by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Four new inductees have been added to the Mid-America Education Hall of Fame at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
Inducted in festive ceremonies April 15 were longtime Kansas City educators J.D. Rios, Barry White and the late JoAnne Meditz and space pioneer Edward Dwight Jr. The 21st annual induction ceremonies, there are now 133 members of the Hall of Fame initiated in 1996 to recognize people and organizations who have made outstanding contributions to education.
A fundraiser for the KCKCC Foundation, this event raised more than $100,000, according to executive director Tami Bartunek.
In addition to the Hall of Fame inductees, five other award winners were announced in the ceremonies held in the Dr. Thomas Burke Technical Education Center at 65th and State Avenue.
Clyde Townsend and the late Mary Ann Flunder, both long-time members of the KCKCC Board of Trustees, were presented Distinguished Service Awards; a President’s Circle Award was made posthumously to Marjorie McMorris; Ottawa University received the Outstanding Partnership Award; and KCKCC President Doris Givens presented a special award to Bob Layton.:
Will Shields, former Kansas City Chiefs lineman now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and a 2001 inductee into the Mid-America Hall of Fame, was the honorary chair for the event while anchor-reporter Kevin Holmes of 41 KSHB-TV served as master of ceremonies. Welcoming remarks were made by Unified Government Mayor Mark Holland, KCKCC Foundation Robert Davis and Givens. The 2017 inductees:. .
Jo-Anne Meditz – A member of the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools board, Meditz dedicated her life to the Wyandotte County community. A public nurse for more than 20 years, she was the catalyst in establishing a Mustang Corral Clinic in the Argentine area. Her award was accepted by her husband, Joe Meditz, a longtime instructor at KCKCC.
J.D. Rios – A member of both the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools and KCKCC governing boards, Rios also served on the Head Start Board of Directors during a lengthy tenure as a teacher and administrator in the Kansas City, Kansas, Public School District. Most recently, Rios has been appointed Trustee for the University Foundation at Emporia State University.
Barry White – A teacher, coach and mentor for more than 50 years, 47 of which were spent as principal at Pembroke Hill School. Not only a principal but a friend and father figure, he mentored many struggling students to where they could feel value and accepted. He currently continues to substitute teach and enriches his curriculum with stories of sea turtles.
Edward Dwight Jr. – An enlistee in the U.S. Air Force in 1953, Dwight earned a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Arizona State and in 1961, the Kennedy Administration selected him to be the first African American astronaut trainee. Today, he’s an outstanding sculptor in Denver, Colo., where he owns and operates Ed Dwight Studios.
While Distinguished Service Awards were presented Mary Ann Flunder and Clyde Townsend for their many years of service as members of the KCKCC Board of Trustees, their contributions extended for beyond their service to the college. An advocate for younger people of color earning a degree in higher education, Flunder was the founding director of the Office of Minority Affairs for the University of Kansas. A former Wyandotte County Commissioner, Townsend also worked with the Board of Utilities and KCK Street Department.
The late Marjorie McMorris was presented the President’s Circle Award in recognition of her generous estate gift to the KCKCC Foundation in honor of her brother, Ralph McMorris, an alumnus of the KCKCC Technical Education program. A graduate of Washington High School and the Providence Hospital School of Nursing, she died July 21, 2016. More than 100 students have benefited from transfer agreements, scholarships and discounted partner tuition rate through KCKCC’s Partnership program with Ottawa University.
In a previously unannounced award, President Givens made a special presentation to Bob Layton, the retiring interim risk manager at KCKCC, for his contributions in a variety of capacities at the college.