Foundation Holds Dinner
Alums, Teacher and Students Honored
April 24, 2004
Mr. Jim Mohrmann was presented with the 2004 Alice Raikes Distinguished Teacher Award at the dinner. As the winner of the award Mr. Mohrmann received a cash award for himself and his department from the Foundation. Mr. Mohrmann was selected to receive the award from the Raikes family as a result of nominations submitted by students, staff, parents and district patrons. A 9-12 grade math teacher, Mr. Mohrmann has taught in the Ashland-Greenwood Public Schools for 21 years. Previously he taught math in Racine, Wisconsin.
Also honored at the dinner were three Foundation scholarship winners. Richard Lichtas, Jr. and April Krueger received the honor scholarships to attend a four year college or university. Tyler Jurgenesen won the technical school scholarship for an individual planning to attend a two year college to learn a technical skill or trade.
The featured honorees for the evening were the honored alumni. This year the Foundation honored three alums. They included Dr. Donald Ziegler, Mr. Franklin Gaines and Dr. Tammy North Comstock.
Dr. Donald Ziegler was a 1938 graduate of Ashland High School. He received his bachelors and masters degree in Biochemistry and Microbiology from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Ziegler had a long career with the Eli Lilly Pharmaceutical Company. At Eli Lily, he was a part of the research team that developed two medically important antibiotics, Erythromycin and Vancomycin. Dr. Ziegler also went on to work for the Communicable Disease Centers in Atlanta, Georgia and held adjunct professor positions at the University of North Carolina and Georgia State University. Certainly our world today is a bit safer and healthier as a result of his work.
The second honoree, Mr. Franklin Gaines, was a 1956 graduate of Ashland High School and a 1961 graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan University. A mathematician, Mr. Gaines served for 33 years with the Internal Revenue Service as an auditor, instructor and manager. Frank also took the skills of oversight to a career as an athletic official. He served 22 years as a Big Eight football official. Mr. Gaines also officiated basketball and was the first person to officiate in the Bob Devaney Sports Center when it opened. Today, Frank Gaines serves as a technical advisor to the Big 12 Football Officiating staff, as the official clock operator at UNL football games and works with Mumm and Associates.
Dr. Tammy North Comstock was honored as the Young Alum for 2004. Dr. Comstock is a 1988 graduate of the Ashland-Greenwood Public Schools. She earned a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and a Masters Degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Minnesota. After working as an engineer for Alliant Tech Systems of Edina, MN and Nordic Track of Chaska, MN, she returned to the University of Minnesota to earn a doctorate in medicine. Dr. Comstock is currently serving a residency at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
