Kennedy Alumni announce Hall of Fame inductees

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In May, John F. Kennedy High School Principal Gerard Owenburg, along with the Bellmore JFK Alumni Association, will honor 17 outstanding individuals connected to the school, which opened in 1966.

Eleven alumni, three former faculty members and three prominent community members will be inducted into the Cougar Nation Wall of Honor, or Hall of Fame (see box) — most notably, former Principal Lorraine Poppe, who dedicated 23 years to students at the high school, before retiring for health reasons in 2018.

“It’s our way of recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of our graduates,” said retired assistant principal Eileen Connolly. “They have not only demonstrated success in their chosen profession, but have also given back to the local community or through a variety of charitable endeavors.”

One of Kennedy’s earliest graduates was Nobel Prize-winning economist, Princeton professor and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. Since its 1966 opening, the school has graduated numerous notables, including tennis pros Scott Lipsky and Noah Rubin, and has bested its prior “homemaking suite” with the district’s state-of-the-art CHAMP kitchen and labs.

The dinner and induction ceremony will take place on May 4 at Coral House Caterers, 70 Milburn Ave., Baldwin. The cocktail hour will be held from 7 to 7:45 p.m., followed by the ceremony and dinner.

For information on attending the event, to take a personal or professional advertisement in the Bellmore JFK Alumni Inc.’s commemorative journal or to make a donation to the alumni scholarship fund, visit the group’s website at bit.ly/2WEQggg, or contact Connolly at jfkhof2019@yahoo.com.