photo by: Journal-World File

Lawrence High School is home of the Chesty Lions.

A judge, a late principal and a former county administrator will be among five inductees to the Lawrence Lions Alumni Association Hall of Honor this fall.

The Hall of Honor recognizes graduates of Liberty Memorial High School and Lawrence High School who have distinguished themselves in their professions or made significant contributions to society on a state, national or international level. Honorees may also include individuals who, while not alumni, have contributed significantly to the success of the two schools and their graduates.

This year’s inductees are:

photo by: Contributed

Kim Murphree

• Kim L. Murphree (LHS Class of 1976) – Murphree’s career spans broadcasting, music, law enforcement and community leadership. A radio personality, she won multiple Kansas Association of Broadcast Awards. She is a six-time Best of Lawrence winner as front woman for bands including Black Pearl, The Wags, and Kim and The Quake. She spent 23 years with the Lawrence Police Department in roles including records manager and public information officer. She initiated Lawrence’s first Veterans Day Parade in 49 years in 2017 and has served on boards including the Douglas County American Red Cross, Lawrence-Douglas County Crime Stoppers, and the Lawrence Martin Luther King Jr. Executive Committee, among many others.

photo by: Contributed

John Nalbandian

• Judge John B. Nalbandian (LHS Class of 1987) – Nalbandian is a United States circuit judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, appointed in 2018. He grew up in Lawrence and attended the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Virginia School of Law. He began his legal career as a law clerk to Judge Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, then practiced in the appellate section of Jones Day in Washington, D.C., before becoming a partner and lead appellate lawyer at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP in Cincinnati. He has also served as a special justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court and as a board member of the State Justice Institute.

photo by: Contributed

Jim “Punkin” O’Connell

• Jim “Punkin” O’Connell (LHS Class of 1966) – Beginning in 1978, O’Connell volunteered as an athletic trainer for the Lawrence High football program for nearly three decades, through six state championships. He co-founded Red Dog Days alongside fellow Hall of Honor member Don Gardner, a summer conditioning program that grew from off-season football training into an enduring community institution serving athletes from both Lawrence High and Free State as well as residents of all ages across the city. O’Connell spent 33 years in public service with the Lawrence Police Department and Douglas County Sheriff’s Department, including 27 years in 911 communications.

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Craig Weinaug

• G. Craig Weinaug (LHS Class of 1970) – Over a 43-year career in local government administration beginning in 1975, Weinaug served as city administrator in Scott City, Kansas; Zion, Illinois; and Ardmore, Oklahoma, before serving in Douglas County as county administrator from 1992 until his retirement in 2018. He helped bring to life a wide range of community facilities whose dedication plaques bear his name, including the Douglas County Crisis Intervention Center, the Peaslee Technical Training Center, the Bert Nash Mental Health Center, Douglas County Jail, and Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical Station 5, among others.

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Quentin Rials

• Quentin Lamerle Rials (LHS Class of 1995) – A Lawrence native who came back to his hometown school as its principal, Rials excelled as a student-athlete at LHS, helping lead the Chesty Lions to the Kansas Class 6A State Basketball Championship his senior year. He earned a B.S. in elementary education from Baker University, a Master of Science in Educational Administration from the University of Kansas, and a law degree from Washburn University. He began his career as an attorney before following his calling into education, teaching secondary math and coaching in Fort Worth, Texas. He joined Lawrence Public Schools in 2017. Rials died on May 19.

The induction ceremony will be Oct. 11 during LHS’s Homecoming weekend in the Lawrence High School Cafeteria at 1901 Louisiana St. Doors will open at 1:45 p.m., and the ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

For more information and a look at previous inductees, visit the Lawrence Lions Alumni Association website at https://www.lawrencelionsalumni.com/.