Edgewood Announces Recipients of Distinguished Alumni Awards and Servant Heart Award

The Living the Mission Awards Presentation and Donor Recognition Brunch is scheduled for Sunday, October 4. This celebration honors members of our community whose lives and contributions reflect and support the mission and values promoted by Edgewood High School.

We offer special recognition to recipients of the Alumni Appreciation Award, Mazzuchelli Award for Service to Christian Education and the Dominican Award for Service to Humanity, inductees to the Edgewood Athletic Association Athletic Hall of Fame and the Fine Arts Hall of Fame, the recipient of the Servant Heart Award, and donors moving to a new level in the Crusader Court.

This year’s award recipients are:

Servant Heart Award

Diane Endres Ballweg ’71

For her outstanding philanthropy in the areas of arts and education, her support of the Edgewood community in numerous roles, including teacher, donor, and fundraiser, as well as he active participation in local to national organizations for women, aviation and the arts

Dominican Award for Service to Humanity

Sr. Constance Fahey, FSM ’54

For her many contributions to establishing and overseeing health care systems, her work with the poor and missions, and her service through retreat programs for women

Mazzuchelli Award for Service to Christian Education

Margaret Berigan McKinley ’64

For two decades of service as a librarian at Our Lady Queen of Peace School and her many years of volunteer service in support of Catholic Schools

Fine Arts Hall of Fame Inductee

Andrew Kinney ’85

For his distinguished career as an orchestrator of scores for multiple genres of film and television and his contributions to orchestral and chamber music as a composer 

EAA Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee

Dan O’Connell

For his longtime dedication to the Crusaders athletic program, including lifetime membership in the E Club and his work with the Edgewood Athletic Association

Alumni Appreciation Award

David Stein

For his dedicated service to Edgewood High School as a member and chairman of the Board of Trustees and his generous support of fundraising efforts, both personally and through advocacy 



 

I'll Try Jeopardy! Competitors from Madison WI for $1000, Alex!

Who is Laura Varriale?

CORRECT!

Laura attended UW-Madison for her undergraduate work in Business Administration, went on to the University of Minnesota for a Law degree and followed that up with an MBA in Finance. In 1999 she began working as a corporate and tax associate in Appleton, Wisconsin. Laura moved back to Madison to accept a position as legal counsel at the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, and in July 2011 became prosecuting attorney with the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services. Since October 2013, she has been legal counsel at Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction in Madison.

Laura wasn’t allowed to reveal how she did on the show, but you can watch her compete on Jeopardy! on your local NBC affiliate on Friday, September 25. Visit the Jeopardy! website for your own opportunity to be a contestant or play online!

An EHS Trivia Salute to Letterman

Perhaps one of the most famous entrances of any guest on the Late Show with David Letterman was the cartwheel by EHS alumnus Chris Farley ’82! However, Chris was not the only Edgewood graduate ever to appear on the show with former host David Letterman. Can you pick who among the following was also a guest?

1. John Tefft ’67 – US Ambassador to Russia
​2. Mary Ann Thurber ’73 – Madison Police Officer
3. Adam Burish ’01 – NHL Player & Stanley Cup winner

Madison Police Officer Mary Ann Thurber ’73 appeared on the show in 1985. Facebook or tv.com members can view the episode. Mary Ann would write up her reports for less-significant calls in poetry (the most famous one about a porta potty, “Bucky Latrine”). Letterman had Mary Ann appear in full uniform and she gave Letterman a run for his money when he made comments like, “I don’t suppose anyone has ever told you how good you make a police uniform look.”

According to another anecdote about Mary Ann, she was working with the vice unit on King Street in Madison as an undercover “lady of the night.” When a man approached her and offered her $5 for her services, she chased him away and refused to write him up because she didn’t want to have to admit the low dollar amount!

When Mary Ann received the Edgewood High School Dominican Award for Service to Humanity in 2007, she was honored both for her (then) 29 years of work on the Madison police force and for her volunteer work with Luke House, Walden Homes, Radio Reading Service for the Blind and the Rape Crisis Center. She joked about having to give acceptance remarks that she’d be more comfortable talking to the assembled audience if they’d “please stand up, turn around and put your hands on your heads.” Mary Ann’s retirement in 2012 was covered in a profile piece by the Wisconsin State Journal.

——•••——

The Chicago Blackhawks selected Adam Burish in the 2002 NHL draft and he appeared in 169 games for them over three-plus seasons. After helping the Hawks win the Stanley Cup in 2010, the team’s first in 49 years, Burish didn’t appear on the Letterman Show, but teammate and playoff MVP Patrick Kane did, along with the Cup. Adam went to the Dallas Stars in 2010 and the San Jose Sharks in 2012, and the Chicago Tribune ran a story in July about Adam’s future plans.

Though highly accomplished in the field of international politics, with previous service in the State Department and ambassadorial appointments by U.S. Presidents from Bill Clinton to George W. Bush to Barack Obama in Lithuania, Georgia, Ukraine and now Russia, John Tefft was never invited to appear with the quirky talk show host.

Always Eddies, but now also Buckys

Photo by Todd Rosenberg for Sports Illustrated

Maura Johnson ’14 (center) and Jake Dragoo ’14 (white cap next to her) were captured in a photo cheering on Badgers quarterback Joel Stave as the team emerged from the tunnel at Camp Randall Stadium. The picture accompanied a Sports Illustrated story (available online by subscription only) that addressed Badger season prospects and Stave’s overcoming of the “yips,” involuntary wrist spasms not uncommon among athletes.

 

Class of 1950 Shares Memories at Reunion

Members of the Class of 1950 celebrated their 65th Anniversary Reunion at a midday gathering held at the Radisson in Madison on August 29, 2015.

1950 was the start of the fast changes that would be seen in the coming decades as the Cold War came and went and technology became a dominant force worldwide. The Great Depression was becoming a faint memory while hearts were still broken over those lost during World War II. The median family income was $3,300 a year, the average cost of a new house was $8,450 and a gallon of gas was just 18 cents, and milk was still delivered to the doorstep. Disney released a new animated film, Cinderella, while the movie version of the Broadway hit musical, Annie Get Your Gun, kept audiences laughing.