William Walker, 53
Don Bluth, 55

John Danley, 32
John Fukusawa, 35
Mike O'Hara, 50
John Potterat, 61
Vance Peterson, 62
David Anderson, 83

Merton Burkhard
(1953 - 1988)

Gretchen Davis
(1969 - 2000)

Paul Kerry
(1969 - 2000)

Beverly Waters
(1957 - 1986)

On Thursday, March 8, 2001, over 200 Samohi Alumni from classes of 1932 to 2002, and their guests met at the Riviera County Club in Pacific Palisades to greet and honor the 2000 Alumni Awards Recipients.

The arriving guests were treated to a display of Samohi memorabilia including photos and biographical highlights of previous honorees, yearbooks and trophies on the dinner tables. The gala evening was filled with wrinkled smiles as countless memories were traded between alums.

SAA President Michael Hill acted as emcee as each honoree was introduced by a fellow alum before taking the microphone to say a few words.

Personal stories of family and friends while at Samohi were shared by the honorees creating a colorful mosaic of Samohi's past. It was a wonderful evening. The triennial event was a great success. Plan on attending the next one!

Click here to see photos of the evening.

Hall of Fame

Born in Kearny, New Jersey, Bill grew up in Santa Monica. After graduating from Samohi, he served in the US Army from 1957-1958 and later attended UCLA, where he received a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in Latin American affairs.

Bill joined the Foreign service in 1961. He was assigned as a Vice Consul first in Lima, then Azequipa, Peru. From 1962 to 1966 he was a Vice Consul in Naha, Okinawa, Japan. He returned to Washington, DC and the State Department as the Argentine Desk Officer(1967-68). During l968 and l969 he studied Latin American Affairs at UCLA. Bill returned overseas (1969-72) as a Political Officer in Rio de Janeiro. He was an Intergovernmental Affairs Officer with the Environmental Protection Agency (1972-74) in San Francisco. In 1974 he began his first to tour in El Salvador as Chief of the Political Section. He remained in San Salvador through 1977 when he returned to the US to become the State Department Fellow at the Council Foreign Relations in New York City. From 1978-80 he was a Foreign Service Inspector.

Immediately preceding his appointment as Ambassador to El Salvador in 1988, he was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Inter-American Affairs in the Department of State, responsible for Central America and Panama. Bill served as a Deputy Chief of Mission in Tegucigalpa, Honduras (1980-82) and in La Paz, Bolivia (1982-85). William Walker also is a hero to many ethnic Albanian refugees for his actions in 1998 when he led an international monitoring mission to Kosovo on behalf of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Among the honors granted him for distinguished performance are the US State Department's Meritorious Honor Award in 1971, its Superior Honor Award in both 1983 and 1985, and the American Foreign Service Association's Christian Herter Award in 1985. He twice received the President's Meritorious Service Award (in 1987 and 1989). In 1995, while still an ambassador, he served as the Vice President of the National Defense University in Washington, DC - the pinnacle of the armed forces educational system for senior officers of all four services.

Bill married Aldeize Nery of Manaus, Brazil, at the Ambassador's residence in San Salvador in 1977, and they now reside in the Washington, DC area. They have four children: Gordon, Gillian, Douglas and Christopher.

My years at Samohi were, in no small manner, a significant ingredient in my preparation for the career I chose, and whatever success I have had in defense of our nation's national interests in a troubled world. It was Samohi - my fellow classmates, the teachers, and the administration - that provided the solid core of knowledge and attitude that allowed me to enter and succeed in a highly competitive and, I believe, important profession.

Don, second eldest of seven children, was born in El Paso, Texas. When he was six, his family moved to Utah, where he grew up on a farm and dreamed of one day making animated films for Walt Disney. The Bluth family moved to Southern California during Don's teen years.

In 1955 Don joined Walt Disney Productions as an assistant animator on Sleeping Beauty. After one year, he left spent the next two and a half years as a Mormon missionary in Argentina. Upon his return he made the decision to continue his formal education, he enrolled at Brigham Young University, studying English Literature. During this time he continued to work summers for Disney.

After completing his education, Don and his brother, Toby, started a live theater in Santa Monica, where they produced and directed popular musical comedies. Although this venture proved to be exciting, after three years, Don decided to commit to a career in animation and, briefly, collaborate with his brother Toby in operating a live theater in Santa Monica where they produced and directed popular musical comedies. Before long, however, he was drawn back to animation, and in 1971 he rejoined Disney, where he skyrocketed to the top of his field with work on such notable films as Robin Hood, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too, The Rescuers, and Pete's Dragon.

In 1979, Don and two fellow animators began their own company, which produced the first interactive laser disc game, "Dragon's Lair." In the mid 1980s, company collaborated with Steven Spielberg on the box office success An American Tail. In 1986, at the invitation of the Irish government, the company moved to Dublin, Ireland, where it grew to be the largest animation studio in Europe, turning out such hits as The Land Before Time, The Secret of NIMH, and All Dogs Go To Heaven. In 1994, Don came back to the United States to head Fox Animation Studio, where, among many animated features, he and his partner, Gary Goldman, produced and directed Anastasia, a two-time Oscar nominee.

The two men resumed independent filmmaking in June 2000, establishing Don Bluth Films, Inc. Don also launched ToonTalk magazine, which entertains and educates by going behind the scenes in the world of animation. Don and Jodi Bluth now live and operate from the Phoenix, AZ area.

I am flattered to have my name in the company of those previously acknowledged. I hope that, along with this acceptance, my work and my principles will help inspire young people.

Distinguished Alumni

Born in Los Angeles and raised in Santa Monica, John earned Business Administration and Bachelor of Arts degrees from USC.

After college, John joined the Design and Engineering Department of the Los Angeles Gas & Electric Corporation, but when the United States entered World War II, he became a first lieutenant with the Army Ordnance Department, stationed at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland. He was promoted to battalion and regimental adjutant and separated from service in 1946.

That same year, John became assistant sales manager at Merle Norman Cosmetics, Inc. There he rose through the ranks of the company headed by J.B. Nethercutt `31, ultimately achieving the position of Vice President and Director of International Operations along with being named to the Merle Norman Board of Directors. Since his retirement in 1988, he has remained a board member.

John in the past currently serves on several other boards and committees, including the Santa Monica Hospital UCLA Medical Center Board of Directors (which he formerly chaired), the UCLA Marketing & Communications Committee, SM City Planning Commission, SM Optimist Club, SM Boys and Girls Club, SMC Associates, and the California Heritage Museum Board. He is an active member of the Santa Monica Historical Society. John is also the general chairman of Santa Monica Diamond Jubilee, which hosts the world's largest square dance, with 15,000 square dancers and 55,000 spectators.

John and wife Shirley Brann `38 live in Pacific Palisades and continue their dedication to many civic causes. They are parents of Jay, Debbie and Gregory.

There is nothing that can compare to our own Alumni Association because it involves members who have grown up together through grammar, middle and high school, forming friendships that last a lifetime.

For John, the journey he began as the son of Japanese immigrants and that culminated in his being elected five times as the mayor of Carpenteria, was filled with challenges. His parents were truck farmers near Fillmore, California; and they moved to Ojai when John, the youngest of five children, was born. In 1930, the came to Santa Monica. Two years after his Samohi graduation, John finished his degree at Santa Monica City College.

At that time, John was a member of the National Guard. During the turbulent early days of 1942, he had the difficult assignment of guarding fellow Japanese American farmers from Venice, California, who were being detained by the FBI. In April 1942, all Japanese immigrants, along with their children who were US citizens, were interned in concentration camps throughout the country. Despite his National Guard service, John and his family were sent to Manzanar, near Lone Pine, California. It was from this camp that John was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he completed his tour of duty in 1946.

At the end of the war, John and his wife moved to Carpenteria, where he worked at various odd jobs, first on a lemon ranch and later as a groundskeeper for the local school district. In the late 1950s, John became active in Scouting and school activities through his sons. That led to a stint as chairman of the building committee for school refurbishment. Through those activities, John became involved in Carpenteria's efforts to incorporate. When it finally became a city, he served for eight years as Chairman of the Planning Commission.

In 1974, having won the respect and support of his community, John was elected Mayor, a position that he held for ten years. During his term as mayor, he became a good friend of Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley. One of John's achievements is the financing of city roads through a gasoline tax. Carpinteria is said to have better roads than in Santa Barbara as a result.

John and his family remain active members of the Carpenteria community. John and Miyeko have two sons, John, Jr. and Paul. E John was pleased to receive his crystal plate award in February from long-time friend, Kaz Yamamoto, because illness prevented his presence at the Awards Dinner.

In a very real sense, volleyball has been Mike's life. He was a member of two UCLA All-American Championship volleyball teams, 1953 and 1954, and he played on three Pan American teams, winning a gold medal in 1959 and a silver in 1963. The following year, Mike represented the US in the first Olympic Games for volleyball in Tokyo, and he is one of two individuals in the history of volleyball worldwide to have been inducted into both the Beach and Indoor Volleyball Halls of Fame. Twice he was voted the Most Valuable Player in America by the US Volleyball Association, and in 1993 he won that award again in the Master's Division. Mike helped organize the 1984 Olympics and has continued to be involved in Olympic organizing committees since that time. In 1991, he was named Man of the Year by the Boys and Girls Club of Venice, an honor of which he is particularly proud.

Besides being a superstar, Mike has contributed to sports through his innovations in both volleyball and basketball. As founder of the American Basketball Association, he helped research and support the introduction of the three-point play, which is now a vital ingredient in the way basketball is played around the world. As the creator/owner of Wallyball, he introduced the Rally Scoring System, which has officially been adopted by the Federation Internationale de Volleyball for use in all matches worldwide, including the Olympic Games.

Mike's company, O'Hara Enterprises Inc., enjoys the distinction of having pioneered more college professional and Olympic sporting endeavors than any other company in history. OEI helped establish professional sports leagues in basketball, hockey, and volleyball, and created the professional track circuit internationally. And as a TV commentator, Mike has distinguished himself on the major networks, internationally covering basketball, volleyball, and water polo.

He and wife Arleen live in Pacific Palisades where Mike continues in business in sports.

My education at Samohi, SMC, UCLA and USC has enabled me to be a part time business professor at SMC for the last 33 years. It has been a tremendously gratifying experience. I have to give great credit to my first role model, fellow Santa Monican and cowboy/actor Will Rogers. The best nugget that he presented me with, was when I expressed to him my decision challenge between a business versus a teaching career. His response was, "Do what I did, find something that you like to do, and you'll never work another day in your life." In addition to following that advice, I have included that as one of my "tools" that I have presented in lectures to the thousands of students that I have had the pleasure of teaching.

John graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor's Degree in History in 1965. After serving two years in the US Army, one stateside and the other in Vietnam, he returned to California, where he attended graduate school at UCLA briefly. However, saying that he couldn't find his focus, he dropped out and soon took a job as a syphilis contact tracer for the LA County Health Department.

Thus he embarked on a lifetime career path. From 1968 until 1972, John was a public health advisor for the LACHD's Centers for Disease Control Syphilis Eradication Program. From 1972 until the present, he has been the director of the STD (sexually transmitted disease) /AIDS Programs, El Paso County Health Department in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

It's likely that John's anthropological interests led him to work with marginalized populations-the homeless, prostitutes, street gangs, and gay men-and to follow the geography and geometry of STD epidemics. Gaining the trust and cooperation of these groups helped both to reduce the burden of STDs among its members and to explain the dynamics of STD transmission. In the course of his career, John and his coworkers contributed nearly 100 papers to scholarly journals. His efforts have won him many awards and honors, including the Dr. Nathan Davis Award given by the American Medical Association for Promoting the Art and Science of Medicine and the Betterment of the Public Health. In October 2000, the Colorado Public Health Association bestowed on John its Life-time Achievement Award.

In 1969, John married Susan Block and later they moved to Colorado Springs, CO where there son Nico and daughter Anna were born. He also has a step-son Tim Somers.

Favorite Recollections from Samohi are the competence and tolerance (I've always been outspokenly irreverent) of Sa-mohi teachers (in retrospect, I wonder how they put up with my frequent wisecracks!), the infectious school spirit, and the cool student body (even the jocks and nerds). I hated being weaned from the breast of Samohi in June of 1961. About selection as a Distinguished Alumnus, Initially, I felt as if the Homecoming Queen had called and asked me for a date. On reflection, I thought about other alumni more deserving than I whose stories have not reached Samohi's ears.

After graduation from Samohi, I went to college to 1) be with my friends, 2) avoid being stuck in a dreary job, and 3) delay the draft. Although I had been a good student in high school, motivated in no small part by wonderful teachers (I never had a bad teacher the whole time I was at Samohi), I did not fall in love with learning until my sophomore year in college. Other than the need to earn a decent living, I was motivated by curiosity and passion for fair play.

Vance was recently named president of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education in Washington, DC. It is the largest international association of educational institutions and supports the work of alumni relations, communications, and fundraising professionals at some 3,000 schools, colleges, universities, and related organizations in 42 countries.

From 1996 to 2000, Vance was President and Chief Executive Officer of Sierra Nevada College, Nevada's only four-year private college. While there he developed and implemented a $70 million, five-year fundraising campaign and established the college's first organized alumni presence on the web. Prior to joining Sierra Nevada, he was Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Occidental College. He also served as associate provost of the College of Letters and Science at UCLA as well as UCLA's Associate Director of University Development; Executive Director of University Relations for USC; and Director of the John H. Russel Center for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Toledo.

It was at Samohi that Vance, a third generation alumnus (his mother and grandmother also graduated from Samohi as well as a brother and sister), was inspired to pursue a career in education. He received a Bachelor's Degree from Occidental College. in English Literature, a Master's Degree from George Washington University in Government and Business Administration, and a PhD from Stanford University in Administration and Policy Analysis/Higher Education. He served in the US Navy from 1968 to 1971 and in the Navy Reserve from 1972 until 1991, obtaining the rank of captain. While at Occidental, he was NCAA Track and Field All American, and he was world ranked in 400 meter hurdles.

Vance has compiled a long and impressive list of publications and presentations, and he has served on many professional committees and community advisory boards. His personal honors include being named to Who's Who in the West and Who's Who in American Education.

Vance and his wife Bonnie Jeanne have recently moved to the Washington, DC area. He has two grown daughters, Sara Rose and Theresa Pauline.

Dr. George Drake and Mr. Bill Jones were two wonderful administrators who guided my personal development and with whom I worked closely as a student.

Two-time Academy Award winner for make-up, David was born in Venice, California, later moving to Malibu. He began working in his father's special-effects make-up lab - Lance Anderson Make-up Design - while he earned an associate degree in art at SMC. Special-effects make-up proved to be a satisfying and challenging career, involving designing, sculpting, painting, mechanics, and mold making. The partnership between his dad and himself grew more serious on horror projects such as Shocker, Deadly Friend and others. David and his father created Goldie Hawn's fat suit for Death Becomes Her and all the make-up effects for Hot Shots Part Deux and Mafia!

He worked on make-up for numerous films, including Pumpkin Head, Aliens 3, Edward Scissorhands, Men at Work, Death Becomes Her, and Batman Forever, before meeting make-up legend Rick Baker who helped elevate David's career to the next level of make-up artistry. David credits his work as Baker's assistant for the two Oscars.

David's contribution to the make-up for five diverse characters played by Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor led to his first Academy Award shared with mentor Baker. His second award, also in cooperation with Baker, resulted from Vincent D'Onofrio's intricate prosthetic make-up for the popular film Men in Black. Recently, David worked on make-up effects for the Kevin Costner film Drag-onfly.

In his spare time, David designs and crafts handmade silver and gold jewelry which can be seen in Maxfield Beverly Hills and in Beams Japan. Moving in quite another direction, he and his wife, actress Heather Langenkamp, founded The Malibu Gum Factory, which makes all-natural chewing gum with the added bonus of surfer trading cards. All profits are donated to organizations dedicated to cleaning the water in Malibu and the Santa Monica Bay. David, his wife Heather and their two children, Atticus and Isabelle, enjoy life in Malibu where David helps to coach his son's soccer team.

David credits his Samohi art teacher, LaMonte Westmore-land as "the man who taught me how to hold a brush" and to consider art as a serious undertaking.

Distinguished Service

In 1953, then Samohi Principal Ewing Konold asked Merton to fill an opening that occurred mid-year. Electronics had been Merton's field, but he also had a degree in mathematics. At the end of the semester, the principal asked him to take over the physics classes. He accepted and stayed for 35 years, first because of the students - whom he described as "exciting, inspirational, and simply lovable" - and second, because teaching was fun, and he got paid for it.

His classes were unconventional. The very first one centered on an experiment involving a pendulum. Expecting a difficult reading assignment, the surprised students were told that they were "absolutely not to look up any discussion of the properties of a pendulum. In the 16th century, Galileo was not able to go to some textbook and look things up. You are to be in Galileo's situation." This hands-on approach became a Burkhard specialty.

For many years during spring break, Merton and his wife took groups of Samohi physics students to the Grand Canyon, packing by horseback into the Havasupai Indian Reservation. These were experiences that he, and undoubtedly they, have never forgotten. Mert and his wife Mavis live in Woodland Hills. They raised three daughters, Betty, Carol and Sandy who are all teachers.

Of his teaching career, Mert said that he always had to be prepared for the brightest students and that he enjoyed every day!

We were serious and worked hard, but we had lots of fun in class, and even got into trouble a few times. Remember many years ago when the Samohi cannon was stolen? I'll now admit, though I'll name no names, that it was a group of students from Honors Physics who did the deed. The pranksters stored the cannon overnight in my office, and I'm happy to report, returned it unharmed the next day.

Thank you Samohi Alumni Association for this very special award. Thank you also, to the Samohi students who made teaching so rewarding. And a final thank you, to the talented Samohi faculty who have added so much over the years to the development of our young men and women, the students of Samohi. It's been a pleasure.

Gretchen Davis had originally planned to teach for only two years while her husband earned his MBA, but teaching became her career for thirty years. She earned a Master's Degree in Mathematics and, in 1969, she and her family moved to Santa Monica where she began her career at Samohi.

What she remembers best about the `70s at Samohi were the high standards set by her coworkers and the students' willingness to learn, their humor, and their kindness to each other.

During the 1980s, she coached the award-winning Samohi Math Team, which participated in the Bay Math League and in national contest. Under her direction, members of the Math Team also organized competitions for younger students to encourage their budding math interests.

In the `90s, when the emphasis in mathematics teaching shifted from providing challenge for those already gifted in math, to increasing mathematical understanding for all students, Gretchen and the other math teachers incorporated more writing, group work and projects and shared their results at conferences - offering practical advice about how students learn.

She notes that the same enthusiasm, good humor, and intellectual curiosity that Samohi students displayed early in her career were equally evident among the students in the Class of 2000.

While she participated in many school activities, Gretchen was the Delian sponsor for many years. Her earliest mentors were Jim Caballero, Leroy Vaughn and Bev Waters, people she greatly admired.

Gretchen continues to live in Santa Monica and is teaching this year at UCLA as High School Teacher in Residence - even though her heart is often in Seattle with son Blake `86, his wife and their baby daughter Finley.

I am pleased to receive the Alumni Association Award in recognition of my teaching career. For three decades, I have enjoyed learning and teaching at Samohi. The balance of our energetic and kind students, our supportive parents and our caring staff has always made Samohi greater than the sum of its individual parts.

After attending schools in Los Angeles and Oklahoma, Paul went to Dorsey High School and then transferred to George Washington High School where he participated in Track and Field and began setting records. He then attended USC on a four-year track and field scholarship. In 1965 he was selected to be a member of both the All-American College. Track and Field Team and the All-College Track and Field Team. Again Paul set records in Field and Track events both at USC and in the US Track and Field organization.

At USC, he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Physical Education and History, and a General Secondary Teaching Credential. He later took graduate courses at several universities, including Pepper-dine. During his college career, he was involved in many campus organizations and served as an officer on many occasions.

He ran track meets for the LA Unified School District Youth Services Program. Paul taught at John Muir Junior High School before coming to Sa-mohi in 1969 to teach social studies and to coach track and field. Over the years, he traveled to Sweden, Finland, Papua New Guinea, Brisbane, and Norway to help educate athletes and coaches. Among his honors was an NFL nomination as Teacher of the Year.

From 1975-1985 Paul also had a simultaneous career in modeling in the summers. He worked for Nina Blanchard, Mary Davis Webb and the Ford Agency. In retirement from teaching, Paul lives in Los Angeles and continues his work with AIDS groups and enjoys his passion for skiing - especially in Mammoth, where he owns a condo.

In the future, Paul would like to help coach track and field at Samohi and intends to travel to Africa to serve as a volunteer on an HIV research project.

Born in Denver, Colorado, Beverly attended many schools throughout the United States as a result of her father's position as an Army officer and surgeon in the Veterans Hospital Administration. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Kansas in Lawrence with a Bachelor's Degree in Social Studies and a Secondary Teaching Credential.

She began her teaching career at Bolton High School in Alexandria, Louisiana. Awarded a Ford Foundation fellowship in 1952 to study government in action, she attended The American Semester at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. She also visited a series of secondary schools and district offices to observe experimental educational methods and teaching techniques. Upon her return to Bolton, Beverly was appointed Guidance Director. Counseling young adults became the primary focus of her educational career. In 1955, she earned a Master's Degree in Education and a Counseling Credential from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

Bev joined the staff at Samohi in 1957 as a counselor and teacher of psychology. In 1963, she obtained a Secondary School Administrative Credential from USC and a General School Administrative Credential from UCLA. That year she was also appointed Samohi Vice Principal of Instruction and Curriculum, a position she held until her retirement in 1986. She continues to live in Pacific Palisades.

It is a singular honor to have been selected as a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award and to be formally recognized as one who has been "a significant force in enabling students to reach their highest potential." I did endeavor to be just that - first as a teacher and counselor, then as a full-time counselor, and ultimately as Vice Principal of Instruction and Curriculum.

Samohi alumni and I share something in common: pride in and a deep affection for a very unique educational institution. Samohi is a school of many traditions, accomplishments, and memories. There is an unusual camaraderie between faculty members and students. Each is fully aware of his purpose - one to teach and the other to learn. Together they strive to excel in a particular field of study. I enjoyed my associations at Samohi, the outstanding faculty, the dedicated classified staff, the ever-supportive PTA/PTSA, and fellow administrators at the school and within the District. My never-ending pleasure is knowing that I have been a part of the lives of those young adults who graduated from Samohi. They took with them not only a sense of pride, purpose, accomplishment and confidence, but also a willingness to assume their responsibility to continue to pursue their highest potential.