WEST ALEXANDRIA — Twin Valley South inducted five new members into its Hall of Fame on Saturday, Jan. 16.
Two service nominees were inducted, as well as two for extra curricular activities, and one member for academics joined the school’s Hall of Fame.
On a night that featured five basketball games between Preble Shawnee and Twin Valley South, the school inducted five new members at halftime of the varsity boys’ basketball game.
The first inductee was Louise Pfoutz, who was honored for her many years of service to the district. The late Pfoutz was represented by her granddaughter, Ann Mudhenk Tracey, at the ceremony.
Pfoutz grated from Trotwood Madison High School in 1937 before moving to Preble County in 1946. Pfoutz and her husband, Paul, purchased a farm next to Lanier High School in 1950 and added a 2,400 foot airstrip on the property, naming the strip The Morningstar Airport.
Pfoutz started as secretary at the school in 1950, where she and her husband allowed Twin Valley South students to take field trips to the local airport.
In 1962 she gained her pilot’s license. The couple was best known for flying their WWII Vultee BT-13 Airplane they restored, but also housed other types of airplanes on the property.
In 1996 she joined the Women in Aviation International and despite the passing of her husband several years before, Pfoutz remained active in flying out of the Morningstar Airport.
She continued flying until she was 84 years old and passed away at age 95 in the fall of 2014, leaving a legacy of accomplishments for women in aviation.
The second service member to be inducted was Bingo Wright, who graduated from the West Alexandria High School in 1959.
Bingo coached in the West Alexandria Baseball Organization for eight years and volunteered countless hours working on the fields at the WABO Park or concession building.
Bingo drove buses for the school for 16 years and was groundskeeper for the district from 1992 to 2002.
Bingo also took care of school grounds and courtyards, even using his own equipment to water the football field.
Bingo was part of the chain-gang for high school football games for 25 years and has been a dedicated supporter of Twin Valley South students and athletes, often being seen and heard at the games.
Bingo’s son, Frank Wright, also joins the list of honorees for his academic achievement at Twin Valley South.
Wright, a 1989 graduate of Twin Valley South, was active in Science Club, Foreign Language Club, and Future Teachers of America while attending the school district.
He earned nine athletic letters in football, basketball and baseball at the school and later earned Cross County Conference coach of the year in baseball three times after his teams won three consecutive CCC championships in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Those are the school’s only conference titles in the baseball program’s history. He was also named the OHSBCA state coach of the year in 2003.
Wright attended Wilmington College on an academic honors scholarship. He earned his degree in Mathematics Education in 1993, graduating with a 3.5 GPA. He then earned his master’s degree from Miami University in 1995, earning a 3.9 GPA.
He taught at the school from 1993 to 2006 before moving to Miami Valley CTC. He currently has a Master Teacher Designation and is a Resident Teacher Mentor. He was nominated for the OCTM Math teacher of the year nominee and has received 13 teacher awards.
He has also officiated three state tournaments in basketball for the state of Ohio.
Mark McIntire was the first extra-curricular inductee to be introduced in the ceremony. McIntire, a 1969 graduate of Twin Valley South, earned three letters in football and track and received two in basketball.
McIntire was Honorable Mention for football in the All Dayton Suburban League his sophomore year and was first team his junior year. He received first-team honors his senior year for both offense and defense.
His senior year the Panthers went 8-1 and he was named the team’s co-MVP. He ranked number one in the greater-Richmond area, with 140 points including 21 touchdowns and seven two point conversions his senior year. He rushed for 1,300 yards on 187 carries for 6.9 yards per carry.
On the track, McIntire set records in the 100 yard dash, the 220 yard dash, the long jump and as a member of the schools 880-yard relay team.
The 880-yard relay team won the Preble County meet, the league meet, and district and regional titles setting records in both meets. The relay team finished fourth in the state.
As an individual performer, McIntire earned third at the state meet in long jump. His track teams won both the Dayton Suburban League title and district championships.
The final inductee was Lynsey Somers Buckingham, who graduated from the school in 2000.
While at the school she earned letters in the basketball, volleyball and track.
In volleyball, Buckingham was first team All-County and first team All-Conference her senior year. She also earned second team All-Conference honors in basketball as a senior.
In track she was a member of teams which won four district championships and three conference championships.
Individually she won the conference titles in high jump twice and in the 300 hurdles twice. She won a total of five district championships, earning titles in the high jump three times, 400 meter run once and 300 meter hurdles once.
She competed in the state track meet in the 4×200 in 1998 and the high jump in 2000 and still holds the school’s high jump record of 5’4”. She holds the second-best 300 hurdle time and the fifth-best 400 meter run in school history.
She attended Defiance College after graduation and played volleyball and ran track. She received her degree in secondary education in 2004 before going to St. Lawrence University to get her Masters in education leadership in 2006.
While in college, she set school records in the 400 meter hurdles, the 4×400 relay and the triple jump. She won the 2003 and 2004 Conference MVP for Field Events. She was all-conference in 2002, 2003 and 2004.
In volleyball she was named 2003 team captain and was second team all-conference the same year.
In 2004 she won the Distinguished Athlete Award.
She has coached track and volleyball since graduating, and was a graduate assistant and full time assistant at St. Lawrence, Colgate University and Quinnipiac University.
