Willie Bruns, 1968
Willie has demonstrated a life time commitment to Alter, tirelessly giving of his time and energy to countless events and causes. His notoriety is primarily linked to his yearly work with AlterFest where he has affectionately come to be known as “Mr. Chicken,” shouldering the burden of providing the tastiness of this long time Alter tradition of “famous” chicken dinners. His support of the school, however, is not limited to the festival; he also helps at the annual fish fry, numerous sporting events and with silent auctions and raffles. Willie personifies Alter’s spirit with his endless enthusiasm, friendliness to everyone, and passionate, generous community involvement. His spirit has strengthened Alter High School over many years and we are forever indebted.
Matt Desch, 1976
With his B.S. from Ohio State University, and later an M.B.A. from University of Chicago, Matt began his career at AT&T Bell Laboratories (now Lucent Technologies) in software product development and then spent 13 years at Nortel Networks where he grew his division from $200 million dollars in sales to over $4.5 billion in only 9 years, securing a #2 global market position. He is currently Chairman and CEO of Iridium satellite, a global provider of satellite phone service and was formerly CEO of Telcordia Technologies from 2002-2005. He has been very influential in this high tech industry serving on many councils and boards, including his current work as Chairman of the Board of Airspan Networks of Florida.
Matt has always been active in community service, most recently volunteering for Angel Flight where he helps ease travel costs for families by flying young patients in his airplane to receive the treatments they desperately need. He also remains very involved at Ohio State with extensive support of their capital project and development of a student leadership program to offer students practical, hands-on leadership experiences.
Kelly Callahan, 1985
Two years with the U.S. Peace Corps starting in 1996 on the Western coast of Africa started Kelly’s relentless commitment to improving the health of suffering people in the world. She became a field coordinator and later a resident technical advisor for The Carter Center, an establishment devoted to eradicating and controlling diseases in Africa and the Americas. The focus of work for 7 years was in tackling parasitic infections that tend to affect the poorest of the poor. Serving The Carter Center through the United Nation’s program, Operation Lifeline Sudan, the majority of Kelly’s efforts were spent in South Sudan with the highest concentration of Guinea worm disease in the world. There, Kelly developed and distributed an amazingly sophisticated, but simple, portable water filter to combat Guinea worm disease. Due largely in part to Kelly’s aggressive distribution of 9 million pipe filters and subsequent work, Guinea worm disease has greatly reduced in Sudan.
Jimmy Carter himself, among many others, has recognized and applauded her work. Since 2003, Kelly has worked for the international health programs of The Carter Center as Assistant Director in Program Support out of Atlanta, Georgia.
Leo Trick, Deceased 1981
Faculty and Staff 1967 - 1981
The profound influence of former Guidance Counselor and Latin teacher, Leo Trick, resonates years later in students whose lives he touched while at Alter. As a teacher, he strove to instill in his students a thirst for learning and brought continual passion and commitment to his classroom. As a guidance counselor, he demonstrated true interest in students with his ability to genuinely listen and challenge them to achieve greatness.
Leo always modeled what he believed and he practiced what he taught. He was devoted to his faith, never failing to speak up for what he thought was right. He was even more devoted to his family and loved ones. Leo Trick embodied all the values that serve as the foundation of Alter’s education. He was a man of greatness, evident in how he lived and how he died. His spirit continues and his legacy is alive at Alter High School.