Marion High School Hall of Distinction 2013 inductees

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1 Marion High School Hall of Distinction 2013 inductees William Bill Dennis Class of 1960 William Bill Dennis, Marion High School Class of 1960, is a leader in the animation industry both in the U.S. and abroad. He has worked as an executive with Walt Disney Studios and Hanna Barbera Studios, and he led the creation of what has become India s top animation studio, Toonz Animation. During his time with Disney in the 1980s and 90s, he was involved in the productions of feature films including Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, and he also was involved in the launch of Epcot Center at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla. During his time at with Hanna Barbera in the 1990s, he worked with overseas studio operations and was involved with the creation of shows including Dexter s Lab and Powerpuff Girls. Since then, Dennis has become one of the most influential people in Asian animation and frequently consults with studios in the region, according to the website for Los Angeles-based International Animation Consulting Group, in which Dennis is a founding partner. His productions in India have won various awards, and the Indian government in 2000 honored him with the prestigious Rashtriya Rattan Award for outstanding individual achievements and distinguished service to the nation.

2 He also founded the Indian chapter of the International Animated Film Society (ASIFA), which according to the ASIFA website was founded in 1957 in France and chartered under UNESCO in 1960 as a membership organization devoted to the encouragement and dissemination of film animation as an art and communication form. Dennis is also one of the founders and principals of Zanymation Associates, a boutique animation studio with operations in the U.S. and Germany. Though his home base is in Utah, he is a frequent juror for animation festivals and is a voting member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. He also serves as an advisor and board member for studios and animation schools in the U.S. and India. Dennis attended Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., and Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., a suburb of Orlando.

3 John L. Earnest Class of 1962 John L. Earnest, Marion High School Class of 1962, began his professional career in education at his alma mater but went on to a long and distinguished career in medical management, bringing innovative care to the Marion and Grant County communities. He has also been a driving force behind community efforts to help improve Marion High School in recent years, as well as MHS alumni relations. In the late 1970s, Earnest was involved in the start-up of Ambucare Clinic in Marion, Ind., the first walkin medical facility in Indiana. That innovation, though, is just one aspect of his footprint in the medical field, both in Marion and beyond. He has also been involved at the executive and administrative level in several other Marion-based businesses, including Ambulatory Care Solutions, which provides primary care services to the Veterans Administration; Able Ambulance, which provides convalescent transportation services; Preferred Medical Management, a physician group that staffed emergency rooms and correctional facilities; and Earnest Associates, which provides medical care to the Marion and Grant County community. Prior to that, he worked with Multiphasic Medical Management in Houston, Texas, and Physicians Placement Group in St. Louis, Mo. His professional life started, though, as a social studies teacher and basketball and baseball coach at Marion High School, just five years after leaving there as a graduate. Decades later, he remains heavily invested and involved in the city of Marion and Marion Community Schools, and is co-chairman of Friends of Marion High School, a community organization founded to help improve and promote the school and encourage further community involvement.

4 He has also been instrumental in keeping his MHS graduating class in touch over the years, helping to organize reunions and class birthday parties. He is also president of the Marion High School Alumni Association. He has also served on various other advisory boards for educational, business, religious and philanthropic organizations in Marion, Ind. Earnest also has been involved in local politics. He refers to his involvement in politics as a being on a hobby level, but he has served in leadership roles for the local Republican Party. He has been honored with a Sagamore of the Wabash award from the state of Indiana, as well as an Outstanding Achievement Award Business/Professional from Indiana Wesleyan University. Earnest earned a bachelor of science in education from Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Ind., in He earned a master of science in education from Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., in He lives in Marion, Ind., with his wife, Linda, who has taught in Marion Community Schools for decades, and their three children are also graduates of Marion High School.

5 Dave Liniger Class of 1963 Dave Liniger, Marion High School Class of 1963, is the visionary leader and co-founder of RE/MAX, a global real estate franchise based in Denver, Colo. When he and his wife, Gail, created the RE/MAX business model in 1973, it revolutionized the real estate industry. The model, which combines a maximum commission concept with world-class support services, continues to attract experienced, top-producing agents who lead the industry in individual sales and professional education. In 2013, RE/MAX had nearly 90,000 agents in more than 85 countries. Reflecting his effect on the industry, in 2011 Liniger earned Inman News People s Choice Award for Most Influential Real Estate Leader garnering the largest vote total in the history of the online survey. That came just a year after he was named one of the 50 Most Powerful People in Real Estate by Bloomberg Business Week. He has also been featured in Entrepreneur, Forbes, Fortune, Inc., Success, and other leading publications and media outlets across the globe. He has earned the Warren Bennis Award for Leadership Excellence from the Global Institute for Leadership Development and has been inducted into the International Franchise Hall of Fame, the Council of Real Estate Brokerage Managers Hall of Leaders and the Real Estate Buyer s Agent Council Hall of Fame and has earned the Council of Residential Specialists Special Achievement Award. Liniger is well respected internationally for his vast knowledge of the real estate industry and influence on housing policy. At the height of the recent recession, he pushed for governmental housing reform policies that would help speed the recovery in the housing sector; many of his recommendations were adopted.

6 He has also made a massive impact on various charities, with RE/MAX having raised more than $120 million for Children s Miracle Network Hospitals, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and other charities, and he has given millions of dollars for breast cancer research. Since 1997, he has also helped hundreds of charities raise more than $60 million by permitting them to use his privately owned golf course, The Sanctuary, for fundraisers. That golf course s setting, 222 hilly acres near Sedalia, Colo., is also a protected habitat for many native Colorado animal species, including elk and deer, black bears, golden eagles, foxes, and coyotes, and is home to dozens of wildflower varieties and native grasses. Liniger s love of nature is also manifested in the Denver-area conservation center The Wildlife Experience, of which he was a co-founder. The 14-acre facility is dedicated to fostering appreciation and understanding of wildlife, its conservation and the many forms of wildlife art. He is also a pilot and race car driver. He has competed as a NASCAR driver and team owner, and he also has competed in the Grand-Am Series Rolex 24-hour race at Daytona International Speedway. He was one of a three-pilot crew who attempted to launch the Team RE/MAX stratospheric helium balloon expedition in the late 1990s, and he is a multi-engine, instrument-rated commercial pilot. Liniger became interested in real estate while stationed with the U.S. Air Force in Phoenix, Ariz., buying and selling properties there to supplement his income. He also served in Vietnam with the Air Force. He currently resides in Colorodo with his wife, Gail.

7 Stephen L. Edwards honorary inductee Stephen L. Edwards served four years as superintendent of Marion Community Schools, and during that time spearheaded reforms that have changed the trajectory of the school system, from one that was on the brink of possible state takeover of some of its schools to one that is earning statewide and even national attention for its successes. His focus on data-driven decision making pushed educators and administrators at every level of the school system toward greater accountability and greater success. And because of that, students have more opportunity for greater success. During Edwards tenure, what had been a tense relationship between the teachers and the central administration was transformed into a great working relationship. Many describe the changes throughout the school system as a complete culture shift. Contributions and participation from the community also grew, with several advisory committees giving parents opportunity to help guide how the school system is run. And the data from a skyrocketing graduation rate to greater student success on tests to more college credits earned proved that the changes were having a real impact on students at Marion Community Schools. It is because of his innovative leadership of Marion Community Schools that Edwards despite not being an alumnus of Marion High School is an honorary inductee into the MHS Hall of Distinction.

8 Before becoming superintendent of Marion Community Schools, Edwards served for 11 years as assistant superintendent for instruction for Muncie Community Schools in Muncie, Ind. Prior to that, he held several other leadership positions within Muncie Community Schools, serving as director of adult and community education and recreation, coordinator of district-wide athletic programs, and assistant principal at Muncie Central High School. He began his education career as a teacher and coach at North Vermillion High School in Cayuga, Ind., in In 1974, he started working for Muncie Community Schools as a teacher and track and crosscountry coach at Muncie Northside High School, where he later served as athletic director and then assistant principal. Edwards has been presented with numerous awards, including Delaware County s Outstanding Educator award given by the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce in 2007; the Chairman s Award given by the Marion-Grant County Chamber of Commerce in 2011; and the LaRita Gibbs-Boren Faithful Servant Award by Prevent Child Abuse Grant County in He was inducted into the Indiana Association of Track and Cross-Country Coaches Hall of Fame in 2012, and served as the head coach for the Indiana High School All-Star Track Team for the 1979 Midwest Meet of Champions. He earned two varsity letters in track and field and two varsity letters in crosscountry from Butler University, from which he also earned a bachelor s degree in 1969 and a master s degree in He also earned a specialist in education degree from Ball State University in He served as the state president for the Indiana Association for Adult and Continuing Education during the school year, and has served with various organizations, including the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents; the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development; and The Horace Mann League of the USA; and serves as a board member for several organizations, including the Delaware County Athletic Hall of Fame; the Marion-Grant County Chamber of Commerce; Grant-Blackford Mental Health, Inc.; and Project Leadership in Grant County.