HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The 22nd class of the Wall of Honor at Hutchinson High School features a trio of HHS alumni.
The 2021-22 honorees are David Casey, class of 1996; Judge Gregory Waller, class of 1966; and Wendy Wintersteen class of 1974. There was not a ceremony in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Sponsored by the HHS Alumni Association and Hutchinson High School, the group will be honored during a banquet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, September 30 in the HHS Career and Technical Education Academy, 800 15th Circle. Masks will be required. The public is invited and encouraged to attend as the groups celebrate three individuals who have dedicated their lives to making Hutchinson and the world a better place.
Tickets must be purchased in advance for the banquet. Tickets cost $15 each and can be purchased weekdays at the HHS main office, 810 East 13th, from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., September 1st through September 30th .
The three honorees formally will take their place on the Wall of Honor prior to the Homecoming Game at about 6:20 p.m. Friday, October 1, at Gowans Stadium.
David Casey, Class of 1996
David Casey graduated from Hutchinson High School in 1996. He received certification in film production from NYU and a Bachelor of Arts in English and Creative Writing from Hunter College in New York City. He is an award-winning showrunner, director, writer, and TV executive. In 2008, Casey directed a documentary on Greenland and Climate Change entitled I Heart Global Warming for Vice President Al Gore's Current TV.
Since then, his passion for Greenland has led him north time and again in search of great stories to tell. His extensive showrunner and executive producer credits include the globally produced Coyote Peterson: Brave the Wild, Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival award-winning Ocean Warriors from Executive Producers Robert Redford and Paul Allen, and long-running Ice Cold Gold for Animal Planet. Previously, he has helmed executive positions at History, Moxie Pictures, Wilderness Productions, ITVS, and Vice President Al Gore’s Current TV. David also won numerous ProMax Awards for his brand and series creative direction.
Judge Gregory Waller, Class of 1966
After graduating from Hutchinson High School in 1966, the late Judge Gregory L. Waller attended Hutchinson Community College, where he received his Associate of Arts Degree in Pre-Law Studies in 1968. He then attended Washburn University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Political Science, graduating with honors in 1970. He obtained his Juris Doctorate in Law in 1972. He began his law career as a partner in Hays & Waller. Later, he worked as a Sedgwick County Assistant District Attorney from 1975-1993. As a prosecutor, he won most of the cases that he was assigned. In 1993 he was appointed by Governor Joan Finney (and later elected) to serve as a District Court Judge in the State of Kansas. He served in that role for almost 22 years. During his career, Judge Waller was one of only a few African Americans to serve the State of Kansas as both a prosecutor and a judge. He took pride in being one of only three Black district court judges in Kansas. In high school, Judge Waller participated in many extra-curricular activities such as playing the saxophone in the school band. He cherished his time at Hutchinson High School, and would often reminisce with family and friends about his wonderful experiences there, and the pride that he had in being a “Hutch High Alumni.”
Wendy Wintersteen, Class of 1974
After graduating from Hutchinson High School, Wendy received a B.S. degree from Kansas State University in crop protection in 1978. She then joined Iowa State University Extension as an Integrated Pesticide Management Extension Associate in 1979 and shortly after began her Ph.D. program while continuing her full-time employment. Following the completion of her Ph.D. program in Entomology in 1988, Wendy was appointed as Assistant Professor in the Department of Entomology at Iowa State University. In 1995, Wendy accepted her first of many administrative appointments at Iowa State. In 2006, she became the Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Under her leadership, the College enrollment expanded to become the third largest ‘ag’ college in the Nation, research grants and teaching awards increased, and the College was routinely ranked in the top 10 agricultural colleges nationally. On Nov. 20, 2017 after a nationwide search, Wendy became the sixteenth President of Iowa State University and its first female President. She serves on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s National Council for Expanding American Innovation, the U.S. Council on Competitiveness, the University Innovation Alliance, the World Food Prize Foundation Council of Advisers and the Big 12 Board of Directors. Wendy has been named to the Iowa Business Hall of Fame in part for her success at increasing ISU’s emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship. ISU has won numerous awards for its student entrepreneurial educational program and was recently ranked by the prestigious Princeton Review as having the 11th best entrepreneurship program nationally.