Charles Toney

Humanitarian Endeavors

Charles Toney (CHS Class of 1930) was a national leader in equal opportunity efforts, programs, and results.  He initiated one of the first voluntary affirmative action plans in the nation at John Deere, with goals and timetables, used prior to those which later became mandatory under federal laws.  Toney established and instituted local secondary programs, such as Quad City Scholars, Home Grown Engineers, and Quad City Merit Employment Council.  At John Deere, he was the first certified welder of color in Iowa or Illinois.  In 1972, Toney was promoted to Manager of Minority Relations and then became the first African American at an executive level, when he was appointed Director of Affirmative Action.  Toney became known throughout the Midwest as the Dean of Affirmative Action and was respected locally, regionally, and nationally for his leadership in this area.  He passed away in 2009.

Denise Dudley

Professional Career Accomplishments 

Denise M. Dudley is a professional trainer and keynote speaker, author, business consultant, and founder and former CEO of SkillPath Seminars, the largest public training company in the world, which provides 18,000 seminars per year and has trained over 12 million people in the US, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Denise holds a Ph.D. in behavioral psychology, a hospital administrator's license, and a preceptor for administrators-in-training license, which enables her to provide training to medical professionals in the United States and Canada. Denise is the former Clinical Director of Crestwood Hospitals, California’s largest corporation of long-term psychiatric facilities. She’s also a certified AIDS educator, a licensed field therapist for individuals with agoraphobia, a regularly featured speaker on the campuses of many universities across the US, and the author of Simon and Schuster’s best-selling audio series, “Making Relationships Last.”  Denise speaks all over the world on a variety of topics, including management and supervision skills, leadership, assertiveness, communication, personal relationships, interviewing skills, and career readiness.  Denise’s latest book, Work it! Get in, Get noticed, Get promoted, is on the best-sellers list at Amazon.com, and is receiving all 5-star customer reviews.

Joan Beck

Professional Career Accomplishments

Joan Beck (CHS Class of 1941) was a staff writer, editor, and columnist for the Chicago Tribune.  She served as a pioneer for women in journalism from the 1950s through the 1990s.  Beck was the first woman to manage a major section at the Tribune and the first woman to sit on its editorial board.  She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwestern University and joined the Tribune in 1950.  In 1961, she took over the paper’s twice-weekly “You and Your Child” column and was nationally syndicated. The response to her work was overwhelming, averaging more than 1000 letters per week. As an editor in the 1970s, Beck was credited with moving the Tribune’s feature coverage from fashion, cooking, and beauty tips to social issues such as adoption, foster care, education, working women, and medical research. In 1980, she moved to the Tribune’s influential editorial page, where she wrote frequent editorials as well as a twice-weekly op-ed column that also ran in dozens of other newspapers nationwide. Beck also wrote four books, including How to Raise a Brighter Child which was published in 1967, translated into eight languages, and now is in its 18th printing. She passed away in 1998—four days after her last op-ed column appeared.

Lulu Johnson

Accomplishments in Academic Fields

Lulu Johnson (CHS Class of 1925) was the first African-American woman to earn a PhD in the state of Iowa and the second ever in the history of the United States.  She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa before receiving her master’s degree in history for a thesis entitled “The Negro in Canada, Slave, and Free.”  Johnson taught history and politics at Talladega College (1930-31) and at Tougaloo College (1931-40).  She worked intermittently at the University of Iowa throughout the 1930s on a PhD in history.  In 1941, Johnson successfully defended her doctoral dissertation, “The Problem of Slavery in the Old Northwest, 1787-1858.”  Johnson faced discrimination during her time at the University of Iowa, including being forced to take a swimming class as a requirement for her doctorate, even though she was enrolled in the history PhD program, and was not allowed to use the university swimming pool at the same time as whites.  Johnson went on to teach history at historically black colleges such as Florida A&M University, West Virginia State College, and Cheyney University in Pennsylvania.  At Cheyney, Johnson served as a professor of history and a dean of women students.  She passed away in 1995.

Wes Golden

Distinguished Military Service 

Wesley Golden (CHS Class of 1990) has earned a bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Northern Iowa, a master’s degree in Geosciences from Mississippi State University, and a Doctorate of Education in Teacher Leadership from Northcentral University.  Golden returned to Clinton High School in 1997, and taught for 20 years in the science department.  He also began serving in the Iowa Army National Guard in 1997. As a Company Commander in 2003, Golden served in Baghdad, Iraq, and was deployed for over 15 months in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  He received the Bronze Star Medal and his unit was awarded the Joint Meritorious Unit Award. In 2010, Golden was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and was selected as a Battalion Commander. His unit deployed for one year in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2012, to Mazar i Sharif, Afghanistan. His responsibilities included managing logistics for 18 separate NATO and non-NATO nations. He received a second Bronze Star and his Battalion was awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation. In 2016, Golden was promoted to Colonel and was assigned as a Brigade Commander to which he was awarded the Legion of Merit. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College and earned a master’s degree in Strategic Studies in 2017. He currently serves the school district as the Director of Learning and Collaboration.

Andy Grotelueschen

The Arts

Andy Grotelueschen (CHS Class of 1998) graduated from Marquette University in 2002, majoring in Theatre.  After receiving his master’s degree in Acting from Brown University/Trinity Rep, Grotelueschen and his fellow classmates launched a new theatre company in New York City called Fiasco Theater.  Fiasco offers actor-driven productions and, after a decade of success, Fiasco is a company-in-residence at the acclaimed Roundabout Theatre. Grotelueschen has performed on stages across the country, and internationally. He has appeared on television (Lincoln Rhyme, Elementary, The Good Wife), on film (Here Today, Coin Heist, Geezer), and on Broadway (Cyrano De Bergerac and Tootsie the Musical).  In May 2019, Grotelueschen earned a Tony nomination for “Best Featured Actor in a Musical.”

Jeanette Petersen

Community Service 

Jeanette Gehrmann Petersen (CHS Class of 1953) has a vast history of volunteering for many Clinton area organizations over her lifetime.  Petersen has been on the Sarah Harding board for over 25 years.  She also was active on the following committees or organizations: Felix Adler, Balloons in June, the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre, Police and Fire Retirement Board, Municipal Transit Administration, Civil Service Commission, Wa-tan-ye, the Jane Lamb Agatha Circle, the River Bluff Community Foundation of Clinton, and the League of Women Voters in Clinton.  Petersen served as the precinct chair of the Clinton County Democrats of the second ward from 1960-1980.  She was on the Clinton County Historical Society and was the chairperson of “Living History Day” for seven years.  In 1980, Petersen received the YWCA Woman of Achievement award.  Petersen has been a member of the Wa-tan-ye Club since 1975 and was national president in 1991, along with serving as Clinton president multiple times.  She has held every office for the Clinton Women’s Club and served as tourism chairman and house manager for many years.