The Mount Vernon Hall of Fame inductees for 2025 gave their advice and reflections on how they earned their awards at a ceremony Friday, Oct. 3, at Mount Vernon Performing Arts Center.

The first nominee to be recognized was Renee Meyer Vande Wege (Class of 1996) for Fine Arts achievement.

Vande Wege commended her big sister, LaVonne (class of 1994), for nominating her, as well as Barbara “Babs” Moore (class of 1952).

Her advice to current students at Mount Vernon – find your voice and pursue your passion.

“Chase whatever makes you feel alive,” Vande Wege said.

While she earned a degree in music education, she only did that by chasing her passion of music and where it lead her.

She commended Moore’s advice in the choirs at United Methodist Church to heart – that it takes whole body and voice to build the whole spirit to rejoice.

She left students again with that charge of identifying their passion, the thing that makes them feel alive.

“I hope you all find it,” Vande Wege said.

Service hall of fame inductee was Dennis Jordan (Class of 1987).

Jordan freely admitted that he never imagined himself being recognized as a hall of fame member when he graduated high school years ago.

“I was an average student, who played in band back before it was cool,” Jordan said. “I couldn’t wait to graduate.”

His advice to students – do not worry about figuring out every detail of your life and future now. Focus instead on building meaningful relationships with other people. Working hard and focusing on what matters is important. It’s okay to be your own person as long as it is not at the expense of others. Do things that scare you and stretch you and be kind always.

Community Impact inductee was David Ryan (Class of 1985).

Ryan said a lot of what has guided his life has been his love. He commended his wife, Heidi, and their 35 years of marriage. That he had found the right partner who had helped him focus on what was important in life in raising their nine children in the community.

When it came to his children, he said that the family has accumulated more than 20,000 academic school days over their time at Mount Vernon, and more than 12,000 practices and competitions.

He said the advice his family has lived by is “showing up.” That has meant listening to people who know more than them and going to events, even when they have fallen down to put themselves back out there again.

“One of the phrases I always keep in mind when it comes to softball and baseball is ‘good things happen when you swing the bat,’ Ryan said.

By being involved in his children’s academic and extracurricular activities, Ryan made good friends with many other people in Mount Vernon.

His other piece of advice for students – shop, dine and invest in your local community first.

“That’s going to continue to be important,” Ryan said.

Achievement honoree was Derek “Shades” Oakley (Class of 1992).

Oakley kept his remarks brief. He said the values he grew into his career and leadership in the Armed Forces were started at Mount Vernon High School.

“Those values about integrity and hard work have stayed with me throughout my military career,” Oakley said. “The Air Force helped me build on those qualities and other skills, but those building blocks were from this school.”

He reiterated what Jordan said – you don’t need to know all the details of your life at high school, but be ready to commit to things bigger than yourself.

Nikki Nelson Pauli (Class of 1998) was the Athletic hall of fame inductee.

Pauli commended the school for taking the time to honor past graduates for their achievements.

She said that when she thought about what made Mount Vernon such a special community to grow up in, it came back to the people in the community.

People like her coaches who pushed her to new heights. She commended coaches like Bill Thomsen who helped build her anxious head and heart back together after many stumbles.

Pauli commended a lesson and dedication from a teammate Maggie Willems to get her to learn a skill in track she wasn’t getting.

“She spent an afternoon at the track with me making sure I finally got three steps,” Pauli said.

She recounted later that year when she tripped at the state meet and kept upper classmen from getting an award or placement, Willems was there to remind her it was just one race, not the end of the world.

She said her parents and siblings dedication meant a lot to her, as she spent so much time at track meets running.

Her reminder to students – The most important thing in this life is people and their connections to you.

“I’m grateful for so many people in my life,” Pauli said.