Gates Chili Hall of Fame inductees honored

Gates Chili Central School District proudly announces that seven Gates Chili High School Alumni were inducted into the Gates Chili Hall of Fame.

The Gates Chili Board of Education approved the establishment of a district Hall of Fame in October 1992. The Hall of Fame is designed to honor graduates of Gates Chili High School who have achieved distinction, outstanding accomplishment or significant contribution within their schools, families, careers, communities or personal lives. In addition to honoring selected graduates, a major goal of the Hall of Fame is to provide role models and incentives for current and future students. In total, 152 alumni have been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The following Alumni are the newest members of the Gates Chili Hall of Fame.  They visited classrooms throughout the district and shared their knowledge and expertise with students prior to the induction ceremony held at the Homecoming Game.

Thomas Haschmann (honored posthumously. His wife Barbara accepted the Hall of Fame award) was a 1966 graduate of Gates Chili High School. He was the Finger Lakes Regional Coordinator for the NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse from 1993 until his passing in 2016. He was responsible for program administration and coordination of chemical dependency services in a 12-county region of NYS.

Kenneth A. Buckle, Ph.D., P.E. is a 1964 graduate of Gates Chili High School.  He is presently an adjunct professor, in the Department of Electrical and Microelectronic Engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology and professor emeritus in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of South Florida and has been a consulting engineer since 2013.  Kenneth received his B.E.E from General Motors Institute, his master of science in electrical engineering from Purdue University, and his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Maidson.

Joanne Keltz Brokaw is a 1982 graduate of Gates Chili High School. She has been a freelance writer, since 2001. She is also a humor columnist award-winning freelance writer, who has spent her professional career covering entertainment, freelancing and penning columns for dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites in the U.S. and Canada. Her extensive writing resume includes Refreshed Magazine, Pathos.com, American Greetings, Beliefnet.com, Christian Voice Magazine, Brio Magazine, Breakaway Magazine, RochesterSubway.com and Pet Professional Guild Website.

Christopher Bevans is a 1991 graduate of Gates Chili High School. He is presently the Creative Director and Designer of DYNE, a menswear brand that he launched in 2015. Christopher took college courses at the Fashion Institute of Technology.  He received further training from master tailors in Rochester and apprenticed at a local tailor house where he eventually became the owner at 19-years-old.  While at FIT, Christopher studied textiles and received a mentorship from Jack Sauma, the owner of Mood Fabrics in New York City. He has developed a reputation as an expert craftsman and tailor while working with top brands such as Adidas, Sean John, Ecko, the Smithsonian, NY Cosmos and MacArthur Foundation.  He was a member of the Sean John design team who won the 2004 CFDA Menswear Award. Chris also served as the Creative Director of Nike’s Blue Ribbon Sports Division from 2003 to 2007.

Frank X. Allkofer is a 1964 graduate of Gates Chili High School. He has worked in government for the last 50 plus years and presently is a Constituent Relations Aid for NYS Senator Joseph Robach since 2012. He has also been a Monroe County Legislator for the 4th District since 2015 and Deputy Supervisor/Councilman in the Town of Gates since 2004. He helps act as a liaison to the Town of Gates in various areas such as Gates Recreation and Parks, Memorial Day events, Veterans Day events, and management of other town sponsored events and programs.

Naima (Delain) Judge is a 1994 graduate of Gates Chili High School. She is presently the Senior Portfolio Manager and Senior Vice President of the US Trust, Bank of America in Dallas, Texas.  She manages a diverse base of high net worth clients with total assets under management of $380 million. Last year, she received the prestigious President Award which is bestowed on the top 5 percent of sales generating employees in the company. She is also an amazing internship manager and mentor in the Year Up program for US Trust. Naima received her Bachelor of Business Administration in international business and finance at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts in 1998. She received her master of business administration in finance/entrepreneurship/corporate accounting at the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester, and she is presently in process to receive her Certified Financial Planning Certificate.

Steven Martin is a graduate of the Gates Chili Class of 1982. Steven is currently the Deputy J2 (senior intelligence officer) for the Joint Improvised Explosive Detection and Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) for the Department of Defense. In this position, he helps synchronize the DoD’s support to attacking enemy networks.  He received his bachelor’s degree in computer science from the US Military Academy at West Point in 1986. He completed his master’s degree in intelligence studies at National Defense Intelligence College. Steven completed the Military Intelligence Officer Basic Course in 1987, the Military Intelligence Officer Advance Course in 1991, Combined Arms Services and Staff Schooling in 1995, Army Command and General Staff College in 2001, is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm, and a veteran of Operation Restore Democracy in Haiti.  He is retired from active duty as a lieutenant colonel.

To nominate a Gates Chili alumni for the Hall of Fame or to read the full bios on Hall of Fame Inductees go to: http://www.gateschili.org/community.cfm?subpage=3448

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