Inductees into the 14th annual Lower Verde Valley Hall of Fame have been announced.

This year, eight recipients are being honored. A ninth honoree, receiving the Legacy Award, will be announced in The Times Feb. 1. Those named from Fountain Hills are Ione Bushman, Jerry Butler, Tina Duffy, John Gibson, Peter J. Hill and Stan Ziefert. Rio Verde’s inductee is George Kattermann. The late John Williams from Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation also will be honored.

The inductees will be installed at a dinner set for Wednesday, March 29. That is the regularly scheduled March dinner meeting for the Fountain Hills and Lower Verde Valley Historical Society, which initiated the Hall of Fame.

The inductees were selected by the Hall of Fame Committee. The public is invited to nominate area individuals who have contributed to the betterment of their communities. There are 136 members who have been inducted since the Hall of Fame was initiated in 2004.

Biographies of each of this year’s Fountain Hills honorees follow:

Ione Bushman

When Mrs. Bushman is called on to help, she always says yes. She serves on a number of committees – and prefers to be a “worker bee” down in the trenches rather than chair committees (although she has done so with Four Peaks Women’s Club, Fountain Hills Theater and Friends in the Hills Welcome Group).

Mrs. Bushman moved to Fountain Hills in 1999. She had spent 30 years working for the Rochester, Minn., school district as a secretary before moving to the community. She worked at Mayo Clinic in Rochester for eight years before starting her work in schools.

As a 30-year cancer survivor, Mrs. Bushman has actively volunteered to raise money and gather other volunteers for Relay for Life.

Her biggest love and main passion is The Fountain Hills Theater. She has worked as volunteer coordinator, set painter, usher, board member and is an active volunteer for the Broadway in the Hills fundraiser.

She is busy with the Friends in the Hills Welcome Club, Four Peaks Women’s Club and as a member of the Adopt-A-Street program. She serves as a “Purple People” during the Chamber of Commerce-sponsored art shows in the fall and winter.

Additionally, Mrs. Bushman is busy with the River of Time Museum, the Fountain Hills and Lower Verde Valley Historical Society and the Lower Verde River Valley Hall of Fame.

Mrs. Bushman’s children said their mother has a true passion for volunteering. “She is an inspiration for many…and truly enjoys being the ‘worker bee’ who accomplishes the mission.”

Jerry Butler

With a 40-year career as a civil engineer, Mr. Butler brought with him enormous experience with which to help his new community in 1999.

Mr. Butler is a registered professional engineer in 18 states and has served as division president for an international consulting firm of architects, engineers and planners. He is past president of the Consulting Engineers Council of Missouri.

He has used his experience to help transform the community to one of beauty, working on trails, in the parks, and most recently on the Community Garden.

He has just been named to the Sanitary District board in Fountain Hills, and the addition promises to help the community move forward to improve the water quality to keep parks, fairways and other areas in the best possible condition.

Mr. Butler has been instrumental in developing a vision for the community as a member of the Downtown Visionary Project and co-chair of the Vision Fountain Hills. He also served on the Chamber of Commerce Business Vitality Advisory Council. He also was a member of the Community Strategic Planning Community. He is treasurer of Fountain Hills Cultural and Civic Association.

It has been said of Mr. Butler, “Most people think of philanthropy as just giving money. However, a broader definition recognizes the giving of one’s expertise and time to public projects. Mr. Butler exemplifies dedication to public service.”

He is no stranger to the Hall of Fame. He received the Legacy Award along with Jenny Willogrod for their work on the Greening of Downtown program.

Tina Duffy – Mrs. Duffy is known as something of a recruiter. She has spent countless hours working with the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Scottsdale, bringing with her a passion that is contagious and has rubbed off on hundreds of others who share her passion.

She has served on the Board of Governors for the Boys and Girls Clubs and served on a variety of committees.

She has chaired the program committee, the Angel’s campaign and the stewardship committee. She has attended a number of Keystone meetings at the McKee Branch in Fountain Hills and has judged the Youth of the Year candidates for the past eight years.

Additionally, Mrs. Duffy has raised thousands of dollars for the local branch. She has hosted a number of fundraisers in her home, bringing in $200,000 over the past six years. She also has raised more than $30,000 in charitable Tax Credits for the Boys and Girls Club over three years.

She has chaired the Four Peaks Women’s Club’s Christmas Angel Committee, which gets members to adopt a Boys and Girls Club member. Women then shop for Christmas gifts for the selected children.

Mrs. Duffy has lived in Fountain Hills since 1998. Much of her volunteer work revolves around young people. She has participated in the Fountain Hills Mentoring program for Fountain Hills Unified School District for five years and monitored the homework room at the Boys and Girls Club through the Noon Kiwanis Club, of which she has been a member for four years.

She serves on the advisory board of Fountain Hills Theater and is a member of Fountain Hills Cultural and Civic Association, Four Peaks Women’s Club and Fountain Hills Car Club.

John Gibson

Mr. Gibson wears many hats in his hometown. He has been active as an emcee, auctioneer and announcer for a variety of fundraising and community events.

He has extensive Chamber of Commerce experience, including 11 years as membership director of the Mesa Chamber and CEO of the Gilbert Chamber.

He was business retention and expansion program manager for the Arizona Commerce Authority. In that position, he supported chambers of commerce and economic development organizations throughout the state.

He co-founded the Greater Fountain Hills Business Alliance in 2011 and served as its vice chairman and chairman of the board during its four-year history.

Mr. Gibson also founded and served as president of the Fountain Hills Coin Club. As a life-long coin collector, he also owns and operates a part-time coins and collectibles appraisal business.

Mr. Gibson also has been active with youth organizations including Fountain Hills Little League as a coach or manager and the FHUSD Parent-Teacher Organization. He served as auctioneer for Falcon Fiesta from 2010 to 2016.

It has been said about Mr. Gibson: “John is one of those people in Fountain Hills who has always been available to make Fountain Hills a better place to live. For years, he has stepped forth and given his talents to many groups. … He is involved, he cares and he has made a difference in this town.”

Peter J. Hill

A guiding force behind the success and growth of Fountain Hills’ award-winning theater, Mr. Hill is involved in every aspect of productions, programs, set design, lighting, props, directing and acting.

He is the recipient of more than two dozen AriZoni theater awards and in 2009 was recognized for Outstanding Contributions to Theater in the Valley.

He has written and scored a number of original plays performed by the Fountain Hills Theater. He has directed plays in The Park. He also created the theater’s summer teen program and year-round after school and summer performing arts workshops for children.

According to those who nominated him, “has approached every challenge with tremendous dedication, energy and hard work.”

Another said of Mr. Hill: “He is responsible for putting the Fountain Hills Theater on the map in Maricopa County.”

The reputation of the local theater has been attained under his leadership and drawn hundreds of actors, musicians and designers along with thousands of patrons to the community every season.

Mr. Hill and his wife Noel Irick, the theater’s resident choreographer, make Fountain Hills their home.

Stan Ziefert

Mr. Ziefert has a broad array of achievements in Fountain Hills. He has been active in education, the arts and community service for much of his life.

He taught in Fountain Hills for 12 years, teaching world history, U.S. government and economics. He also served as student council advisor for 12 years.

As STUGO advisor, Mr. Ziefert organized the STUGO Convention in Fountain Hills in 2004. STUGO personnel and students from every high school in the state attended, bringing some 1,500 people to the community for the four-day event.

He twice was voted “teacher of the year” at Fountain Hills High School, each time receiving the Silver Falcon Award and thus receiving the honor as keynote speaker at graduation in 2002 and 2005.

Mr. Ziefert retired in 2007 but continues to substitute teach when needed.

In addition to his illustrious career in education (including teaching in the New York City school system at the same school for 33 years), Mr. Ziefert has served on a number of committees for Fountain Hills Theater. He currently is president of the theater’s board of directors.

He has been a member of Sunset Kiwanis since 2000 and served as its president on three occasions. He has brought a number of projects to the organization and in 2010 was elected lieutenant governor of the Southwest District of Kiwanis, serving as liaison between the district and 10 member clubs.

Mr. Ziefert serves on the board for Congregation Beth Hagivot, is a volunteer at the Fountain Hills Library book store, is a docent at the River of Time Museum and a member of the Friends of the Museum.

Mr. Ziefert’s contributions to Fountain Hills and the lower Verde Valley have been called “significant” by colleagues.

Rio Verde’s inductee is George Katterman.

George Kattermann

Mr. Kattermann has a long history of service in his hometown of Rio Verde, as well as in communities in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maine and Iowa.

He has lived in Rio Verde since 1998 following his career focused on finance.

Since living in Rio Verde, he has been instrumental in a variety of developments in the community.

He served as president of the Rio Verde Community Association from 2014 through 2015. He has served on and led a number of key strategic committees in the RCVA, including community development, ad hoc committee on golf course options, long-range planning, finance town center audit and architectural.

Mr. Kattermann currently is president of Rio Verde Fire District and has served as a trustee on the district board since 2012. He also served as treasurer of the Fire District from 2014 through 2016.

He has been a member of the Rio Verde Country Club since 1998.

He is a U.S. Navy veteran, achieving the rank of lieutenant.

He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BS in economics from the Wharton School of Finance and from Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University.

Mr. Kattermann has a reputation as a doer.

“We believe his accomplishments … clearly qualify George Kattermann as the Verdes’ candidate for 2017 into the Lower Verde Valley Hall of Fame.”

The inductee from Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation is the late John Williams.

John Williams (1904-1983)

The inductee from Fort McDowell is Mr. John Williams. His Indian name was Kehedwah. He played a leading role in the Yavapai tribe’s eventual victory in the 1970s fight against the building of Orme Dam.

The planned construction of the Central Arizona project storage facility, if built, would have threatened forced relocation of the tribe, loss of their land and loss of their community.

In 1975, Mr. Williams was the only Yavapai who went to federal court with four other plaintiffs in the fight against the dam. Later that year, Mr. Williams traveled to Washington with four other tribal members to lobby the U.S. Senate against construction of the dam.

Williams, who could not read or write, said of his trips to Washington, “I never went to school. But when it comes to my land, I sure know how to speak. I am pretty old and sick, but when we are in Washington, I don’t need my cane. I run around all day pretty fast.

“We don’t care about the money. We want to keep our land.”

In 1977, he was named an Honorary Indian Historian by the American Indian Historical Society. In 1983, he was honored by the Arizona State Senate with its “Spirit of Arizona” Award.

He was born on the San Carlos Reservation in 1904.

Mr. Williams was raised in wild desert-mountain terrain by his grandmother who taught him Yavapai history and survival skills which would give him extraordinary strength and confidence.

His life successes included being a working cowboy, a singer of Yavapai songs, a laborer, historian and author. A Skull Valley rancher gave him is name.

He spent 20 years working for the City of Phoenix on the Fort McDowell water lines.

Working with Yavapai elder Mike Harrison and Dr. Sigrid Khera, an ASU anthropologist, he recorded Yavapai history and songs. After their deaths, the “Oral History of the Yavapai” was published in 2012.