The Kenton City Schools Alumni Hall of Fame Committee is announcing it’s 2026 class. Inductees must be graduates of Kenton High School, have been out of high school a minimum of ten years, and demonstrate excellence in one of the areas of Achievement, Character, Citizenship, Community, Humanity, Leadership, and Philanthropy. Inductees will be recognized at Kenton High School’s Commencement ceremony scheduled for May 23, 2026 at Robinson Field.
Joe Cornely ‘74
For more than 40 years, Joe Cornely has dedicated his time to improving the agriculture industry through communication – cementing his name as a true guide and trusted news source for Ohio agriculture. Joe began his communication career at WKTN in Kenton, serving local farmers through his broadcast. He later joined the WRFD radio, developing the station’s 90-minute mid-day farm program that reached 80 Ohio counties. In 1998, Cornely was hired as the director of media relations at the Ohio Farm Bureau. As the voice of Ohio Farm Bureau for more than 20 years, he made numerous contributions to the organization: helping to create the Our Ohio magazine, developing the radio program Town Hall Ohio, and launching Ohio Farm Bureau’s social media accounts. Cornely is best known for his work in Ohio Agriculture during the conflict with the Humane Society of the United States, the Toledo Water Crisis, and the ongoing water quality conversation that followed. He retired from the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation in 2019, leaving a legacy that will last for years to come.
Cornely has been recognized at both the state and national level. He has twice been awarded the Ohio Farm Bureau agricultural communicator award – the only two-time recipient of the award. He was chosen by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture John Block to accompany the U.S. Delegation to the European Union Economic Summit. Cornely has also represented the United States on a 5-nation European trade mission with the American Soybean Association. Cornely was president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting in 1995 and was voted the National Farm Broadcaster of the Year by his peers in 1996. Since his retirement, Cornely has been inducted into the Hardin County Agricultural Hall of Fame, the Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame, the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
He says his greatest accomplishment is the ability to work with young people and develop the next generation. Cornely serves as a little-league baseball coach and supports 4-H & FFA, the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation, The National Association of Farm Broadcasting Foundation, The Ohio Association of Food Banks, and other local charities. Joe and his Wife Connie live in Worthington. They have two adult children and several grandchildren.
Lois Lautenschlager ‘63
Lois Reynolds Carey Lautenschlager graduated from Kenton High School, class of 1963. After
graduation, she attended OSU School of Cosmetology and started a career as a hairdresser. In the meantime, husband, Joe Carey was diagnosed with Hodgkins Disease and Lois was constant in her love, support and care of Joe and daughter, Shannon. Following Joe’s death, with a strong faith and determination to move on in his memory, Lois found a new partner in Bob Lautenschlager and decided to pursue her passion for education, obtaining her teaching degree from OSU Lima in 1983. She began making an impact on young lives in the Bellefontaine City Schools until her retirement in 2005. Always encouraging learning, she herself furthered her education, graduating summa cum laude with a masters in education. She also obtained a masters of science in counseling from the University of Dayton and took great pride in teaching GED students for the Ohio Hi Point program, making a commitment to students’ success.
Even after all these endeavors, Lois became a substitute teacher for 17 years in various local and county schools endearing herself to her students who affectionately called her “Mrs. L” or the “Brain Food Lady”. In addition to her professional achievements, she was a member of Culture Club, her mother’s club, Tender Loving Care and the OSU Alumni Club. She was also an active member of the First Methodist Church and The Elizabeth Circle where you could find her volunteering for various functions.
She didn’t know a stranger, could and would carry on a conversation with anyone and had a wonderful, exuberant sense of humor. She touched and impacted the lives of many through her generous and compassionate spirit. In 2022, she found herself confronting the diagnosis of cancer. With her deep faith and her will to survive, she fought valiantly for two years until her death on April 4, 2024.
To this wonderful list of accomplishments, there was nothing more important to her than her family. She was a devoted wife, mother, sister and passionate about her support of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She left behind a legacy of kindness, love and service. Because of her unwavering dedication to education and her boundless love of family, Lois was instrumental in establishing an Excellence For Education scholarship in memory of son, Rod Lautenschlager, a 1985 graduate of Kenton high School. This scholarship will reward a student entering a trade school or two year program.
Stephanie Temple ‘75
Stephanie Temple is a lifelong resident of Kenton, Ohio. She graduated from Kenton Senior High School in 1975. While at Kenton, she was the yearbook editor, taught volleyball to grade school students, ran the cash register in the cafeteria, was in National HonorSociety, 4-H, and Junior Leadership. Her senior year she took the COE class. She worked at Hardin Memorial Hospital in various departments and settled in Data Processing. She continued to work while taking classes in Accounting at Lima Technical College. She graduated from Lima Technical College in 1977, and continued to work at Hardin Memorial Hospital.
In 1977, she married Bob Temple, also a Kenton graduate. They have 2 sons, also Kenton graduates. While her sons were in school, she was very involved. She was the president of the Kenton Choral Boosters and planned trips with students to New York. Stephanie retired from Kenton City Schools after 30 years in the Treasurer’s office. She was responsible for payroll and benefits, for all of Kenton City School employees. There was no cross training of employees at that time. After the birth of her son she had to leave the hospital early to calculate the payroll and run checks for school employees. While Stephanie was in the treasurer’s office they instituted direct deposit of the paychecks. Stephanie completed the Hardin Leadership Program in 2000, and graduated from the Travel Institute in 2009. She owned and operated Temple Tax Service from 2000-2012.
At age 51 she felt she was too young to retire. She realized one of the things she enjoyed was planning the trip to New York for the high school students. As a dedicated employee of Hardin Memorial Hospital and Kenton City Schools, Stephanie didn’t take a lot of time away from work and had only traveled to destinations in Ohio and Michigan. She felt she had the right skill set to become a travel agent. She started Tons of Fun Travel from her home and has been in business for 16 years. She has 12 agents in two states and will do approximately 2.5 million dollars in sales this year. Tons of Fun Travel is recognized for Excellence with a number of vendor partners including Sandals Resort, and Funjet Vacations. Stephanie has contributed to the well being of our society her entire adult life. Since beginning Tons of Fun Travel, she has helped people from all over Ohio visit numerous parts of the world. But more importantly she has helped people from here in Hardin County see the world. She has planned and accompanied travelers in group trips to Hawaii, Alaska, Pacific Coast, Ireland, Northern Italy, Southern Italy, Paris, Normandy, and Amsterdam. In 2024, she will take a group to Iceland to see the Northern Lights. Stephanie feels strongly in contributing to the well being of our community and society.
Stephanie was the treasurer of Hardin County Adult Mentally Challenged Citizens. She volunteered on the United Way Board and led their campaign to reach the goal on three separate occasions. She has been the Board Chairman of the Hardin County Chamber and Business Alliance and will continue in that role in 2024. Tons of Fun Travel supports local athletics and music departments, Secret Santa for Seniors, Safe Haven, Heartbeat of Hardin County, Reverse Raffle, ARC auction, and Immaculate Conception Festival.
Most recently, Stephanie has created the Positivity Challenge of Kenton, Ohio on Facebook. She created this group because there are many many people who love living here in Kenton, Ohio. People who have chosen to keep their skills and talents here in the town that raised them. Despite the challenges of living in a small town there are advantages as well. Stephanie decided that we all needed to do our part in allowing the positive voices to be heard and not just the negative voices. So she asked like minded people who want the best for Kenton and its residents to join her in a Positivity Challenge. This group has grown to 522 members in 6 short weeks. She not only got adults involved in positive posts in our community.she went back to her roots, and involved the students of Kenton Senior High School. She worked with Coach Turner and the football team and gave them an opportunity to earn money and help people in their community. Also as a result of this positivity challenge, she is assisting in organizing an activity, Jingle and Mingle, for Retirees in our community. Stephanie Temple knows no limits. She lives by the mantra “Somebody needs to do it, I am somebody.” All are welcome to join her, and many have.