The first of two 2025 Alumni Achievement Awards was presented to the late Steve Scamman, Class of 1958. Lynn Hunter, right, presented the award to Steve’s wife, Brenda, left.
Richard Fentiman, Class of 1965, received the second 2025 Alumni Achievement Award.
Ruth (Moore) Fox, right, Class of 1947, was recognized for being the oldest alumna present. Also pictured is Myrtle (Wolf) Mapes, left, Class of 1951.
Marlene Demott presented an award to Austin Fuelling, Class of 1975, for traveling the farthest.
Present from the Class of 1955, from left to right, were Stephen Spurlock, Shirley (Lawless) Stoner, and Jane (Curfman) Romig.
Present from the Class of 1965, from left to right, were: front row – Tom Catlett and Sue (Steele) Klute; middle row – Dennis Davis, Martha (Lorenz) McMahon, Goldie (Slemp) Welch, Cheryl (Horton) Hurst, Carolyn (Brusha) Seek, Peggy (Herron) Smith, Sheila (Millsaps) Miller, and Verna (Lutz) Edinger; and back row – Richard Fentiman, Richard Cook, Jim Frede, and Tom Nauman.
Present from the Class of 1975, from left to right, were: first row – Austin Fuelling, Dan Stanton, Michele (Heits) Roach, Jo Lynn Shineman, and Sherry (Bogenreif) Anders; second row – Jerry Clemens, Joni (Barnhart) True, Cindy (Randall) Macek, and Debbie (Hecker) Johnson); third row – Cathy (Lewis) Colapietro, Susan (Carpenter) Allen, Susan Lauritsen-Morris, and Karen (Gebhards) Vette; and fourth row – Willie Holmes, Steve Jones, Reed Martin, Barry Minter, and Greg Groff.
Present from the Class of 1985, from left to right, were Alice (Parks) Cramsey, Brenda (Danley) Fairweather, and Lynn (Price) Riggins.
Present from the Class of 2000, from left to right, were: front row – Steven Proctor, Clint Stoner, and Eric Bressler; and back row – Tawni (Gebhards) Ellis, Shannon Shineman, Jamie (Schmielau) Stoner, and Sheena (Teten) Roup.
Present from the Class of 2005, from left to right, were: front row – Clayton Amthor; middle row – Mandy (Mahan) Mitchell, Stacie Barbee, Thomas Herron, Donnie Parsons, Afton (Demott) Schomburg, and Janae (Pearce) McMahon; and back row – Kaley (Johnson) Coulter, Libby (Leisman) Lotter, Thyra (Davis) Beckman, Deanna (Richards) Volker, Amanda (Gray) Merz, and Micah Meyerkorth.
Present from the Class of 2015, from left to right, were Sammantha Giddinge, Madison (Taylor) Erdman, Dalton Jones, Shelby (Bremer) Pfeifer, and Amber (Cook) Ward.
Present from the Class of 2025, from left to right, were: front row – Claire Spiegel, Payten Shrader, and Jayme McEnaney; and back row – Kendan Melton, Bracton Cook, Ryland Garst, and Anden Cohn.
The Rock Port High School Alumni Association held a gathering Saturday, May 31, 2025, in the high school gymnasium.
Lynn Hunter welcomed those present and Payten Shrader, of the Class of 2025, gave the invocation. Members of the 2025 Alumni Committee were Lynn Hunter, Marlene Demott, Malisa Linthicum, Jennifer Vogler, and Eric Chamberlain.
Austin Fuelling, Virginia Beach, Virginia, was recognized for traveling the farthest. He was in the Class of 1975.
Ruth Fox, Class of 1947, was recognized as the oldest alumna present.
The honored classes were 1955, 1965, 1975, 1985, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2015, and the graduating class of 2025.
Two Alumni Achievement Awards were presented this year.
The first was presented to the late Steve Scamman. His wife, Brenda, accepted the award.
Steve Scamman was born August 19, 1940, and was raised on a farm west of Rock Port. He attended Rock Port School and participated in school activities. He played basketball and ran hurdles and sometimes was on relays in track. He was in R-Club and FFA. Steve graduated in 1958.
Steve and Brenda’s three children attended and graduated from Rock Port as well. They were not able to attend due to previous plans and obligations. Kimberly lives in Topeka, Kansas, and graduated in 1982. Stephanie and family live east of Albany, Missouri. She graduated in 1987. Cory and family live in Shenandoah, Iowa. He graduated in 1994.
When the kids were younger and involved in activities Steve volunteered and helped with flag football, softball and baseball. He was a 4-H project leader for a couple of years.
Steve helped his dad on the farm while in high school and after graduating. He was a member of the United Methodist Church and a former member of the Masonic Lodge, Rock Port. He was also a member of Missouri State Teachers Association.
After graduation, Steve attended Tarkio College and lived with his grandparents in Tarkio.
Steve participated in track and ran hurdles for one year in college. He attended Tarkio College for two years then went to work for the Missouri Highway Department with the survey team.
In August 1962. Steve married Brenda Whitford of Fairfax, Missouri, and they lived about three miles southeast of town. Brenda continued to attend Northwest Missouri State University and commuted with a couple of friends. In 1963, Steve chose to attend Northwest too so he and Brenda commuted together. She graduated in June 1964 and accepted a teaching position at Rock Port High School to teach Vocational Home Economics. At that time teachers who taught in Rock Port were required to live in the school district so they moved to Rock Port with their daughter who had been born that summer in July.
After moving, Steve continued commuting to Northwest and did his student teaching in business here in Rock Port. He graduated with a major in Business and Psychology in 1965.
After graduation, Steve was employed by the Division of Family Services in Holt County at Mound City. After a few years there was an opening in the Atchison County office in Rock Port and Steve was hired for the job.
In 1974, Steve started his career in education when he was hired to start the first Cooperative Occupational Education (COE) class in Rock Port High School. Students took regular classes and COE class plus they also had a job in an area they were interested in. Steve was also the high school administrative assistant and athletic director.
Steve continued taking night and summer classes at Northwest Missouri State. In December 1980 he received his Master’s degree. Later, in 1985, he received his Specialist’s degree in education.
In 1981, Steve was hired as the Rock Port Elementary Principal. He had enjoyed his work in the high school and enjoyed the elementary students and faculty too. Steve would “high five” the young students when they were lined up and walking by him. He got on his knees and after a short time teachers gave him a soft pad to kneel on (to save his knees) while high-fiving.
Steve was one who expected good behavior of all students. He didn’t allow running in the halls and he expected students to keep voices down, take hats off when entering the building, and respect others and their belongings.
Occasionally, discipline included a paddling . . . but not before a call was made to a parent and if they wanted, they could come to school and witness the swat or two.
In the 1998-99 school year, Steve was chosen the Rock Port K-6 Outstanding Educator.
After 18 years as elementary principal, he retired in 1999. This completed 26 years in the Rock Port School system.
In October 2002 Steve was chosen by the Rock Port High School Student Council “Our Community Hero.” He really appreciated this honor.
After retiring, Steve had to keep busy. He finished school on a Friday and started working for the State Highway Department on Monday. It was a temporary three-month job. He then started driving a truck for Billy Paul Smith Trucking in Tarkio. Steve enjoyed going to farms and having a connection with farmers. He worked at this a few years then worked with Ralph Phelps doing construction and enjoyed that. He finally fully retired after grandchildren started arriving. He loved the six of them and liked to play and entertain them. As the grandchildren got older, Steve and Brenda attended as many of their activities and sport events as possible.
Also after fully retiring Steve started walking around town to pass time and for exercise. He would walk from their house to town and various places. He would wear his cowboy hat and usually overalls and to complete his walk he often stopped at Do It Best Hardware to visit with whoever was in the store.
In 2018, Steve was diagnosed with colon cancer. After surgery he had chemo treatments and did well for two years. He got back to his routine of daily activity and walking. He kept up with doctor visits when it was discovered June 12, 2020, cancer had returned and was in his liver. He passed away September 17, 2020.
Steve lived a good life doing what he enjoyed.
The second Alumni Achievement Award recipient is a life-long Blue Jay and a true champion of the Rock Port community. Richard Fentiman, or “Fenny” as most know him, graduated from Rock Port High School in 1965. After college, he returned to Rock Port to work a variety of jobs including Cooper Nuclear Station, insurance and real estate, selling fireworks, swimming pool manager, owner of Blue Jay Bowl, and bus driver. In 1998 he found his true calling when he joined the Rock Port School staff working with elementary students and later high school students. The highlight of his day starts early with his little van friends. In addition to being a valued educator for 27 years, he has held various roles in the community including flag football coach, little league baseball coach, assistant high school track coach, Park Board president, and Rotary president. He uniquely has the distinction of being the only treasurer of the Rock Port Optimist Club. He is also the treasurer of the newly-formed Rock Port Youth Athletics Association. He is known far and wide as the friendliest gatekeeper in Northwest Missouri.
A co-worker said, “When thinking of Blue Jays, no one embodies being a Blue Jay more than him. He is loyal, dedicated, and most importantly, always a true friend.”
Another co-worker said, “Very few Blue Jays can say they have been a true Blue Jay for 78 years.”
In 2024 he was awarded Rock Port High School Educator of the Year. He was also a past Optimist of the Year.
He is a dedicated family man. He and his wife, Suzanne, recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They have one son, a daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren.
Mark your calendars for next year’s gathering. It will be Saturday, May 30, 2026, at 2:00 p.m.
