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Posted on Thu, Oct 28, 2010 : 2:08 p.m.

Willow Run Community Schools to induct five alumni into Hall of Fame

By Kyle Feldscher

Willow Run Community Schools will induct five new members into its Hall of Fame at an annual banquet on Nov. 6, including a Secret Service officer who died last year.

Pascal John Hall, Jon Maggard, Renee Smith, Charles Swanson and Lt. Col. Ronald Thornton Jr. will be honored at the 14th annual Hall of Fame Induction Banquet at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Willow Run High School cafeteria, 235 Spencer Lane.

Hall, the class of 1998 salutatorian and a University of Michigan graduate, died in a motorcycle accident in September 2009 in Washington D.C. He was a member of the Secret Service Uniform Division, which patrolled all foreign embassies. He served two tours of duty in Iraq while in the Marines.

Maggard, class of 1980, serves as the chief of police for a Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility. He has previously served in the military. Maggard was awarded the Carey Award Examiner in 2009-10 and selected as Department of Veterans Affairs Police Program Troubleshooter in 2007 and 2009.

Smith, class of 1990, is the principal at Cheney Academy of Math and Science in Willow Run. She is also the site director of Head Start in the district. She has served on many councils around the region representing the district and is a leader in the community.

Swanson, class of 1984, is an associate professor in the School of Film and Television at Loyola Marymount University in California. He has worked in the film industry for more than a decade and is directing his first short film about his family’s experiences dealing with the death of his mother.

Thornton, class of 1980, is a commercial airline pilot and instructor for Delta Airlines and a reserve officer in the United States Marine Corps. He has been previously selected for a five-month deployment to Afghanistan to assist with detainee counterinsurgency operations. He has also performed operations in Iraq, Bosnia and Somalia, receiving numerous awards.

Tickets for the ceremony are $25 and can be purchased at the district’s business office, 235 Spencer Lane.

Kyle Feldscher covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com.