Old Trail School presented its annual alumni awards recently as part of the school’s alumni reunion. More than 60 alumni and guests gathered to participate in the event that included school tours, class photos, dinner and an awards ceremony. The following awards were presented:

The Lincoln Gries Distinguished Alumni Award 

The Lincoln Gries Distinguished Alumni Award is presented to a former Old Trail School student who has made an important contribution or given extraordinary service to others in some field, as a professional or as a volunteer.  This year’s award was presented to Kimberly Paradis Coryat '75.

After serving 20 years in the Air Force, a career that has taken her all around the globe, Kim is now a retired Major. She lives in Olive Branch, Mississippi with her husband, John, and one-year-old daughter, Catherine, and cares for her elderly mother. She is currently a pilot for FedEx, flying MD11s and working in the company’s flight safety office.

Kim volunteers with the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) and IFALPA - domestic and international labor unions - as a representative to the branch of the United Nations and to a U.S. government safety effort called the Commercial Air Safety Team. She is also a volunteer board member for a wildlife rescue charity in her area...(past recipients)

The Lincoln Gries Honorary Alumni Award

The Lincoln Gries Honorary Alumni Award is presented to a person or persons who have made   important contributions or given extraordinary service to Old Trail School.  This year’s award was presented to George and Sue Klein.

George and Sue, of Akron, of spend much of their time volunteering on a variety of local and state boards that support the environment. George is an avid duck hunter and fisherman and Sue enjoys hiking, biking, nature photography, and fair weather duck hunting. George and Sue are visiting all 57 National Parks, with only eight to go, and they want to bike the entire Ohio and Erie Canalway by the end of 2009.

Their daughters, Kristin Klein Spindel ‘85 and Megan Klein Kowalchick ’94, are Old Trail School graduates. Kristin is a middle school math and science teacher at Old Trail School, and her children, Jason ‘17 and Katie ‘20 are current students.

Along with supporting Old Trail School, George and Sue have been involved with many environmental organizations both locally and nationally. Sue is a board member of Cuyahoga Valley National Park Association, Akron Art Museum, Natural Resources Defense Council, Ohio Environmental Council, a Garden Club of America’s Zone Conservation Representative, and an early supporter of efforts to create Cuyahoga Valley as a national park ...(past recipients)

The Peter Wilson Rising Star Award 

The Peter G. Wilson Rising Star Award is named in honor of Peter G. Wilson, former Old Trail School Headmaster, and is presented alumus from 1981 and later. The recipient has shown professional and community leadership and exhibited appreciation for Old Trail School.  This year’s award was presented to Katie Keith Dettling '95.

After just a year of high school at St. Vincent St. Mary, Katie received a full scholarship to the Washington School of Ballet in Washington, D.C., where she attended ballet school full time and completed her high school diploma through a correspondence program. During this time Katie had the opportunity to perform in The Nutcracker with then first daughter, Chelsea Clinton. “I had the honor of being invited to both a Christmas party and a sleep over at the White House,” Katie said.

Katie’s professional career has included dancing with the Washington Ballet, three seasons with the Fort Worth Dallas Ballet, musicals with the Casa Manana professional theater company, and dancing with the Ohio Ballet where she and husband, Grant Dettling, had the opportunity to travel to Switzerland to perform as the Snow King and Queen in The Nutcracker. Katie and Grant are in their fourth season with the Dayton Ballet where she performs principle and feature roles regularly...(past recipients)