COLUMBUS, Ind. — Columbus North High School’s alumni association honored its recipients of the 2021 and 2022 Hall of Fame inductees in ceremonies prior to North’s homecoming football game Friday night.
“We are very excited to hold our event this year,” said Executive Director Hedy George. “This is our biggest event of the year, and we are proud to honor our alumni for their lifetime achievements. Public health took priority the past two years, and we are grateful the pandemic has lessened its grip on our lives.”
The 2021 hall of fame inductees include:
- Jane Dutton: Class of 1984, music professor at IU Jacobs School of Music and professional vocalist
- Xenia Simons Miller: Class of 1934, philanthropist and community leader
- Jeanne Lewellen Norbeck: Class of 1929, air raid warden and Women Airforce Service pilot
- Jerry Records: Class of 1956, Colonel, U.S. Air Force (retired)
- Eric Stark: Class of 1984, professor and director of choral activities at Butler’s Jordan School of Arts
- Kay Nichols Stepp: Class of 1963, business administrator and community leader
The 2022 inductee is Jim Carpenter from the class of 1971. He founded Wild Birds Unlimited in 1981 in Indianapolis and is in his 42nd year as president and CEO over 360 franchises in the United States and Canada. Wild Birds is a franchise system of backyard bird feeding and nature specialty stores.
The company sponsors projects such as observation towers at wildlife refuges, sending disadvantaged youth to Audubon camps and international citizen science events.
Carpenter and his wife, Nancy, recently purchased an abandoned golf course and plan to transform it into a park and nature preserve. He also authored “The Joy of Bird Feeding” and is on the board for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Indiana Nature Conservancy and the Indiana University Environmental Resilience Institute.
Carpenter has also received a Distinguished Agricultural Alumni Award from Purdue University and has been designated a Sagamore of the Wabash and a Distinguished Hoosier by two Indiana Governors.
The Bull Dog Alumni Association established the Alumni Hall of Fame in 2012 to recognize Columbus High School/Columbus North High School graduates for their professional achievements and “personal contributions to enhance the lives of others and society.” Thirty-five members have been inducted since the hall’s 2013 inaugural class.
