Belleville East
Lancer Wall of Fame
Charles A. and Phyllis N. Woodford Bio
Charles and Phyllis Woodford began their careers as Lancers in the fall of 1966 when their son, Wick, entered the brand new East High School. They attended the first football game against Auburn in Missouri. The Lancers were victorious 39 to 16! From that day on for thirty-eight years, Friday and Saturday athletic events had the Woodfords in attendance. In the fall of 1973, the idea for the booster club for Lancer athletics came about. Mr. Woodford was elected the first president of the Lancer Booster Club and has remained active to this day. Although they originally became active in supporting Wick and their daughter, Terry (Woodford-Thomas), their loyalty lasted far beyond their children’s years of attendance at East.
Some of the fundraising activities the booster club has been involved with are: Old Newsboys’ Day, concessions stand at track meets, sale of items with the East logo, coat checks at basketball games, and spaghetti suppers. In 1985 Mr. Woodford and his wife were responsible for starting an official boys basketball program, which is still going on today. All of these activities and more have generated needed monies for Lancer athletics.
The Lancer Booster Club initiated the All-Tournament Team and Most Valuable Player awards for the Belleville East Invitational Tournament in 1975. Mr. Woodford has remained active in the selection and presentation of those awards.
Mr. Woodford started working in the late seventies as an unpaid administrative assistant to the athletic directors. He is still currently coming in one afternoon a week to help with the paperwork. In the winter of 1994, a scholarship in Mr. Woodford’s name was established for a graduating young man and woman. The Illinois Athletic Director’s Association honored Mr. Woodford in 2002 with a plaque as being a friend of athletics. Charles and the late Phyllis Woodford are/were the embodiment of Lancer spirit.
Before his affiliation with Belleville East, Mr. Woodford served his country with distinction. During World War II, Mr. Woodford was a tail gunner on a B-17 bomber. On his eleventh mission, his plane was twice wounded in combat and as a result, received two Purple Hearts.
Robert L. Gentsch Bio
Mr. Robert Gentsch graduated from Belleville Township High School and Belleville Junior College. He earned a B.A. and an M.A. in History from Washington University in St. Louis where his Master’s thesis was titled, “The Early History of Belleville, Illinois to 1850.” The information gleaned from this research makes Bob one of the foremost local historians. A copy of this thesis is on file at the Belleville Public Library and is available for use by researchers.
During the Korean War, Mr. Gentsch served two years on active duty in the Navy. He served sixteen years in the Naval Reserves.
Mr. Gentsch is proudest of the thirty-four years he spent in the classroom as a teacher. He taught one year in Columbia, Illinois, three years in Freeburg, six years at Belleville Township High School, and twenty-three years at Belleville East. He was Chairman of the Social Studies Department during the years at East. In addition, he sponsored the Model United Nations delegation to the McKendree College Model United Nations annually. Twice Bob served as Student Council sponsor, once for six years and again for two additional years.
The destruction of the St. Clair County Courthouse in the early 1970s heightened his interest in local government, causing him to get involved in the political arena. In 1973 he ran for and was elected to the Belleville City Council, where he served eight years and was the first chairman of the Parks Committee, which added Laderman Park, North End Park, and Hoeffken Park to the city park system during his tenure.
In 1982 Mr. Gentsch was elected to the St. Clair County Board, where he has served until the present time. He has been a member of the Environment Committee since 1982 and is proud of the way the committee has closed and then cleaned up many landfills in the county. In addition, he is proud of MetroLink and the ability to get the tracks to come through Belleville. Mr. Gentsch is Chairman of the 911 Board on which he had held a seat since its inception. Also, Mr. Gentsch is chairman of the Property and Recreation Committee. This committee had added over 200 acres of land for greenspace so that the entire county is not covered with asphalt and concrete.
Mr. Gentsch has been an active member of St. Mark Lutheran Church since the church was formed in 1976. He was the first chairman of the congregation and has held various offices; presently he serves as chairman of the ushers. He served eighteen years on the St. Clair County Historical Society Board, several times as vice-president. He was the editor of the Historical Society journal for eight years and gave talks on the history of the region to hundreds of area organizations. Mr. Gentsch served as the Chairman of the St. Clair County Bicentennial Commission in 1990 and compiled and edited the book Tapestry of Time, a pictorial history of the county. In addition, Mr. Gentsch has been a member of the Memorial Hospital Auxiliary for the last ten years.
Bob has been married to Lois (Jones) for over 54 years. They have two sons, Craig who graduated from East in 1971 and who lives with his wife, Michelle, in Haynesville, Virginia, and Bryan a member of the class of 1975 at East. Bryan and his wife Denise live in Austin, Texas.
Annette A. Eckert Bio
Ms. Annette A. Eckert, daughter of A.F. “Doc” Eckert (deceased) and Delores Eckert (still residing in Belleville), graduated from Belleville East in 1969. During her years at East, Ms. Eckert attained academic excellence while engaging in a variety of activities. She performed in the concert choir, was elected to the Student Council, was on the Laureate (school newspaper) staff, and was a member of the German Club.
Since graduating from Belleville East High School, Annette Eckert has realized a significant amount of professional accomplishment and recognition. Currently, she is a Circuit Judge for the Twentieth Judicial Circuit (St. Clair County) in the State of Illinois.
Annette received her law degree from J. D. DePaul University College of Law, Chicago, Illinois, in 1976. She has served as an Assistant Public Defender in Cook County, Illinois. Annette was in private practice for thirteen years until she became an Associate Judge in the 20th Judicial Circuit in Belleville. She was the Presiding Judge in the Family Division for four years. Judge Eckert was a faculty member at the Southwestern Illinois College Police Academy for ten years and has served as an instructor at numerous law seminars and conferences. She is a Co-Chair of the 20th Judicial Circuit Family Violence Coordinating Council and Chair of the Committee that developed, implemented and operates the first dedicated domestic violence courtroom in St. Clair County. Ms. Eckert is a founding member of the Board of Directors, and was Vice Chair for the Children First Foundation, overseeing the development and operation of Visitation Exchange Centers in Belleville and Centerville. Annette has been a member of the Ethics Committee of the Statewide Family Violence Coordinating Council from 1999 to the present. In 1989-1990, she was “Boss of the Year” for the St. Clair County Legal Professionals.
Judge Eckert has also been involved in numerous community service activities. Many of these activities have centered on preserving the history of Belleville, improving the Downtown and Historic District of Belleville, and involving herself in initiatives that have benefited many throughout the community. Annette is on the Board of Directors of the Main Street Program (Design Committee). She is a founding member of the Belleville Heritage Society and is on the Old Town Market Committee. Judge Eckert is an instructor for the Government and Legal System, Boy Scouts of America, Troop 77 in Belleville. She is a member and Sunday School instructor at St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in Belleville. Annette is an excellent example of what can be accomplished through hard work and dedication to her job and community.
Ms. Eckert receives support in all her activities from her husband, William L. Enyart, an attorney, and her two sons, James “Jay” and Alex.
Dr. Jay Ellison Bio
After graduating from East in 1973, Jay attended the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), where he majored in biochemistry and graduated summa cum laude. He won a Bronze tablet Award and several awards for students in the School of Chemical Sciences (American Institute of Chemists Award, Merck Award, Kendall Award). He became interested in genetics during that time and decided to go to graduate school to pursue a research career rather than go to medical school.
He received a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship for graduate school and enrolled at Caltech in Pasadena, California. It was in the early days of recombinant DNA research, and it was a very exciting place. He realized that he wanted to work in the area of human genetics and it would be advantageous if he had a medical degree. On finishing his Ph.D., he enrolled in medical school at the University of California, San Francisco (USCF). He continued doing research, and he co-authored a paper with two professors who won the Nobel Prize a few years later.
Following medical school, he wanted to specialize in Medical Genetics, and he went through training in Pediatrics (at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center), during which he did research and learned about genetic diseases. He transferred to UCSF where his research interest at that time was the biology and evolution of human sex chromosomes (the X and Y). He was given a junior faculty position and obtained a couple of small grants to continue his work, which focused on identifying genes that cause problems in patients with abnormalities of the sex chromosomes. This led him to discover a gene that is involved in normal growth and skeletal development and which is deficient in females with a condition called Turner Syndrome (in which females have only one X chromosome instead of two). During that time he was able to present his work at meetings in places, such as Cambridge, England, and Heidelberg, Germany.
In 1997 he moved to the Medical College of Virginia, where he was a faculty member in the Departments of Pediatrics and Human Genetics. He continued to see genetics patients, teach medical and graduate students, and conduct research on the genes that he had found. He moved to the Mayo Clinic at the end of 2001. There he is primarily involved in teaching and the clinical care of patients with hereditary disorders. He is board-certified in Pediatrics, Clinical Genetics, and Clinical Molecular Genetics. He is an Associate Professor of Medical Genetics and teaches the first-year medical school course in medical genetics. He is the Director of the Medical Genetics Training Program, which trains physicians and scientists who want to specialize in the field. He is involved in an institutional effort to educate all Mayo staff in the area of genetics. Recently he began a new research project that involves identifying genes that contribute to a common inherited disorder called hemochromatosis, in which iron accumulates in tissues and causes damage.
Barbara Campbell Fast Bio
Major General Barbara Campbell Fast, class of 1971, has served in the United States Army for twenty-eight years, attaining the rank of Two-Star General. She is the first woman in the military to serve as a combat arms commander and command a tactical exploitation battalion in combat and was the Army’s first female senior intelligence officer in a combat-ready division.
After leaving the hallways of Belleville East in 1971, Barbara attended Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, Missouri. After two years, she transferred to the University of Missouri-Columbia where she received a B.S.E. degree in German and Spanish. After completing her bachelor’s degree, Barbara was commissioned in the United States Army in 1976 as a Military Intelligence Officer. She earned her Master’s degree in Business Administration from Boston University while she was stationed overseas.
Since October of 1976, Barbara has been stationed in Munich, Germany; Fort Hood, Texas; Alexandria, Virginia; Augsburg, Germany; and the Pentagon in Virginia.
After selection for Brigadier General, Barbara was assigned to the National Security Agency as Assistant Deputy Director of Operations (Operations and Military Operation Integration) and Deputy, Central Security Service, Fort Meade, Maryland. She followed with an assignment as the Director of Intelligence, J-2, Headquarters, United States European Command, Stuttgart, Germany. As Director of Intelligence, Barbara was in charge of U.S. Military operations and training in a thirty-one-country area, including Europe, most of Africa, and three countries in the Middle East. She oversaw intelligence operations in both Bosnia and Kosovo. She was selected for Major General and designated to move to Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Since July 2003, Barbara has been stationed in Iraq as the C2, Combined Joint Task Force 7 (CJTF-7), heading up the intelligence effort for all the military forces in Iraq.
Barbara’s military awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster, and the German Silver Cross of Honor. Her civilian awards include an honorary Doctor of Law from the University of Missouri during commencement ceremonies in 2002. She was also named the University’s Delta Zeta Alumnus of the Year in 2000.
Throughout her career, Barbara has had the support of her husband, retired Lieutenant Colonel Paul A. Fast.
Timothy L. Heely Bio
Timothy Louis Heely was born in Belleville and attended Belleville East High School, graduating in 1971. While at East, Tim excelled academically and participated in athletics, student government, and other extracurricular activities. He was a National Merit Scholar, Editor of the Laureate (the school newspaper), captain of the tennis team, a varsity football player, a member of the student council, a Boy’s State representative and officer, and was active in several other clubs and organizations. His proud parents, Mr. and Mrs. Daniel L. Heely, still live in Belleville. Tim and his wife, Cherie, were married in 1977. They currently reside in Patuxent River, Maryland, with their three children, Kate, Conner, and Dan.
After graduating from East, Mr. Heely attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in American Political Systems in 1975. Subsequent educational achievements include a Master’s of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Naval Post-Graduate School in Monterey, California.
Timothy earned his wings as a U.S. Navy fighter pilot in 1977 and flew single-seat jets from aircraft carriers in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. He has accumulated over 850 carrier landings in his career as a naval aviator. He commanded an F/A-18 Hornet squadron which flew multiple combat missions over Kuwait and Iraq during the first Gulf War. While under his leadership, this group was named the top F/A-18 Hornet squadron in the U.S. Navy.
In 2000, he was promoted by the navy to the rank of Rear Admiral, becoming the first Belleville native to attain that rank. His initial assignment as a Flag Officer was Commander for Research and Engineering for U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aircraft. He was recognized by the Navy for his outstanding service in February of 2004 when he was selected to receive his second star. He is currently in charge of the development, procurement, and support of all Navy and Marines strike weapons, cruise missiles, and unmanned aviation. NASA has selected him as a member of its Aviation Technology Blue Ribbon Panel.
Admiral Heely’s contributions go far beyond his military service. He is active in his community, serving as a mentor and instructor for the Leonardtown Vocational High School Robotics Team and as a board member of the Southern Maryland Higher Education Council. Tim also works as a team leader in the Southern Maryland “Christmas in April” program, rehabilitating homes for needy families. Additionally, he is a member of the board for the Calvert County Marine Museum. With all of this, he has still found time to serve as a coach for a variety of youth athletic teams.
Admiral Heely has addressed many audiences, both here and abroad. He is proud to refer to his Belleville roots.
Mark Hollmann Bio
Mark Hollmann graduated from Belleville East in 1981, and he says music was the thing he did the most when growing up. When the Hollmann family got a piano in the house, everyone started playing it, although Mark was the only one who remained with it. He was in the school and church choirs and every band he could get into in public schools. He played the trombone in the marching band, concert band, and stage band, which was like a small swing band at Belleville East. The band director at East somehow thought he would be interested in opera, and he lent him some opera albums and a Kurt Weill album. The Weill album opened his eyes to Three Penny Opera, which immediately caught his imagination. The opera wasn’t as interesting to him, but he did end up listening to a lot of Verdi because the melody was so dramatic to him. Verdi was a big influence on Mark.
Mark Hollmann, the son of Juanita and Raymond Hollmann of Fairview Heights, won a 2002 Tony Award and a 2001 Obie Award. He received two Drama Desk nominations for his music and lyrics to Urinetown the Musical. He also wrote music and lyrics for Jack the Chipper (Greenview Arts Center, Chicago), “I Think I Can” and “Deal with It!” (Berkshire Theatre Festival’s Theatre Under the Tent), “Fare for All” (Mount Vernon Hotel and gardens, NYC), and Kaboom! (University Theater at the University of Chicago). As a founding ensemble member of the Cardiff Giant Theater Company in Chicago, he co-wrote and co-produced three full-length plays and two musicals. He played trombone for the Chicago art-rock band Maestro Subgum and the Whole, played piano for the Second City National Touring Company and NYC’s Chicago City Limits, and taught music composition at Columbia College Chicago. As a composer/lyricist, he attended the musical-theater writing workshop at Theatre Building Chicago and the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop in New York. He received his B.A. in music from the University of Chicago, where he won the Louis J. Sudler Prize in Creative and Performing Arts. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and lives in Manhattan with his wife, Jillian.
Matt Russell Bio
Matt Russell was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1973. His proud parents, Phil, who was in the military, and Laura, were stationed in Tokyo when Matt was born. Matt did not move to the Belleville East district until he was already in high school, but his impact on the sports scene at East was immediate. His stellar prep football career was capped after his senior year in 1991 with selection to the first-team All-State and first-team All-American squads. SuperPrep magazine had him rated as the third-best linebacker in the country coming out of high school. In addition to football, Matt succeeded at East in wrestling and track and served on the yearbook staff. During his senior year, Matt forged a 17-2 record in claiming the regional heavyweight wrestling championship. He also lettered in track, participating in the 100-meter dash, shot put, and discus.
After graduating from East, Mr. Russell attended the University of Colorado on an athletic scholarship. During his tenure in Boulder, Matt experienced success in the classroom, as well as on the playing field. A communications major, he was twice chosen to receive the “Colorado Academic Starters” award, given to honor athletes who excel in the classroom. His success on the football field was the quality of which legends are made. Following his senior season in 1996, Mr. Russell was selected as a unanimous first-team All-American linebacker. Even more significantly, he was awarded the Butkus Award, given to the top linebacker in college football (Matt finished fourth in the balloting for this award after his junior season). Additionally, he won the Zack Jordan Award (given to the team’s most valuable defensive player), was named College Athlete of the Year by the Colorado Hall of Fame, was an All-Big Twelve Conference first-team pick (He was also a first-team all-conference selection after his junior season.), and was a semi-finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Award, the Lombardi Award, and Football News Player of the Year Award. After his career with the Buffalos, Matt ranked first on the school’s career-record list with 282 unassisted tackles and ranked second in total tackles with 446.
After completing his college career, Mr. Russell was drafted in the fourth round and entered the National Football League with the Detroit Lions. In 1997, he played in all 17 games during that season and was recognized for his outstanding play by being named to the All-NFL Rookie Team. Regretfully, injuries plagued him the following two years and after surgeries to both knees, he was forced to retire from playing football in 2000. The next year he returned to his college alma mater and coached linebackers. In 2002 he was hired by the New England Patriots as a scout, responsible for the northern half of the United States. He remains in that position today.
Mr. Russell was married to his wife, Sonya (she was also an athlete at Colorado, playing on the volleyball team.), in 2001 and they currently reside in Boulder, Colorado.
Kathy Sefferud Smith Bio
Kathy Stefferud graduated from Belleville East in 1969. After graduation, she attended the University of Hawaii and then moved on to find her niche in the rapidly growing fitness industry.
Kathy (Stefferud) Smith has been at the forefront of the fitness and lifestyle market since 1980, and during that time she has helped shape and inspire the lives of millions. As a motivator and role model, Kathy has a unique audience connection that stems from her journal for wellness. Her passion for exploring new methods of movement has led to a collection of books, audio, and videos/DVDs from yoga/meditation to menopause, weight lifting, and Pilates in addition to developing many lifestyle products and fitness equipment.
Kathy is one of the fitness industry’s top presenters with over 16 million copies of her workout titles sold worldwide. She has also been inducted into the Video Hall of Fame as each of her more than 35+ titles has reached gold or platinum status.
Although she maintains a demanding schedule, Kathy continues to lend her time to several important health-related causes on local and national levels, including pregnancy health with the March of Dimes, young girls, and sports with Women’s Sports Foundation, and heart health with the American Heart Association, among others. Kathy also serves on the boards of institutions, such as the USC School of Gerontology and the Women’s Sports Foundation, and provides grants, internships, and scholarships to young girls for athletic programs.
As a mother of two daughters, an entrepreneur, author, and host of her website, www.kathysmith.com, Kathy works hard to balance life and career. The National Fitness Leaders Association in conjunction with the President’s Council on Physical Fitness has named her the Spokesperson for the National Recreation and Parks Association and the “Healthy America Fitness Leader”. Most recently, Kathy was awarded the IDEA Lifetime Achievement Award from IDEA Health & Fitness, the largest professional fitness organization in the world. Also, the University of Hawaii School of Business granted Kathy the Alumni Hall of Honor Award in recognition of her success as owner/president of Kathy Smith Lifestyles.