On May 17, 2018, the Sherburne-Earlville Wall of Fame celebrated its 10th anniversary. Family members, friends, and S-E alumni gathered to celebrate the lives and achievements of both former and current honorees. The Wall of Fame Committee read the names of all individuals honored on the wall during its first nine years and welcomed six new honorees to the Wall of Fame family.
Helen Braun: A beloved member of the S-E community, Helen was a nurse in Syracuse and Hamilton for many years and taught nursing students at Chenango BOCES. In addition to raising four children, Helen has been active in the Eastern Star, United Church of Christ, the former Pratt Newton home, and the local blood bank. A graduate of the Sherburne Class of 1946, Helen served as the community representative for the Chenango Office of the Aging and as a member of the Innsiders of the Sherburne Inn.
Rob DeMuro: The Chief Medical Officer and Emergency Room Director of Elizabethtown Community Hospital in Essex County, Rob is a board-certified doctor of internal medicine. He was instrumental in helping the hospital balance its books and completely renovate its main facility. A member of the S-E Class of 1988, Rob has also served as the medical director of St. Joseph’s Addiction and Treatment Services in Elizabethtown. Rob is also the owner of the historic Deer’s Head Restaurant in Elizabethtown. The upper floor of the restaurant is a thrift store which Rob modeled after the Bargain Basket Store in Earlville, and four area churches run the shop and share the profits.
Margot Klisiwecz: Margot is remembered by former students and colleagues as a teacher who excelled not only as an instructor, but also as an advisor and counselor. A math teacher and department chair at S-E, Margot made connections with students both in and out of class, often reaching students that other adults couldn’t. In a pre-STEM age, Margot convinced many girls that they could do math, too, and advised countless students on both school and out-of-school issues. Margot has volunteered many hours working for the League of Women Voters, Brownies, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, and her local church.
Georgena Muhlfeld: Gina dedicated forty-five years to the S-E district, beginning as a typist in 1969 and becoming secretary to the superintendent in 1986. Gina also served as deputy district clerk and later district clerk for the S-E Board of Education for twenty years. Her knowledge of the ins and outs of school procedures helped many district leaders learn their jobs, and her kind, quiet, unassuming manner won the hearts of many friends and faculty members.
Karen Ryan: The former Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Stetson University, Karen Ryan is a Professor of Russian Language and Literature. Before coming to Stetson, she was a professor and administrator at the University of Virginia. An S-E graduate from 1976, Karen developed two study programs in Russia for Stetson students and published Contemporary Russian Satire: A Genre Study (1995) and Stalin in Russian Satire, 1917-1991 (2009). Among other accomplishments, she helped plan and develop the Institute for Water and Environmental Resilience at Stetson.
Keith Thode: A member of the S-E class of 1989, Keith is the lead founder of AdvanceNet Labs and AdvanceNet Technology Services, two companies designed to help less fortunate members of society in education, workforce development, family violence prevention, trafficking victim care, and medical community collaboration. Keith was also the founding employee of the Aidmatrix Foundation, and his teams have provided humanitarian aid in tragedies such as Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. He also serves on the board of several private and nonprofit organizations and is a contributing author of Managing Technology to Meet Your Mission: A Strategic Guide for Nonprofit Leaders.