Otsego adds to Hall of Fame

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TONTOGANY – Otsego Local Schools have inducted three more alumni into its Hall of Fame.

On Feb. 10, Jim Carter, Cole Gorski and Lisa Ann Hatfield joined the list of honorees for having earned distinction beyond graduation.

The Otsego Hall of Fame was established in 2021 and is designed to recognize individuals who have brought honor to themselves by making significant impacts or contributions to the school, students or community.

Carter is a 1957 Grand Rapids High School alumnus. He was a Buckeye Boys State delegate in 1956 and was active in athletics.

He served in the U.S. Army from 1958-61, and was named an outstanding soldier for the Fourth Army. He earned degrees in electrical engineering at the University of Toledo and University of Michigan, and worked for Toledo Edison for 32 years.

Carter served as Wood County commissioner for 20 years, was a Grand Rapids councilman from 1969-75, and served a mayor in the village from 1975-80 and 1984-93.

He was chairman of the Toledo Metropolitan Council of Governments in 1999, on the Owens Community College Foundation Board of Directors in 2003 and has been a member of Grand Rapids American Legion Post 232.

He has volunteered with the Grand Rapids Apple Butter Fest, the Grand Rapids Historical Society and the Grand Rapids Township Fire Department.

Carter was honored as a Spirit of Wood County award winner in 1993 and was Wood County Fair Grand Marshall in 2016. He has been inducted into the American Legion Boys State Hall of Fame.

He has been married to his childhood sweetheart Sharon for more than 64 years. They have two daughters, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Gorski is a 2014 Otsego High School graduate, was valedictorian of his class and a member of National Honor Society.

He was outdoor and indoor pole vault state champion, state finalist in the 200 meter and 100 meter dash, a conference record holder in the pole vault, 100 meter, 200 meter and 4×200 relay, and was named the NBC Athlete of the Year.

In football, Gorski was a first team conference and district wide receiver, and was named OHSFCA Academic All Ohio.

He graduated in 2019 with summa cum laude honors from Ohio State University with a bachelor of science in Business Administration.

Gorski was a three-time Big Ten champion in pole vault, a three-time NCAA All-American in pole vault, an Ohio State pole vault record holder for both indoor and outdoor, and a Big Ten Medal of Honor finalist for attaining the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work.

Gorski is currently working as a frontend developer.

Hatfield is a 1981 Otsego High School alumna, who went on the earn an associate degree in nursing technology at Owens Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Ohio University.

She works as a behavioral health registered nurse at Humana Inc.

Hatfield served as an Otsego Local Schools Board of Education member for 12 years. She has been the Otsego Food Pantry director since 2016 and chairperson of the Grand Rapids Apple Butter Festival Committee since 1984.

She has been Haskins and Grand Rapids Parent Teacher Association volunteer, den leader and assistant cub master of Pack 325, and elder at Grand Rapids First Presbyterian Church and head chef for its Thanksgiving Day dinner.

Hatfield has been a Kids Outdoor Science Camp charge nurse at Camp Palmer, and a Wood County 4-H Camp substitute nurse.

She and her husband Jeff have been married for 40 years and have two sons and a daughter-in-law. All are Otsego alumni.

Past Otsego Hall of Fame honorees have included:

2012-13: Dan Cocke, Holly Frantz, Deb Kendall, Gordon Wenig

2013-14: Randy Donald, Ann Laskey, Lawrence Sprague

2014-15: John Brown, Madge Brown, Fred Moor, Bernard Scott, Jean Scott

2015-16: Howard Bluhm, Tim Downey, Carter Genson, Charlene Genson, Barb Vollmar,

2016-17: Edward C. Byers Jr., Mary Frazier

2017-18: Stephen Kendall, Ann Titus

2018-19: Janine Baughman, Lt.-Col. Joseph L. Heyman, Joe Long

2019-20: Tom Sorosiak, Nancy Wright

2021-22: Pablo Castro, Richard Conrad, Kelly Heile

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