Hall of Fame 2018

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ARLINGTON’S YORKTOWN HIGH SCHOOL INDUCTS SEVEN INTO HALL OF FAME AND INSPIRATION MAY 18

ARLINGTON, VA. (April 23, 2018). Seven accomplished alumni of Yorktown High School were inducted in the school’s Hall of Fame and Inspiration at a ceremony set for Friday, May 18. The event welcomed inductees, their families, students, alumni, parents and community officials for whom presenters dedicated seven plaques containing photographs and biographies mounted on the wall in the gym lobby.

       The Hall of Fame and Inspiration was created in 2004 and includes such notable alumni as broadcaster Katie Couric (class of ’75), Google CEO Eric Schmidt (’72), Olympic swimmer Tom Dolan (’93), the late astronaut David Brown (’74) and Hilton Hotels CEO Chris Nassetta (’80).

      The addition of seven in 2018 brings the total inductees to 35, after rounds of inductions in 2004, 2008 and 2014.

      The selections of distinguished alumni are made by a committee of alumni, a former teacher and a student member. Nominations are solicited from former students and the community via local news outlets and the website Yorktownalums.org. Selections are based on the following criteria: “alumni (including faculty and staff) who went on to become well known for achievement in any area of endeavor that brings credit to the school and whose story is compelling and inspiring.”

      “The fame can be local or national, but the accomplishments should have meaning to the students who walk by the plaques every day,” said current committee chair Sara Jane Knight, a retired Yorktown government teacher. “The committee had some tough choices to make.”

      Funding for the project came from alumni donations.

     The alumni inducted in the 2018 round include:


Meg Baldwin
1953-
Women, Children’s Rights Advocate
YHS Class of 1971
Inducted 2018

Executive Director of Refuge House, nationally known domestic and sexual violence resource center in Tallahassee, Fla.; drafted model state legislation to provide civil remedies for women coerced into prostitution; received 2008 Florida Council Against Sexual Violence Warrior for Women Award and 2010 National Organization of Men Against Sexism Lifetime Achievement Award; associate professor of law Florida State University; J.D. University of Minnesota Law School 1984; B.A. English Reed College 1976.


Charlie Clark
1953-
Writer, Local Historian
YHS Class of 1971
Inducted 2018

Weekly “Our Man in Arlington” columnist for Falls Church News-Press since 2010; author of books “Arlington County Chronicles” and “Hidden History of Arlington County”; frequent public speaker and contributor to Arlington Historical Magazine; unofficial Yorktown historian; journalism at Government Executive Media Group, Washington Post, Congressional Quarterly, National Journal, Time-Life Books; B.A history McGill University 1976.


Jonathan Kinney
1946-
Civic Leader, Land use expert
YHS Class of 1964
Inducted 2018

Partner Bean, Kinney & Korman; expertise in land use, zoning, estate planning, financial management; lifelong Arlingtonian’s honors include Arlington Business Hall of Fame, Arlington Community Foundation Spirit of Community Award 2016; Virginia General Assembly commemorated his community service 2017; B.A. Duke University 1968; J.D. University of Chicago 1971.


Jack Lechner
1962 -
Film & TV Producer, Lyricist, Author
YHS Class of 1980
Inducted 2018

Associate professor, Columbia University; executive producer of major films including Oscar-winning 'The Fog of War;' supervising producer of `National Geographic Explorer’ and `New Yorker’ TV series; lyricist for multi-award-winning off-Broadway musical `The Kid’; book author; constructor of New York Times crossword puzzles; B.A. Yale University 1984.


Nancy Pletcher McFarlane
1956 –
Mayor, Corporate Executive
YHS Class of 1974
Inducted 2018

Elected mayor of Raleigh, N.C., in 2011 after two terms on city council; secured urban parkland, oversaw rewrite of Raleigh development code, boosted public transit and arts; founder and CEO of MedPro Rx, a pharmacy serving chronically ill at home; B.Sc. pharmacy Medical College of Virginia 1980.


Jonathan Martin
1977-
Political Journalist
YHS Class of 1995
Inducted 2018

National political correspondent for The New York Times, covering presidential, congressional and state campaigns; CNN political analyst, where he appears regularly on `Inside Politics.’ Previously was a senior political writer at Politico; first covered politics for National Journal’s The Hotline and National Review; writing published in The New Republic, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times Magazine; B.A. History Hampden-Sydney College, 1999.


Ian McWethy
1983-
Playwright
YHS Class of ‘01
Inducted 2018

Forty original plays published by Playscripts Inc. and Stage Partners; popular in high schools, plays such as ‘Graduation for Dummies’, ‘Bad Auditions by Bad Actors,’ and ’12 Incompetent Jurors’ staged more than 4,000 times in all 50 states and in 32 countries; screenwriter with numerous awards at film festivals; two TV shows in development; B.A. Theater Arts Fordham University 2005.

       Yorktown High School is located at 5200 Yorktown Blvd. at 28th St. in Arlington. School officials can be reached at 703-228-5400.