When the 1,300 students at Lawrence High School head to class this morning, four new faces will look down upon them from the row of portraits wrapping around the school’s commons area.

Those faces belong to the newest inductees of the Hall of Honor, who Sunday joined 31 other graduates already recognized by the Lawrence Lions Alumni Assn.

The ceremony was started and the portraits hung in the hopes of inspiring and encouraging current students, said association treasurer David Stoffer, and judging by the accomplishments listed Sunday, the hall’s newest members have the power to do both.

With a lump in his throat, Don “Red Dog” Gardner was the first to accept his award.

“I went 30-some years in my life without ever shedding a tear,” he said to the crowd of about 150. “This is pretty tough.”

Gardner, a 1956 graduate of LHS, is best known for establishing Red Dog’s Dog Days, a community fitness program that during the summer draws 900 people to Memorial Stadium for early morning workouts.

Calling the program a “boot camp for athletes and recovering couch potatoes, former LHS principal Brad Tate outlined Gardner’s other accomplishments as a police officer and volunteer trainer for LHS.

“Don may be the most community-minded person I’ve ever known,” he said.

Although Gardner’s impact was primarily local, the accomplishments of the other three inductees chosen by the association have spanned Kansas  and even the world.

Elden Tefft, a 1939 graduate of Liberty Memorial High School, was recognized for his sculpting talent. He designed the Moses sculpture that sits in front of Smith Hall on KU’s campus as well as the Jayhawk in front of Strong Hall and the Chesty Lion in front of LHS. Tefft established KU’s sculpture degree program, and in the 1950s he redesigned seals for the state and KU. Not yet ready to quit, he is now working on a depiction of James Naismith.

Stephen T. Johnson, a 1982 graduate, was commended for his abilities as an author and illustrator of children’s books. His book “Alphabet City” was a 1996 Caldecott Honor Book.

“The scope of Stephen’s talent and creative genius is outstanding,” said Carol Pilant, a librarian at Central Junior High.

And likely reaching more minds than the other three inductees together, was 1989 graduate Srinija Srinivasan. As vice president and editor-in-chief of Yahoo Inc., Srinivasan’s decisions affect 237 million individuals each month who log onto the Internet service.

Srinivasan traveled from her home in California for the ceremony that drew more guests than there were chairs in which to sit. Looking out at old friends and teachers Sunday afternoon, Srinivasan thanked them for the honor.

“Lawrence High is a singularly special place,” she said. “It’s awfully, awfully nice to come home.”