990 – Charles E. Seay '32*, Doak Walker, Jr. '45*, James W. Cronin '48*, Martha Mary Stewart '34* (Service)
1991 – William J. McClanahan '27*, Warren R. “Bob” Lilly '51*, Carol Hall '54*, Sara Ferguson Styring '42* (Service)
1992 – Jane Manton Marshall '42, John Mathis '49, John Duckett '54*, Peggy Pace Duckett '58, Margaret Wasson* (Service)
1993 – Ben Carpenter '41*, Lindalyn Bennett Adams '48, William Howard Beasley '64* (Posthumous), Walter M. Spradley* (Service)
1994 – Margaret Milam McDermott '29*, William P. Clements, Jr. '34*, Trisha Wilson '65, Winston C. Power, Jr.* (Service)
1995 – Robert F. Ritchie '35*, David G. Fox '41*, Peter O’Donnell, Jr. '41, David “Skippy” Browning '48* (Posthumous), Frank Monroe (Service)
1996 – Don M. Houseman '40*, Louis A. Beecherl, Jr. '43*, Charles Paddock Otstott '55, Alton K. “Butch” Thompson '56, Edith Harris* (Service)
1997 – Donald D. Clayton '53, Lee Cullum '56, William T. Solomon '60, Frank Bevers* (Service)
1998 – Robert “Bobby” Layne '44* (Posthumous), Justice James A. Baker '49*, Ward L. Huey, Jr. '56, Michael M. Boone '59, E.A. Sigler, Jr. (Service)
1999 – John F. Anderson, Jr. '37*, A. Starke Taylor, Jr. '39*, Lynn C. Ashby '56, Walter Cecil Holmes, Jr. '55* (Service)
2000 – L. Lowry Mays '53, Gifford Touchstone '54, Wendy Kopp '85, Floyd R. Hightower* (Service)
2001 – Harvey Roberts “Bum” Bright '38*, Sylvia Ford Little '51, Sandra Jean Ford Fulton '55, Newton L. Manning* (Posthumous - Service)
2002 – Henry C. Beck, Jr. '34*, Ted Votteler '44*, Jack E. Little '56, Kellis White (Service)
2003 – James Cleo Thompson, Jr. '48*, Donald Zale '51, Thomas E. Campbell '56*, Kenneth Thomas (Service)
2004 – George E. Hurt, Jr. '50*, William L. Hutchison '50, Henry D. Jacoby '53, Elaine S. Prude* (Service), James “Brad” Bradley (Highlander)
2005 – George Underwood '37*, Ed Bernet '51, Peggy Nowlin Hanley '52, Lisabeth List '86, Frank Story* (Posthumous - Service),
Barbara Lomax Hitzelberger* (Highlander)
2006 – Pat Hudson Robertson '37*, John Roach '51*, Medora Doherty White '56*, Rodney Pirtle (Service), Margo Goodwin (Highlander)
2007 – Jack A. Turpin '47*, Charles Pistor '48*, Jack Lowe, Jr. '57, Mary Dillard (Service), Kirk Dooley '73 (Highlander)
2008 – Dorothy Nettleton Masterson '52, George Reynolds '53, Richard Quick '61*, Bo Snowden* (Service), David R. Webb '51 (Highlander)
2009 – Elizabeth Gamble Miller '43, Art Barnes '51*, Doug Wright '81, Becky Nugent (Service), Roger W. Blackmar, Jr. '50* (Highlander)
2010 – Elliot See, Jr. '45* (Posthumous), Bob Coffee '51, James A. Gibbs '53, Sam Burford, Jr. '60, Wanda Branch Spoonmore (Service),
Susan and Marc Hall (Highlander)
2011 – James M. Moroney, Jr. '38* (Posthumous), Jerry Fullinwider '46*, Wade Smith '54, Albert J. “Bud” Toole, III '55, Shirley Kochman ’53 (Service)
2012 – Pierce Allman '50*, Don Bowman '53, Mike Sorrells '59, John P. Connolly (Service), Julie Ann Hudson O’Connell '52* (Highlander)
2013 – Richard "Dick" Bass '46*, Charles Robert "Bob" Palmer '52, G. Lee Griffin '56, Linda Salinas (Service), La Fiesta de las Seis Banderas (Highlander)
2014 – Mary Frances McClure Burleson '53*, James “Blackie” Holmes '53*, Barbara Lehde deRubertis '57, David “D” Smith (Service),
Cathy Bryce (Highlander)
2015 – W. Richard "Dick" Davis '53, Nat Read '57, Herb Weitzman '57, Cathy Wheat (Service), Judy Gibbs (Highlander)
2016 – Robert E. "Bob" Wilbur '59, Joanne Leedom-Ackerman '64, Trevor D. Rees-Jones '69, Orvil L. Jones, Jr. (Service), Cindy Vaughan Kerr '71 and Guy Kerr '71 (Highlander)
2017 – David Pines '40*, Speight Jenkins '53, Tom Luce '58, Doug Gibbins (Service), Sally and Forrest Hoglund (Highlander)
2018 – Gary Morchower '55, Byron Egan '61, Douglas Coldwell '67, Jerry Sutterfield (Service), Syd Carter '54 (Highlander)
2019 – Roy Coffee, Jr. '55, Dorothy Elliott Leidner '83, Laura Claycomb '86, Don Richardson (Service), Leslie Melson* (Highlander)
2020 – Olin Lane '51, Martin True '64 (Posthumous), Amber Venz Box '05 and Baxter Box '01 (Young Alumni), Tom Shelton (Service) and
Gage Prichard '54 (Highlander)
2022 – The Honorable Harold "Hal" DeMoss '48 (Posthumous), Garry Weber '54, Paul Peters, M.D.'76, and Connie O'Neill (Highlander)
Click underlined names to view the honoree video.
*= Deceased