The first group of inductees into the new Luverne High School Alumni Hall of Fame have been named by the Hall of Fame committee.
The Class of 2023 includes six individuals and one team. In alphabetical order, the honorees include:
•The players, coaches and manager of the 1964 state championship basketball team. The team brought statewide fame to Luverne during an era when there was only one class of competition, there were no girls’ sports, and the state basketball tournament was the most focused-on high school sports event in Minnesota.
•Quentin Aanenson, Class of 1939. Aanenson was a celebrated World War II fighter pilot whose first combat mission was during D-Day in 1944. He was featured in the nationally known documentaries, “A Fighter Pilot’s Story” and the Ken Burns series, “The War.”
•Jim Brandenburg, Class of 1963. Brandenburg is an internationally known nature photographer. He was a contract photographer for National Geographic magazine and commissioned to create a nature stamp by the U.S. Postal Service.
•Jerilyn Britz, Class of 1961. A professional golfer for 26 years, Britz won the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tour in 1979 and was the first woman inducted into the Rock County Hall of Fame.
•Warren Herreid, Sr., Class of 1938. Herreid had a distinguished 41-year career with the Minnesota National Guard. He was instrumental in founding Luverne’s “Last Man’s Club,” the Rock County Veterans Memorial and the Southwest Minnesota Honor Flight and is the inspiration behind the Herreid Military Museum in Luverne.
•Betty J. (Soutar) Mann, Class of 1948. Betty Mann has been the force and inspiration behind the celebration, preservation and education of the history of Rock County for generations. She had the vision for the Rock County History Center and was instrumental in its fundraising and construction.
•Monti Ossenfort, Class of 1996. Ossenfort was a stand-out quarterback for LHS and the University of Minnesota, Morris. He began his NFL career in 2001 and has advanced through the ranks with the Houston Texans, New England Patriots and the Tennessee Titans. In 2023 Ossenfort was hired as general manager of the NFL Arizona Cardinals.
The Alumni Hall of Fame is intended to recognize the accomplishments of former Luverne students while inspiring current students to strive for greatness in their professional or personal lives.
New members will be honored during an induction ceremony in the new Luverne High School Alumni Garden Oct. 6 and introduced at the Homecoming football game that evening.
A new class of inductees will be added to the Hall of Fame each fall during LHS Homecoming ceremonies.
The Alumni Hall of Fame is organized by the Luverne Education Legacy Fund (LELF) and the Luverne Alumni Hall of Fame Selection Committee.
Committee members include Superintendent Craig Oftedahl, former teachers Jeanne Bowron and Elmer Menage, current teacher Jason Berghorst, School Board member Mike DeBates, LHS alumni Emily Crabtree and Gary Papik, and Chamber Director Jane Lanphere.