Nine inducted into Warren schools’ hall of fame

Staff report

WARREN

Nine graduates were inducted into Warren High Schools’ Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame for the class of 2011. The inductees will join 175 existing members.

The award honors those indviduals who reflect credit on the Warren high schools to inspire current students to achieve in the future.

This year’s inductees include:

Pamela Brogon-Wynne, a 1966 graduate of Warren G. Harding.

Robert Busby, a 1946 graduate of Warren G. Harding.

Frank Calvin, a 1962 graduate of Warren G. Harding.

Gary Gibson, a 1972 graduate of Warren G. Harding.

James Goddard, a 1941 graduate of Warren G. Harding.

Pamela Houston, a 1988 graduate of Western Reserve.

Cynthia Hill, a 1969 graduate of Western Reserve.

Dana Kristina-Joi Morgan, a 1998 graduate of Warren G. Harding.

Nick Pitinii, a 1952 graduate of Warren G. Harding.

The Board of Directors also will honor two distinguished faculty members of the Warren schools. The 2011 recipients of the that award are former Warren Western Reserve Principal Clifford Johnson and former Warren G. Harding chemistry teacher Elizabeth Weston.

Both will receive the award posthumously.

The 18th annual awards dinner will be May 7 at Warren G. Harding High School.

Tours of the high school and a social hour will begin at 5 p.m. Dinner, served by the Saratoga Restaurant & Catering, is at 6:30. Tickets are $30 per person and can be obtained by calling 330-372-4758 or by downloading a reservation form from the Warren City Schools’ website at www.warrenschools.k12.oh.us.

The deadline for reservations is April 27.

The Class of 2011 inductees:

Pamela Brogdon-Wynne graduated form Warren G. Harding High School in 1966. She graduated from Youngstown State University with a bachelor’s degree in education and later her master’s in guidance and counseling. She now lives in California and works at College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita, where she also is a professor of counseling.

Robert F. Busby was a 1946 graduate of Warren G. Harding High School. He was quarterback of the football team and a member of the swim team. He graduated from Fenn College, which is now Cleveland State University, becoming its first All-American in 1948 and 1949 competing in football, track, swimming and fencing. Busby died in 2000.

Frank L. Calvin graduated from Warren G. Harding in 1962. He enlisted in the Marine Corps and was deployed to Europe and the Dominican Republic several times. He was honorably discharged as sergeant. He is the Founder of the Warren High Schools’ Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame and was a driving force behind the establishment of the Warren City Schools Foundation.

Gary R. Gibson graduated from Warren G. Harding High School in 1972 and attended college and medical school at Case Western Reserve University, graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1976 and a medical degree in 1980. Since 1983, he has practiced primary care in the Warren area. He founded the Warren Physicians Group in 1994.

James L. Goddard graduated from Warren G. Harding High School in 1941. He received a pre-med degree at Temple University while serving in the United States Army. In 1949, he earned a medical degree from George Washington University, and in 1955, he graduated from the Harvard School of Public Health with a master’s degree in public health. Goddard received numerous awards during his career, including the Samuel Bronfman Prize of the American Public Health Association, the highest public-health award in the United States. He died in 2009.

Judge Pamela Houston (Pamela D. Merolillo) is a 1988 graduate of Warren Western Reserve High School where she was a member of the National Honor Society, a majorette and a SADD officer. She received a bachelor’s in communications from the University of Akron and her juris doctoater from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. She lives in Orlando, Fla.

Cynthia Hill is a 1969 graduate of Warren Western Reserve High School, where she was a member of the a capella choir, the track-and-field team and the gymnastics team. After earning her bachelor’s in psychology in 1974 and her master’s in education in 1975 from Kent State University, she accepted a position at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Cynthia is currently the Associate Provost at UMBC.

Dana Kristina-Joi Morgan, is a 1998 graduate of Warren G. Harding High School. In 2003, Morgan earned a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Capital University Conservatory of Music in Columbus. In 2005, she received a master’s degree from Howard University in the same discipline. She has performed throughout the United States and Nairobi, Kenya, Africa, and has appeared on C-SPAN, BET, WORD and FOX-5 TV Networks. In 2005, she received the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. Rainbow Push Coalition “Woman on the Rise Award.”

Nick C. Pitinii was a 1952 graduate of Warren G. Harding High School. He received his bachelor’s degree from Youngstown State University in 1956 and a master’s degree from the University of Akron. Pitinii pursued further education from Hiram College and Case Western Reserve University. Pitinii began his teaching career at Turner Junior High School and later was assistant principal, principal and superintendent. Pitinii died in 2010.