The Mount Vernon Community School District Alumni Association is pleased to announce the following alums have been selected as 2022 Alumni Hall of Fame recipients:
FINE ARTS — Dan Bern (class of 1977)
ATHLETIC — Steve Goodall (class of 1983)
SERVICE — Jeri Neal (class of 1966) and Barb Thomsen Neal (class of 1968)
COMMUNITY IMPACT — Scott Peterson (class of 1971)
ACHIEVEMENT — Jerry Ringer and Larry Ringer (class of 1955)
The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on Homecoming weekend, Friday, Sept. 23. Please attend at the Mount Vernon Performing Arts Center at 9 a.m. for the induction ceremony, followed by a public reception in the lobby.
AchievementBrothers Jerry and Larry Ringer were both nominated by classmate Dave Van Metre. It is fitting that this year’s Achievement nominees are honored together – two twin brothers that graduated top of their class, and have gone on to admirable achievements.
Jerry
Jerry, who was class valedictorian, participated in band, choir, sports, plays, and musicals all four years of high school. He went on to be a summa cum laude Cornell College graduate, received an M.D. from the University of Iowa College of Medicine, interned at the University of Chicago Hospitals and Clinics, and then completed a residency at Iowa in the Department of Ophthalmology. Before doing his U of I residency, Jerry served in the U.S. Army as a general medical officer, stationed both in Korea and the U.S.
Jerry then worked professionally for 33 years as an ophthalmologist in Bloomington, Ill. During his time as part of the Gailey Eye Clinic, they grew from one to five offices.
He is a member or past member of many professional organizations including the McLean County Medical Society (past president), Illinois Medical Society, American Medical Society, and the Illinois Society of Ophthalmology (past president).
Jerry has been a member of many community organizations, including MARC Center Foundation for the Developmentally Disabled (past president), Kiwanis, Illinois Shakespeare Festival Society Board, Senior Professional organization at ISU (past president, Development Committee of the Illinois Prairie Community Foundation, Eversight (Illinois Eye Bank), and member of mission trips to eye hospitals in Zambia, Haiti and Jamaica.
Jerry has been a trustee at Cornell for more than forty years, and he is whom Ringer Hall is named. He was awarded the Cornell College Leadership Award in 1990. Among his other honors are Philanthropist of the Year by the Illinois Prairie Community Foundation, and History Maker of 2020 by the McLean County Museum of History, both those honors alongside his wife Carole.
Jerry says his teachers and classes at Mount Vernon High School prepared him well for college and medical school. And that because of the smaller size, he was able to participate in many activities, both in the area of sports and the arts.
“It was these opportunities that gave me the confidence to do the extra-curricular activities in college and now in my life,” Jerry said. “A big ‘thank you’ goes to the teachers of Mount Vernon schools that gave me the start for a great career and life.”
Larry
Today, if you were to visit the public library in College Station, Texas, you would see identification on the building that says ‘Larry J. Ringer Library’. From an Iowa high school student to a community leader in Texas, the public library was renamed Larry J. Ringer Library in 2004. As a former College Station mayor, Larry was very active in establishing the library.
Like his brother, Larry did it all in high school, enjoying both athletics and fine arts as a four-year letterman. He was class salutatorian, going on to earn a bachelor’s degree in mathematics at Iowa State, a masters in statistics at Iowa State, and then a doctorate of statistics at Texas A&M University.
He joined the statistics department faculty at Texas A&M University, going on to be both assistant head and interim head, and then professor emeritus, serving a total of 50 years. His curriculum vitae is pages long of positions, awards, committees he has served on and publications he has authored.
Among his professional honors are a distinguished teaching award, the H.O. Hartley Award for distinguished service to the discipline of statistics, and the Paul D Minto Service Award. He has been a past member or president of many professional organizations including the Southeast Chapter of the American Statistical Association.
Larry has been a distinguished member of many community organizations such as the Kiwanis Club, City of College Station council member (and then mayor) from 1986-1996, the Texas Library System, Brazos Valley Affordable Housing Corp., a deacon at his church, and in many capacities for the College Station Library. He was named Kiwanis member of the year in 1977.
Today he continues to do consulting on various research projects involving experimental or survey design and data analysis.
“I believe the teachers at Mount Vernon High School prepared me for continuing my education, gave me a role model for my career in education, and promoted the sense of serving others,” Larry said.
Fine Arts
Dan Bern was nominated by classmate Ann Lehman Currie. Also known as Bernstein, he learned to play cello at age six, and at age 14 picked up the guitar after hearing his first Bob Dylan songs. Ann says Dan is the epitome of the word ‘entertainer’, and she remembers when “Dan played the Cowardly Lion in the eighth-grade musical, The Wizard of Oz, where he was a natural on stage. In high school I recall him sitting in the cafeteria at lunch, making up songs with classmates Steve Sargent and Eric Bostwick.”
Dan says that he took part in every chorus and theater opportunity there was in Mount Vernon, and commended teachers like Lois Nichols, Gladys Rife, Linda Bergman and Mrs. Palmer for instilling his love of music.
He earned All-State Chorus twice, and participated in all high school plays and speech contests.
After attending college at Lawrence in Wisconsin, he began playing open mics every night in Chicago (and going to Wrigley Field during the day). He eventually began his wandering/touring life, playing all over North America and Europe. In 1986 he moved from Chicago to Los Angeles, and a few years later began making records and writing songs for movies and TV.
In 2001, NPR interviewed Dan on ‘All Things Considered’. NPR wrote ‘With his acoustic guitar and a batch of witty and insightful songs, Dan Bern is rapidly becoming the voice of a new generation of folk music.”
Among his awards are ‘Acoustic Artist of the Year from the National Academy of Songwriters, the Ralph Gleason Award (founder of Rolling Stone), Best sing-songwriter album for ‘Breathe’ at the Independent Music Awards, the ASCAP Children’s Music Award for ‘You Can Do It’ from the ‘Stinky and Dirty Show,’ and shortlisted for a Clio for ‘Beauty of a Year,’ written for Reddit in 2020. In September of this year Dan was inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Dan has released more than 30 albums of original songs, written a dozen books of stories and poems, and a novel, “Quitting Science.” He has painted thousands of portraits, including a 2017 show of ‘Portraits of Iowans’ at CSPS in Cedar Rapids.
He has had a major role in writing songs for a variety of movies and television, including: “Zero Effect,” “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,” “Get Him to the Greek,” “Hellcats,” and “The Stinky and Dirty Show.” He will appear on screen singing songs in an upcoming Chanukah movie on Hulu. He co-wrote a song, “Wings of Stone” (sung by Adam Levine) featured in the Judd Apatow film, “The Bubble.”
In addition to his own touring, Bern leads songwriting workshops, does shows for kids, and writes books, including a detective series, turned into a podcast, “10,000 Crappy Songs.” Dan’s been sharing stories and music in his ‘Hunkered in the Bunker’ live stream.
Beyond music, he is a lifelong baseball fan, and has won four awards from the New Mexico Newspaper Association for his sports column ‘Outtakes from the Bleachers.’ Along with a move from the west coast to New Mexico, Dan added sixth grade homeschool teacher to his resume, teaching his daughter Lulu in 2020-21.
Dan says that “at various times I have been banned from most of the major American folk music festivals, proving Mr. Ringolds’ prophetic words, ‘Mr. Bern, someday you’re gonna get in big trouble for your mouth.’”
Sevice
Jeri Neal was nominated by classmate Ted Croy, and his wife Barb Thomsen Neal was nominated by her sister, Martha Thomsen Ohlfest (Class of 1977).
Lifelong residents of Mount Vernon, Barb and Jeri were married in 1969 after Jeri returned from Vietnam, and have been married for 53 years. Their four children were raised in Mount Vernon. Todd (class of 1989) is a teacher at Postville. Ted (class of 1991) is a professor at the University of Iowa. Ben (class of 1996) is a dedicated, 19-year employee of Alert Construction and Abby (class of 1999) is a teacher at Mount Vernon Middle School. They have nine grandchildren, five of whom are currently attending school in Mount Vernon.
While raising their family, Barb and Jeri were actively involved with the schools and the community. Barb served on the Mount Vernon Parks and Recreation board for several years. She worked on the committee to write the Comprehensive Plan for the city in the 1970s. Additionally, Barb was very involved in the inclusion programs for the school, working closely with Grant Wood AEA to facilitate a strong learning environment for children with special needs. She also served as the chairman for the advisory committee to the school board for six years.
Jeri was a strong supporter of his children’s athletic activities. He hauled a gigantic pumpkin for carving to his daughter’s third grade class for Halloween. He gave several interviews for students wanting to learn about his experiences in Vietnam.
BarbBarb continues to spend many hours volunteering for a variety of organizations. She makes herself available to help, in any capacity. One of her most rewarding accomplishments is becoming a SHIIP (Senior Health Insurance Iowa Program) counselor for Medicare and Medicaid. She currently enjoys volunteering her time to polish fingernails for the people at Hallmark Care Center, assists on the Linn County Horticulture Line for the Master Gardeners, and finds time to help with various alumni activities.
Martha, Barb’s sister, calls her a champion of education. “I would describe Barb as a perpetual student’ – Barb has always loved learning,” Martha said.
Never having completed her college education, at the age of 70 years she set out to complete her degree. She received her degree in May.
Jeri“I believe Jeri deserves the Hall of Fame Service honor for both his service to our country and for his devotion to the Class of 1966,” Ted Croy said.
Jeri was drafted into the US Army 25th Infantry and spent a year in the jungles of Vietnam. He was awarded several medals, including three Purple Heart medals for injuries. Jeri was recently recognized for his service in Vietnam with a trip to Washington, D.C., on the Eastern Iowa Honor Flight.
“The trip was truly memorable, and it helped to heal the wounds of being disrespected for fighting a war I didn’t understand,” Jeri said. “I was drafted and I fulfilled my duty. I am proud of my service, but I do not want it to define who I am.”
“Jeri is a man of integrity,” Croy said. “He is always willing to help others in any way he can.”
After the derecho, Jeri spent many hours helping friends and relatives clean up their damaged properties. He grows a massive garden, not because he needs to, but because he loves to share his produce with family, friends, and strangers alike. Thanks to Jeri, the Middle School cross-country team is often rewarded with a watermelon feast in the fall.
Jeri and Barb say they feel blessed to have grown up in Mount Vernon and to have graduated from Mount Vernon. They have great respect for their classmates and thoroughly enjoy organizing and, occasionally, hosting their class reunions.
Community impact
Scott Peterson was nominated by his sons, Evan (Class of 1999) and Tobyn (Class of 2000). Evan says that “two words come to mind when many people think of Scott Peterson – service and Mount Vernon.”
A life-long resident of Mount Vernon, his father Clifford (Class of 1944), he, and his sons Evan and Tobyn all attended Mount Vernon schools. Scott is well known around the community for his active involvement in organizations, but more importantly for his service to the community while both a mayor and councilman, in addition to his position as Mount Vernon’s city attorney for over 10 years.
Scott graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1975, later attending the University of Iowa for his law degree. After the Naval Academy, Scott went to naval flight school and was assigned to fly SH-2 Seasprite helicopters in the Pacific. When his Naval obligation was done, he continued in the Iowa National Guard as a UH-1 Huey helicopter pilot. He later served as the executive officer of an infantry battalion, and completed his military career as a state command JAG officer, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1998 after 26 years of military service.
While in the guard, he was hired by the Linn County Attorney’s office. After nine years, he entered private practice, eventually bringing him to the position of Mount Vernon city attorney in which he served 10 years. He then resigned from that position to run for city council in 2007. Scott served a term on the council and was elected mayor in 2011.
In addition to his work at the federal, state, county and city level, Scott has a long history of volunteer activism and service in the Mount Vernon community, including at different times being a member of the parks and recreation board, organizer and coach for youth basketball, founder and chair of the original community center committee, chair of the housing commission, member of fire station site committee, member of the Booster Club, and member of the American Legion Post.
An interesting note from Scott is that his great grandfather moved to Mount Vernon from Illinois to be the principal and superintendent of the school.
Athletic
Steve Goodall was nominated by his wife, Michelle Goodall.
An amazing addition to the Athletic Hall of Fame, Steve was a high school four-sport athlete in football, wrestling, track and baseball. He earned 11 varsity letters, and was a member of seven conference championship teams – four wrestling, one football, and two track. Eight times he was named a First Team All-Conference athlete, was a state qualifier in wrestling during his senior year, earned honorable mention All-State Football twice, and was a junior national qualifier in wrestling.
“Steve has been an indispensable friend, an accomplished athlete, and a successful educator as a teacher, coach, and principal,” said Shawn Voight, high school teammate and MV High School teacher. “To me he embodied the term student-athlete and is a shining example of why athletics can be so valuable.”
After high school Steve went on to attend college at Cornell, majoring in history and secondary education. He attended the University of Northern Iowa to earn a master of administration in secondary education and is currently principal of the Compass Alternative High School for Linn Mar and Marion School Districts.
As a Cornell College Ram, Steve was a four-year member of the wrestling team, where he earned four Individual conference championships, one of only eight wrestlers in Cornell’s history to achieve this. Before graduating Steve ranked 15th at Cornell with 73.1 career win percentage, was named an NCAA Wrestling All-American, and was the recipient of the Paul K. Scott Senior Male Athlete of the Year. Steve was inducted into the Cornell College Hall of Fame in 2015. During his four years, Steve was a member of four Midwest Conference Championship Teams and helped his team to an impressive four consecutive NCAA Top 25 finishes.
“I taught and coached hundreds of young people in my 35 years at Cornell College,” said Cornell Coach Steve DeVries. “Steve stands among the very best as a talented and dedicated student and athlete. As a college wrestler he committed himself to becoming more than a competitor and winner. He was a team leader in work ethic, leadership, and loyalty to coaches and teammates. That capacity for loyalty and commitment has certainly served him well in his career as an education professional.”
In high school Steve was also a participant in Mount Vernon’s fine arts programs as well. He was a two-year member of the choir and also of the cast or crew of “Our Town,” “Annie Get Your Gun” and “Fiddler on the Roof.”

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Larry Ringer, Achievement Hall of Fame inductee