The Harwood Union Hall of Fame Committee announced the 11th annual class of the Harwood Hall of Fame. According to the Hall of Fame committee, each year members strive to select those who represent the best that Harwood, Waitsfield and Waterbury High Schools and their respective communities have to offer. This group of 2023 inductees left their mark on their respective high schools and through their actions and accomplishments during high school and beyond, the committee stated. This year’s inductees include Mitchell Casey, Taggert B. Haslam, Lisa Atwood, Corliss (Corky) Griffith, Amy (Geoghegan) Frostman, David C. Morse, and Dwight W. Fiske. The bios of Mitchell Casey, Taggert B. Haslam, and Lisa Atwood were featured in the June 8 issue of The Valley Reporter
Here are bios of the remaining four inductees.
CORKY GRIFFITH
Corliss (Corky) Griffith was one of 10 children and grew up on a farm in Middlesex. He played varsity football and graduated from Montpelier High School in 1955. In 1955-1965 he was employed as night custodian at Montpelier High School. He joined the Reserve Forces Act in 1955 and had six months of active service at Fort Knox, Kentucky. This was followed by over seven years in the reserves. In 1965 he was hired as head custodian of Harwood Union. Some of the special projects beyond the usual custodian responsibilities he managed included clerk of the works for the new roof and the septic projects, two reconstruction projects and he battled the shortage of water at Harwood. He was the asbestos representative and inspector for the school district and the licensed horticulturist for Harwood. His crew was renowned for the spotless facility that it maintained. Harwood’s gymnasium is named the Griffith Gymnasium for all the respect and admiration that students, faculty, and community members have for him. He is a talented artist and has shown and sold paintings in the district. He retired in 1999 after 34 years as Harwood’s head custodian.
AMY (GEOGHEGAN) FROSTMAN
Amy (Geoghegan) Frostman, Harwood Union Class of 1995, is an elementary music teacher and vocal soloist. While in Harwood she was in the chorus and band and French club. She was vice-president of her sophomore class and participated in Girls State, Winooski Valley, All-State Chorus, All-New England Chorus, All Eastern Chorus, and a ninth-grade pilot program. She was a student representative on the committee that researched, planned, and implemented block scheduling at Harwood. She performed solo vocal performances with the Harwood Jazz Band, was a student assistant to music teacher Diane Phillips and arranged, directed, and performed a vocal quartet. She was a member of non-school women’s a cappella group, Simple Gifts, with Phillips. She was the recipient of HUHS 1995 chorale award and participated in multiple school musicals. She received bachelors of music degree in 1999 from University of Cincinnati-Conservatory of Music.
She is an elementary music teacher in South Burlington and has continued to perform with professional and community music groups including the Mozart Festival Chorus, solo performances of Bach Cantatas with the Mozart Festival Orchestra, Simple Gifts, the Hinesburg Artist Series; Counterpoint, and made several professional recordings. She received the Vermont Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award for the South Burlington School District in 2013.
DAVID C. MORSE
David Morse was a member of the Harwood Union Class of 1971 and is a physical educator and coach. At Harwood he participated in varsity soccer, basketball, and baseball. He continued his education at Lyndon State College (1971-1975) receiving a BS degree in physical education. While in college he played soccer, baseball and club ice hockey. He worked at IBM (1977-1982) receiving an incentive award for streamlining process and saving money. From 1988-2010 he taught physical education in Fayston and at the Rumney School He received the 1990 WCSU Teacher of the Year Award. He had built an outdoor skating facility in Duxbury in 1972-1973 and started the Harwood Youth Hockey Association in 1975. His work with others to petition the Harwood Union School Board made ice hockey a school sport in 1982. He coached ice hockey for 19 years (1991-1994 and 2002-2018) with 243 wins, 149 losses, 21 ties. That brought eight semifinal and four state championship games with a Vermont State Division 2 Championship in 2005. He was coach of the year in Division 2 five times and Division 1 once. He also coached Harwood boys golf 1991-1994 and girls 1994-1997. Morse served as a member of the board at Blush Hill Country Club (1992-1996). He was a founding member of the Harwood Union Hall of Fame Committee for four years. He retired from coaching in 2018.
DWIGHT W. FISKE
Dwight Fiske graduated from the Waterbury High School class of 1959. While in school he played soccer, basketball, baseball and soccer. He received a gold medal in the Burlington YMCA Gold Medal Basketball Tournament in 1958. He served on student council and was class president for three years and vice president for one. Additionally, he participated in band and orchestra, Vermont’s All-State Music Festival, chorus, and Winooski Valley Music Festivals. He earned a certificate of advanced study in physical education from Springfield College and established physical education programs at Bradford Academy, Randolph Union, and Vermont Technical College.
His teams did well with Bradford Academy boys’ basketball taking the northern championship and later winning state runners-up. He developed boys’ and girls’ gymnastic teams at Randolph Union and participated in some of the earlier competitions in Vermont, winning meets throughout the state. He was also president of the Vermont State Gymnastics Coaches Association, was the founder and president of the Vermont Soccer Coaches Association, the Lions Twin State Soccer games, and the Vermont Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation. He did a Fulbright teacher’s exchange at Minsthorpe School in England and later received a Who’s Who in Physical Education Award. He has been the Harwood Union Hall of Fame co-chair since it started. In 2012 the school’s basketball program developed a Fiske Award in his honor.
For information about the Hall of Fame and to access nomination forms, log on to Harwood Union’s website at www.harwood.org
The seven nominees will be inducted at the 11th annual Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony on September 30, 2023, at Harwood.
