by Linsey | Jul 24, 2019
John was a talented athlete at Hamburg High School, competing in Track (1955-58) and Cross Country (1954-57). He was team captain and the Section VI Class AA Individual Champion in 1957. During the 4-year period from 1954-57, John was part of two Section VI Class AA Team Championships, one team co-championship and one team second place finish. Twice during his high school career John was named the teams “outstanding runner.” While still in high school, John participated in the Thanksgiving Day “Turkey Trot,” finishing in the top 15 unattached runners. During the 1958 track season, he was undefeated in Class AA competition in the mile, turning in a best time of 4:52. Some of John’s fondest memories of his high school sports career were the people he met, including his Wall of Fame coach Jack Foster, who was always there to guide him and the team to be better runners. He recalls his friend Mike Goss, who got him started running competitively by running with him the 4 or 5 blocks from school to home. About his teammates, John said, “There were many guys that were there for every practice and every competition even though they never got their names in the paper or received any recognition outside of their team members.” Upon graduation, John was offered a partial track and cross country scholarship to Cornell University, but instead attended General Motors Institute, graduating with a degree in Industrial Engineering. He work for GM for many years and ultimately had his own manufacturer’s representative company, selling machines that made car parts to automobile manufacturers. He retired in 2015 and moved to Bonita Springs, Florida.
by Linsey | Jul 24, 2019
Mark was a gifted 3-sport athlete, playing baseball, basketball and football for the Bulldogs. He was elected captain of the varsity basketball team his senior year, and as a player Mark set a school record with 22 assists in one game. As a football player, Mark was voted 1st Team All-Western New York, where he was also named MVP of the All-Star game in 1977. Mark received the prestigious Art Howe Award for outstanding senior athlete that year. Mark had previously set a school record in football in ’76 with 6 interceptions in one season. Mark went on to play football and lacrosse at Hobart College, where he was selected First Team All ECAC for football his senior year, and was also a member of the 1980-81 and 1981-82 National Lacrosse Championship Teams. After college, Mark signed a free agent NFL contract to play for the Buffalo Bills, participating in the 1982 training camp and pre-season game. Mark was then signed by the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League. After much consideration, Mark decided to hang up his cleats and pursue law school. He has been practicing law in the family law firm since 1988. Mark’s love of sports continued on after his playing days ended. He was fortunate enough in 1996 to have the opportunity to work the broadcast booth of the high school All-Star Game. The producer liked Mark’s work and he was hired by Adelphia Cable Sports to be the color commentator on high school and college sporting event for the last 20 years. He has enjoyed the fun and privilege of broadcasting Hamburg Bulldog football and lacrosse games.
by Linsey | Jul 24, 2019
Keith was born in Hamburg and attended Union/Pleasant and Armor schools before moving to Florida in second grade. He moved back to Hamburg in the eighth grade and attended Hamburg’s Junior and Senior High Schools. While at Hamburg he played football and baseball. He then attended Alfred University majoring in Business while skiing for the Alfred University Ski Team. After graduation, he assumed responsibility running Fisher Moving and Storage, the family’s household goods moving company. In 1977, upon the sudden death of his father and with the help and support of his Aunt, Jean Kyne and cousin, Molly Kyne Schmitt, he stepped in as leader of the Fisher School Bus operation at the age of 23. During this time, he and Molly also owned Niagara Scenic Tours, a motor coach company. Together, they grew the operation to be one of the largest motor coach company in WNY. They sold Niagara Scenic in in 1997 to Coach USA. Ten years later, in 2006, Keith reopened Niagara Scenic and once again, grew the company to be the largest motor coach company in WNY. A fourth generation led family business, Keith’s son, Hadley, currently works in the company leading the school bus operation as its President. In 2017, the Fisher Transportation Group celebrated its 90th anniversary. Keith is married to Michele and has a daughter Jocelyn and another son Christopher. He is also the President of the Hamburg Alumni Foundation and the JESKAF Family Foundation. In his free time, he enjoys skiing, golf, biking, hunting and racing Porsche’s with his son Hadley.
by Linsey | Jul 24, 2019
Kyle was raised in the town of Boston by Paul and Eileen Becker along with his 6 siblings. At an early age he developed his independence, thirst for knowledge, and taste for challenges through riding and racing his bike. Unbeknownst to him, at the same time his teachers at Hamburg were providing the tools and a foundation on which to pursue a lifelong journey of questioning and discovery. After high school he attended Boston University and followed that with a Master’s degree at Penn State. He then earned a doctoral degree in Applied Ocean Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography and Ocean Engineering. With Ph.D. in hand, he returned to Penn State on the faculty of the Graduate Program in Acoustics. There he developed and taught courses, guided graduate students, and lead an active sea-going research program. In 2010 he was a Senior Scientist at the NATO Undersea Research Centre in La Spezia, Italy where he spent two years and served as Chief Scientist on multiple cruises aboard the NATO Research Vessel Alliance. For his research contributions he received the 2011 A.B. Wood Medal from the Institute of Acoustics (U.K.) and a 2014 NATO Scientific Achievement Award. Currently he is a Program Officer for the Office of Naval Research where he develops and manages basic and applied science programs with a global reach. His most recent project aims to understand, from a neurological point of view, how mammals, including bats, dolphins, and humans perform scene analysis using active acoustic sensing – or echolocation.
by Linsey | Jul 24, 2019
Hugh is the 6th of 9 children of Evan and Virginia Calkins. He moved to Hamburg at the age of 5 and graduated third in the Class of 1975. His activities included the trumpet, AFS, NHS, and 4H activities with his standard poodle and sheep. Hugh attended Williams college and graduated magna cum laude with Highest Honors in Chemistry, and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He then attended Harvard Medical School followed by training in internal medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital and in cardiology at Johns Hopkins. Hugh’s first faculty position was at the University of Michigan. He then returned to Johns Hopkins to direct the arrhythmia program. Dr. Calkins currently is the Nicholas Fortuin Professor of Cardiology and Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins. He also is the Director of the Clinical Electrophysiology Laboratory, the Arrhythmia Service, and the ARVD Program. Hugh entered the field of electrophysiology in its infancy and has played a pioneering role in the field. He is particularly well known for his research on catheter ablation to treat arrhythmias. He founded and leads the Johns Hopkins ARVD Program, which cares for patients and carries out research on this inherited cause of sudden death. Dr. Calkins has published more than 600 manuscripts and more than 75 book chapters. He has spoken at medical conferences throughout the world. Dr. Calkins has received many awards including receiving 1st prize in the NASPE Young Investigator Competition in 1988, the Helen B. Taussig Award in 1999, and the Van Ruyven Medal in 2012. Dr. Calkins has been recognized for his clinical excellence by Best Doctors in America, America’s Top Physicians, and Baltimore Magazine. Dr. Calkins served as President of the Heart Rhythm Society, the largest international organization of physicians focused on heart rhythm problems from 2014-2015.
