Athens Distinguished Alumni
Four Athens High School graduates recognized for achievements
Four Athens High School graduates on Sunday were honored during a ceremony as 2022 Athens Distinguished Alumni inductees for their contributions to society. They include Tim Clinton, Class of 1996; Mitchell Marohl, Class of 1992 and sisters Lori (Schreiner) Zettler, Class of 1979 and Lisa (Schreiner) McCord, Class of 1978.
Tim Clinton
Dan Nowak, Athens schools counselor, introduced Tim Clinton who appeared via teleconference from his home in Washington, D.C. Nowak said Clinton was a gifted student in both athletics and music at Athens High School. He said today people still talk about how well Clinton played the lead role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
“Tim is the only student I’ve worked with who applied to Harvard University, and it was no surprise he was accepted to Harvard and he excelled in his educational experience,” Nowak said.
Clinton graduated from Harvard in 2000 with honors while earning a degree in Near Eastern Languages and Civilization. He created his own college major focusing on Arabic language, politics, culture and the rise of fundamentalist Islamic terrorism. Clinton was a member of The Kuumba Singers that explores the musical culture of black people through spirituals, gospel, African folk songs and contemporary music. After graduating from Harvard, Clinton worked two years at the Center of Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation where he rose in leadership to become co-director of congressional affairs and programs.
He earned his law degree in 2005 from the Virginia School of Law and he then worked from 2005-07 as an associate attorney at Covington & Burling, which is widely considered one of the top law firms in the District of Columbia. From 2007-08, Clinton was general counsel to a real estate development fund operated by former Duke University and NBA basketball players Christian Laettner and Brian Davis. In 2008, Clinton started his own law firm. He was named a top 40 under 40 criminal defense lawyer in Washington, D.C. by the American Society of Legal Advocates in 2014 and 2015, and a top 40 under 40 litigation lawyer in 2016.
Clinton told the audience on Sunday in the Athens High School commons to give current Athens High School musical performers Ethan Marohl, Cambrea Sarasin and Faith Nowak a round of applause for how well they did entertaining the crowd during the social before the program.
“I think their willingness to be vulnerable and honest through music as an art is something that should be commended,” Clinton said.
He spoke about how the lesson taught to him by Mitch McGraff, former Athens High School English teacher, has resonated with him since he graduated from Athens.
“Once a week Mr. McGraff would put two lines of text on the blackboard and we didn’t know where he got them from,” Clinton said. “He’d go around the room and ask what these words meant to us. What we found is that even though all of us came from a small town and generally shared similar cultural, religious and ethnic racial backgrounds, we all saw something different in these two lines of text. We found these words were not something profound in a textbook of complex poetry or something we would explore in college, but rather they were lyrics from popular songs sang by musicians Led Zeppelin to Tracy Chapman to even Engelbert Humperdinck. What we found when we engaged with them in curiosity and empathy was something new about ourselves and our classmates; something we learned is what we see in the world is just a reflection of the truth that exists, that our ignorance will always exceed our knowledge no matter where we attain it.”
Mitchell Marohl
Mary Marohl introduced her son, Mitchell Marohl, as an Athens Distinguished Alumni inductee. She said he’s served in the military for 18 years and is a Green Beret in the United States Army. Both Mary and Mitchell Marohl did not have elaborate speeches planned for Sunday’s ceremony. Mitchell Marohl said he prefers to speak from the heart.
“Without my parents instilling values in me while growing up in Athens to serving in the military, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Mitchell Marohl said. “Without my grade school teachers, Ms. Joanne Roll and Ms. Lillian Feiner, who I see are here today, I can guarantee you I wouldn’t be here today. They instilled the discipline and values that were necessary to get me on the straight-and-narrow so I could start focusing on what I needed to do in order to be successful.
“The one person that I would really like to thank today is my older brother Mike. Without him, I would have never accomplished all the things I did throughout my high school and military careers. Mike taught me the value of hard work, dedication, integrity of doing the things you are supposed to do in order to succeed and not just the stuff that everybody can see you doing and selfless service that was also instilled in me by the U.S. Army. Selfless service is doing the things that are right for everyone, not just for you; I think we do have a problem with that in today’s society, especially in the day of social media because there is more selfishness than selflessness. Mike also taught me personal courage in doing the right thing just because it is the right thing to do. Mike told me as long as I worked hard and did the right things, then I was going to make it in this world; he just drove me to do what was always right.”
Lori (Schreiner) Zettler
Judi Akey introduced her good friend and former co-worker, Lori (Schreiner) Zettler during Sunday’s ceremony.
“I was the Information Services director for the Wausau Medical Center before it merged with Marshfield Clinic, and we were looking for a computer operator to work the night shift and run all the data backups, file updates and print the reports,” Akey said. “Lori was hired without reservations. I knew from the first interview that Lori was a young woman who worked very hard and used an exceptionally fine mind. I was immediately impressed by her farm background because it was very similar to mine and I know farm girls know how to work, and the love for her family told me a lot about Lori as a person. I was also impressed by her composure and ability to express herself clearly in an organized thought process, so at the very start of her career Lori already projected the traits of someone who took advantage of a good early education; if any of her Athens teachers are present, I need to assure them their lessons bore fruit in this student.”
Akey was not surprised to discover from Zettler during dinner two years ago that Zettler and her sister, Lisa Mc-Cord, were taking steps to address an Athens community need by building an elderly assisted living facility in their hometown.
“It was so apparent to me that Lori and Lisa were on the path to a very well structured business and compassionate endeavor with Athenian Living in Athens,” Akey said. “I can’t imagine the amount of hours Lori has expended during the last few years to get that beautiful facility up and running, but I can easily imagine the kind-
ness and empathy she shares with the people who entrust their care to these two Schreiner ladies. Lori, you’ve been a constant inspiration and good friend and you are so deserving of his honor being bestowed upon you.”
Lori Zettler told the audience at the ceremony that she accepts the Athens Distinguished Alumni award with great pride. She thanked her husband, Dennis Zettler, for the time he spent taking care of their three children while she worked long hours. She also thanked her children Brad Zettler, Beth Belter and Lindsey Heier for their patience and support through the years.
“My sister Lisa and I could not have accomplished Athenian Living assisted living community without each other,” Lori Zettler said. “Athens is such a giving community which is demonstrated by the many volunteers, donations and support. It’s overwhelming the amount of people who walk through the doors at Athenian Living, as I see a volunteer in the audience who comes to Athenian Living every Thursday to play the piano for our residents. It’s been an honor to have a successful endeavor for so many elderly in need of assistance. Thank you mom and dad in heaven for instilling a hard work ethic in me. We were raised on a farm where we worked 24/7 and it didn’t change much after I went into the workforce because computers need to be running so that people can do their jobs.”
Lisa (Schreiner) McCord
Linda (Schreiner) Kraft introduced her sister, Lisa (Schreiner) McCord as an Athens Distinguished Alumni award recipient. She said Lisa McCord has competed in numerous 5Ks and on Saturday she ran her 24th half Marathon. In 1984, Lisa McCord won the title of June Dairy princess to represent Marathon County throughout the state.
“Her love of learning, determination and work ethic helped her achieve a bachelor’s degree in business administration and master’s degree in leadership development, as well as receive the Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceutical president’s award for excellence while working there in Information Technology,” Linda Kraft said.
Kraft said Lisa McCord is co-founder of the Athenian Living, where she is the director of operations. She volunteers for the Athens Area Trails Association and is chairperson of the Athens Fair 5K Fun Run/Walk. Lisa McCord has four children and five grandchildren. She and her husband, John McCord, are co-owners of the Athens IGA.
Lisa McCord thanked everyone who attended the Athens Distinguished Alumni Award program, and especially her late parents, Clarence and Nancy Schreiner, for teaching her the value of having a hard work effort on the family’s dairy farm.
“I always said dad never discriminated as he made us girls work every bit as hard as the boys,” she said. “Losing my mother when I was only 19 years old taught me that life is short and that I needed to approach life with a ‘why not?’ attitude. I’ve never been a person to go after something, but when opportunities came my way, I thought ‘why not’ and that’s how I ran my first half marathon in 1998. My neighbor was running a half marathon and didn’t want to do it alone, so she asked me to join her.
“Along the way I happened to become a computer programmer, which led to a career I never dreamt of. I had an opportunity to start out as a trainee computer programmer at Weathershield in Medford, and from there I went to work as a consultant and full-time employee with 24 years experience at Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceuticals in Indianapolis, Ind. Eli Lilly blessed me even further by also teaching me to take chances and risks, and they gave me the opportunity and support while earning my college bachelors and masters degrees, and the company pushed me to be the best human I could be. It even sent me to South Africa for a twoweek humanitarian trip in 2014, and I will forever be grateful for that opportunity. I just have been able to grow over the years in way that I had never even imagined back in 1982 when I graduated from Athens High School.
“I’ve been blessed every step of the way and the current achievement I accomplished with my sister Lori in bringing Athenian Living to Athens is probably one of the proudest accomplishments of my lifetime. Bringing something like that back to Athens in the beginning didn’t feel like such a big thing, but when we see now how it has helped and changed the lives of so many Athens-area residents, it’s humbling to feel that we were able to do something like that. To the younger people here like my nieces, nephews and grandkids, when things come your way in life take a chance. Don’t say no. I could never do that and that you need to let somebody else do that. Take the time and sit back and think about it and there is so much out there you can accomplish.”
Patti Riske, retired Athens band teacher, established the Athens Distinguished Alumni award in 2018. Jessica Bingham, Athens High School heath and physical education teacher, has since taken over for Riske as the award committee chairperson, but Riske still remains on the committee. The Athens Distinguished Alumni selection committee also includes Athens High School graduates Dee Brewster, Danielle Diedrich and Lauri Heier.
The inaugural 2018 Athens Distinguished Alumni award recipients consists of Robert Gruling, Class of 1949; Robert Peter, Class of 1950; William Balz, Class of 1970; Jennifer (Fladvid) Lipinski, Class of 1987; Reverend Sara Morse, Class of 1996 and Amy (Burk) Bormann, Class of 2003. The 2019 Athens Distinguished Alumni recipients are Ryen Berghammer, Class of 1977 and Bill Cosh, Class of 1986. There were no award ceremonies the past two years during the COVID-19 pandemic.
