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Saturday, April 29, 2006
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They'll be honored at BHS hall of fame event Former businessman, former Congressman, makeup artist to be inducted Editor About the only thing Clarence Holden, Richard Nolan and Cindy Jane Williams have in common is they are graduates of Brainerd High School.
The late Clarence Holden was a prominent businessman and philanthropist. Rick Nolan is a former Congressman. And Cindy Jane Williams is a makeup artist to Hollywood celebrities.
All three were named to enter the BHS Distinguished Achievement Hall of Fame next month. They will be honored at a May 14 dinner in the high school cafeteria. That program will include a 5 p.m. reception and 5:30 p.m. dinner. On May 15, as part of the school's annual Recognition Night, they will be inducted into the hall of fame at 6:30 p.m. Williams and Nolan also may meet with students in various classes that day.
The hall of fame, started in 1999, is sponsored by the Brainerd Public Schools Foundation, Brainerd Rotary Club and the Brainerd Dispatch. Lakes Printing provides support with printing of the annual hall of fame booklet.
All BHS grads who have been graduated seven or more years are eligible. The selections are made based on achievements in their chosen fields.
Members of the selection committee are Jim Hunt, chairman; Howard Jiggs Blanck, Ruth Gmeinder, Terry McCollough, Roy Miller, Don O'Brien, Karen Owen, Steve Razidlo, Don Ryan, Arnold Casey Stengel, Kevin Thesing and Superintendent Jerry Walseth.
Plaques honoring members of the hall of fame are placed in a display case at the entrance to the cafeteria. A display also is planned in the new high school lobby.
Tickets to this year's hall of fame dinner are available in the superintendent's office at Washington Educational Services Building at $10 each.
A 1930 graduate of Washington High School, Holden worked behind the scenes to make Brainerd better for 50 years. He was known as a quiet, humble man. He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1936.
As a high school student, Holden worked for Mills Motors. He joined the U.S. Army and fought in Italy and North Africa in World War II. He ran Standard Auto Parts with stores in Brainerd, Little Falls and Crookston. He worked many years for the Mills family in various capacities.
Holden and his wife, Fran, were benefactors to a variety of organizations, including Camp Cuyuna for the Boy Scouts, the Central Lakes College Foundation, the Nisswa Community Children's Library and the Brainerd Family YMCA. Their $2.1 million contribution to the YMCA got the ball rolling for a $4.3 million expansion for the Y.
Clarence Holden died Oct. 7, 2005, at his home in Baxter at 93.
Richard Nolan's experience includes work in education, government and business.
The 1962 Washington High graduate and University of Minnesota graduate taught high school and directed Head Start and Adult Basic Education programs and continues to lecture at schools, universities and community events on global trade, international business, government and politics.
His political career was launched when he was elected in 1968 as the state's youngest legislator. He served two terms in the Minnesota House, two years on the staff of U.S. Sen. Walter Mondale and three terms in the U.S. House. He served as vice chair of the state DFL Party and a was a member of the Democratic National Committee, serving as a delegate to numerous state and national Democratic conventions. His aunt, M. Eleanor Nolan, an attorney, judge and civic leader, was named to the BHS hall of fame in 2000.
In the business field, he is best known as the founder, chairman of the board and president of the Minnesota World Trade Center Corp. He worked and lived in Abu Dhabi as an investment adviser to the Royal Family. Closer to home, he was president of Emily Forest Products.
Now semi-retired and living on a small farm east of Crosslake, he remains active in community affairs as chairman of the Mission Township Planning Committee and as a member of the Central Lakes College Foundation Board and Pelican Lake Property Owners Association.
Married to Mary Wieland-Nolan, he has four children and nine grandchildren.
Cindy Jane Williams graduated in 1985. Her career has taken her around the world. And she has been in the face, literally, of celebrities.
After graduating from Central Lakes College, she moved to Los Angeles and attended cosmetology school at Santa Monica Community College. Her first break came in 1991 when she was hired as assistant makeup artist on the film Hot Shots with Charlie Sheen. She was head of makeup for Jungle Book. She worked with Catherine Zeta-Jones in The Haunting and that same year earned an Emmy for best makeup for her work on the television series The X-Files.
Her career also included work on the Oscar-winning film Chicago, again with Zeta-Jones. And the filming of Oceans Twelve took her overseas again.
While my work has taken me to many interesting places, one experience I will always remember was coming back to Minnesota to film the 1996 feature 'Beautiful Girls.'
She credits her success to the strong work ethic she learned from her parents as well as Brainerd teachers. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Rob, and sons, Grant and Garnett.
ROY MILLER can be reached at roy.miller@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5855.
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