2015 Hall of Fame Inductee
barbara welke lambesis - class of 1963
Barbara attended Patrick Henry from 1957-1963. While at Henry, she participated in FHA, GAA, and Y-Teens and was a member of the band and color guard, senior advisory council, national honor society, and Patriot staff. She also participated in the senior class play and represented Henry as its “Science Student of the Day,” a city-wide program sponsored by local corporations to advance interest in scientific careers.
After graduating from Henry, Barbara attended the University of Minnesota and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a Humanities major. Upon graduation, she moved to Arizona and taught high school English in Kingman for one year before moving to Phoenix, where she currently resides.
After a short time at the Arizona Department of Health Services, with positions in communicable disease control, health education and public information, she developed a successful career in public relations and marketing, holding executive positions at Phoenix Memorial and John C. Lincoln hospitals, First Interstate Bank and the Maricopa Community College District.
She is a past president of the Public Relations Society of America, Phoenix Chapter and is a Percy Award winner. She is a member of Valley Leadership Class V, a selective countywide program with a mission to identify and develop young professionals to become future civic and community leaders and engage them in continued involvement in the affairs of the metropolitan area.
She has served on numerous non-profit, community and civic boards and commissions. She was a member of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve Commission which was instrumental in preventing commercial development of unique, mountain wilderness and recreation areas within the city limits and preserving them for the enjoyment of future generations.
In 1986, she opened her own business doing marketing consulting and public speaking. While growing her business, she established and funded a work-study program for young people motivated to achieve a better life through education. Many of her young employees started working part-time at her company at age 16 and stayed until they graduated from college.
She is a past president of the National Association of Women Business Owners, Phoenix Chapter and was a US delegate to an International Conference of the World Association of Women Entrepreneurs. She is an author and the publisher of numerous small business self-help books.
After retiring in 2007, she finally had the time to accomplish her long time desire to write a novel. Her novel, Brothers of a Band was published in November, 2010. All revenue from the sale of the novel is directed to wounded warrior programs and music education for kids in low income school districts.
She is a founder and continuing supporter of the Musical Instrument Museum in Scottsdale, Arizona, and she continues to support the arts and humanities in the Phoenix area. Her primary residence is Phoenix, but she lives part-time in Paris, where she is working on a second novel and a non-fiction work about the iconic Wallace Drinking Fountains scattered throughout the city which you see in one of the pictures.
2015 Hall of Fame Inductee
james hays - class of 1975
Jim Hays attended Patrick Henry high School from 1972-1975. While at Henry he was member of the golf team. His Henry golf experience paid off when he got a golf picture with Joe Namath.
He earned his undergraduate and MBA from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Business.
He began his business career in 1980 at FM Global providing risk management and consulting services to large corporate clients. His entrepreneurial interests moved him in 1987 to open an office for a large risk management and insurance broker, Rollins Burdick Hunter. As RBH grew organically and through acquisition, Jim became the president of AON Risk Services.
In 1994 the entrepreneurial bug became more pronounced and Jim opened his own shop with four other risk management and insurance professionals. He is the CEO of The Hays Companies, a large international insurance brokerage company. Hays Companies has grown significantly in the last twenty years and now boasts over 800 employees in 35 offices in the United States and has business connections all over the world. Hays client list includes numerous Fortune 500 companies. In addition, Jim owns and has invested in numerous other businesses.
Jim serves on several community organizations including the Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Minneapolis, Young Presidents Organization and Babson College and is a generous philanthropist. Hays donates scholarship funds to Patrick Henry students.
Jim travels extensively throughout the U.S. and internationally, but calls Minneapolis his home.
2015 Hall of Fame Inductee
william albert allard - class of 1955
William Allard attended Patrick Henry Junior and High School from 1949-1955, graduating in spring of 1955. His activities included basketball, choir, band and Hi-Y.
William formed a vocal quartet that sang at high school programs and later as a professional group that performed in several Minneapolis nightclubs.
Upon graduation from Henry, William worked for several years as a telephone construction lineman for Northwestern Bell Telephone, but left that job to attend the Minneapolis School of Fine Arts from 1959-1960. He then transferred to the University of Minnesota where he majored in journalism with a specialization in photojournalism. Upon receiving his bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota in spring of 1964, he began a photographic internship at the National Geographic Magazine in Washington, D.C., which led to a contract position in the fall and to a staff photographer and writer position in 1965. William left the National Geographic staff position in the fall of 1967 to become a freelancer, continuing to work on assignment for National Geographic but also for LIFE, Look, Fortune, Saturday Evening Post, as well as other magazines in the U.S. and Europe.
William rejoined the staff of National Geographic Magazine in 1996 and continued there until 2008. He has since continued to work as a freelance photographer and writer. He has contributed to almost 50 National Geographic Magazine articles as both a photographer and writer.
William has published six critically acclaimed books of his photographs and writing. His first book, VANISHING BREED, his photographs and writing about the American West and the cowboy, was nominated for The American Book Award. He is currently working on a seventh book, a collection of his photographs in Paris, France.
He has received many awards for his photography. In 1994 the regents of the University of Minnesota awarded him the prestigious Alumni Award for Outstanding Achievement and his name can be seen on the Wall of Fame outside the Alumni Association building on the Minneapolis campus of the University of Minnesota.
He has been credited with being the photographer who changed the visual direction of National Geographic Magazine with his sensitive people documentaries beginning with his very first story for the magazine, an essay on the Amish of Pennsylvania done as an intern during the summer of 1964. He followed this with work on the Hutterites of Montana, and other stories dealing with the American West and the cowboy, many for which he was also the writer. Allard is considered a pioneer in color photography and is one of the very few photographers of his generation whose entire body of work is in color.
William has lived in rural Virginia for more than half his life and currently lives near Charlottesville, Virginia.
2015 Hall of Fame Inductee
richard toftness - class of 1968
Richard Toftness attended Patrick Henry from 1962-1968, was the yearbook photographer. He participated in band, Hi-Y, science club, cross country. Was the yearbook photographer, a member of the NHS and attended Boys State. Richard is a University of Minnesota graduate with a BA & MA in Electrical Engineering and Math.
His University engineering degree took him to a variety of international positions with Hewlett Packard/Agilent Technologies, Vision Research, Inc., and Tasterra Consulting LLC.
He’s been a diverse and creative engineering professional for 30+ years with leadership and managerial experience, both domestic and international, where he demonstrated analytical and evaluation capabilities. Over the past few years he has successfully transformed several organizations which resulted in much improved levels of business performance.
Richard won the 2012 Academy Award for his work on a revolutionary high speed camera for Slow Motion Cinematography. This Academy Award was shared with three other individuals which all played significant roles in the development and success of the recognized product.
Recently, another camera that was Toftness’ responsibility made it to the International Space Station.
He has contributed to various patents in digital technologies, produced publications on Laser technology and applications and product testing.
He has served on many boards such as, Habitat for Humanity, United Way, YMCA, and was recognized by Hewlett Packard Executive Committee for Outstanding Achievement in 1992. Awarded Certificate of Appreciation by Colorado Minority Engineering Association in 1995, and the YMCA Outstanding Leadership Award 1983.
While in college he started his connection with YMCA Camp Ihduhapi and now in retirement he is raising funds to restore the hillside chapel at his beloved Camp Ihduhapi which you can see the in photo above.
Richard Toftness calls Loveland, CO his home.