Five new members will be inducted into the Forest Lake Area Schools District Hall of Fame this year and seven new members will be inducted into the district’s Arts and Athletics Hall of Fame.

 

New members of both Halls of Fame will be formally inducted during the annual Academic Awards Night at Forest Lake Area High School on June 5 at 7:00 p.m.

 

The District Hall of Fame honors individuals who have made great contributions to our school district, either through their work in the district, or individuals who have brought honor and pride to the district through their professional work or other community service.

Hall of Fame members must be individuals who are former students, staff members, administrators or school board members, or current or former members of the school district community.

 

The criteria for inclusion in the Forest Lake Area High School Arts & Athletics Hall of Fame is slightly different. Individuals must have participated, as either a student participant or a coach, in a school-sponsored sport or activity that is recognized by the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL).

 

District Hall of Fame Class of 2023

Carolyn Carr Latady

Carolyn Carr Latady was the first Family Support Specialist for Forest Lake Area Schools, dedicated to assisting the experience and needs of families and students who are from historically marginalized groups. Carolyn's warmth and caring personality endeared her to families and students alike. She helped guide the very first student affinity group, which is known today as the Hmong and Asian Culture Club. Carolyn facilitated the district's celebration of its multicultural communities through the Festival of Cultures, a very popular event that included participation from district students and families as well as the broader Forest Lake community. Carolyn provided leadership for the district's Equity Leaders which increased the equity capacity in licensed staff. Finally, Carolyn also played an integral role working with the members of the Forest Lake Native American community facilitating the group for several years. Carolyn's compassion and people-first focus assisted many families throughout the district during the 16 years in her family support role.

 

Thomas Haas

Tom is the lead pharmacist and store manager at Rolseth's Drug in downtown Forest Lake. Tom started at the store while in high school as a night janitor, shelf stocker, clerk and doing anything else that was asked of him. After high school graduation, Tom continued his education at Anoka-Ramsey Community College and the University of Minnesota completing his pharmacy degree. Since 1976, Tom has carried on the Rolseth small town tradition all the while Forest Lake has grown into a northern suburb community of 20,000 plus residents. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tom spearheaded a store effort to help the community address the pandemic. His efforts during the pandemic were exemplary but only a snapshot of what he does every day at the store. His work week can often consume 60 hours or more and he is often on the job late at night filling and delivering a badly needed pharmacy prescription to a customer living at Birchwood Health Care Center or other assisted living facilities in the area. Throughout Tom's years at the Forest Lake store, he has employed and mentored dozens of Forest Lake High School students in stocking and clerical positions, helping them learn the value of hard work and being responsible.

 

Lyle Koski

Lyle works in tandem with Lee Sinna on the Community Scholarship Foundation Board to find the resources and funds to help Forest Lake Area High School students succeed after graduation. Lyle works year round to talk to community members and bolster the scholarship foundation for the benefit of students. Lyle is a caring individual who takes many frantic phone calls and emails from teachers, students, or parents during scholarship season. He is patient with every one of those conversations and he works extremely hard to see that the CSF organization is truly serving the needs of the community. Last year Lyle met with a large group of students who had ambitions to go into the trades to help show them that funds were available for trade schools and non-traditional programs, not just four-year college degrees. Through the Community Scholarship Fund, Lyle has made a positive impact on hundreds of students as well as the overall community.

 

Lee Sinna

Lee tirelessly leads the Community Scholarship Foundation in the Forest Lake Area. He is a community member who has dedicated many years helping Forest Lake Area High School students succeed and give them the chance to attend a college or trade school after high school. Lee seeks out new opportunities for students, working with the high school’s Career and Tech Ed Department to support not only students attending a four-year college, but also those attending trade schools.  He tirelessly seeks out resources and funds from the community to help our students achieve success. He is always willing to sit down with students and help them find their passion and understand that they can go after their dreams.

 

Jeanine Winiecki-Ross

Jeanine is an alumna of Forest Lake Area Schools. During her high school years, she was a 3-sport athlete, in basketball, volleyball and track. She was a captain and co-captain in 2 of her 3 sports and also participated in choir. After she had graduated, Jeanine began in 1978 to serve the students of our district by driving a school bus. As a bus driver, Jeanine had a great impact on each of her students as the first and last school staff person they saw each day. She did this important work for 44 years, until she retired in 2022. At that time, when the district continued to have a need for bus drivers, Jeanine decided to return in the fall of 2023 and continue serving as a substitute bus driver. Her years of dedication and commitment have impacted thousands of students over the course of her long and remarkable career.

 

Arts and Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2023

John Buck

John was a multi-sport coach in Forest Lake for many years. He coached golf, football, basketball and baseball at the junior high and high school levels. He served as the head boys golf coach for Forest Lake Area High School for 14 years, achieving 5 section championships, 4 conference titles and earning state runner-up twice. He coached two individual state golf champions, Paul Moberg and Max Kelly. He was twice named Coach of the Year by the Minnesota State High School League. During his coaching tenure in Forest Lake, he left an impression on numerous students that benefitted them not only on the court, field or golf course, but also in life. He is passionate about coaching and understands the value his activities have brought to the schools and students he led. John continues to have a positive impact on young adults through coaching at the college level as an assistant coach for Women’s Basketball and Golf at Bethel University.

 

Nancy Ellias

Nancy coached the Forest Lake Area High School Gymnastics team from 1995-2010, after coaching at Southwest Junior High from 1976 to 1994. Teams under her leadership won Conference Championships in 1996 and 1997, three different section championships and made several state tournament appearances. Nearly every year of Nancy’s coaching tenure, at least one individual athlete qualified for the state tournament. In 1996 and 1997, Nancy coached Bobbie Jo Saxe to a State Championship in Floor both years and an All Around State Championship in 1997. Nancy received Section Coach of the Year awards in 2001 and 2002. Nancy and her athletes also ran Mini Gyms for many years to help young gymnasts ages 5-10 learn and grow in the sport of gymnastics. Nancy coached with an emphasis on the positive in performances, attitudes, actions and service while stressing hard work, perseverance and flexibility. She recognized academics as an important part of the student athlete’s life and her teams were frequently recognized with all-conference and all-section academic honors. After retiring from teaching and coaching, Nancy continued to be involved with the district as Prevention Coordinator and often returned to the classroom as a substitute teacher. She continues to serve as a site manager for home meets and lends her tireless support to the program, team and coaches.

 

Mark Fahey

Mark is one of the most decorated student-athletes in FLAHS history, and amongst the top 3 in track and field. He was the 1996 State Champion in shot put and discus and scored the most team points toward the 1996 Team 3rd place finish at the State Meet. He earned all-state recognition in 1995 and 1996. He was a multi-year conference champion in shot put and discus and is a school record holder in discus. After high school, he contributed, scored, and was a distinguished multiple-year athletic award winner at the University of Minnesota in track and field. He was the Big Ten champion in discus in 1999 & 2000 and earned All Big Ten selection. This spring he is giving back to his sport as a first-year track coach at Forest Lake Area High School. As a two-time state champion, with a brilliant college career, and a favorite amongst classmates and coaches alike, Mark exemplifies hard-work, grit, perseverance, and humble success.

 

Jake Matheson

As a student at Forest Lake Area High School, Jake was the 2011 Recipient of the John Philip Sousa Band Award which recognizes the top student for their superior musicianship and outstanding dedication. After graduating from Forest Lake Area High School in 2011, Jake continued to return “home” to the music department and do volunteer work. In 2016, Jake was hired as a full-time band teacher for Forest Lake Area Schools, teaching thousands of band students throughout the district. Jake has coached/taught jazz bands, pep band, marching band, community band, ranger sound, community education band lessons, summer school music and assisted with the fall musical "Addams Family.” Jake resurrected the Forest Lake Ranger Marching Band in 2016, which has since grown to an 80+ member community focused-band complete with a student leadership program. He also began a community band program, focusing on life-long musicianship and providing an opportunity for our music students to continue in the arts after graduation.

 

Paul Moberg

During his years at Forest Lake Area High School, Paul participated in golf and hockey and participated in band, earning all-conference honors for three years in Symphonic Winds. He was a state champion in golf in 2009 and earned all conference recognition in 2008 and 2009. He also played goalie on the Forest Lake Rangers hockey team. After High School, Paul played in the North American Hockey League for two years, where he had multiple selections of Goalie of the Week and was nominated for the league’s top prospect tournament. Paul went on to play in college for the United State Air Force Academy, where he was a letter winner in the Division 1 Hockey program for 3 years and the golf program for one year. In high school and beyond, Paul has always been a team player, working to make sure the team functions in a productive and positive way.  Paul is a Captain in the United States Air Force and is now in the United States Space Force. He was one of two selected to launch an ICBM test missile from Vandenberg Space Force Base in 2019.

 

Angie Ryan

An intense and dedicated player, Angie was a three-year starter at shortstop on the Forest Lake softball team and an All-Conference selection each year. She helped lead the 2000 Rangers team to 2nd place at state and was named to the Star Tribune All-Metro team that year. After college, she returned to Forest Lake in 2005 to begin an eleven-year tenure as head softball coach. Angie’s teams at Forest Lake Area High School were Conference Champions in 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014. She coached her team to two 2^nd place section finishes, and section championships and state tournament appearances for six years between 2008-2013, earning the title of State Runner Up in 2011. Angie’s athletic career at Forest Lake Area High School and later at St. Cloud St. University, earned her a spot in this Hall of Fame as a competitive athlete in 2012, and this year she becomes the first Hall of Fame member to be inducted twice, once as an athlete and once as a coach.

 

Matt Wallner

Matt was an exemplary student athlete at Forest Lake Area High School. He was a member of National Honor Society, participated in Basketball and was the captain of the baseball team and an exceptional Baseball player, earning the statewide honors of Mr. Baseball, East Metro Baseball Player of the Year and All State in 2016. After high school, he played Division 1 Baseball at the University of Southern Mississippi, where he became the home run record holder and earned National Freshman Player of the Year and Freshman Hitter of the Year awards. He also served as captain of his college team and was on the academic Honor Roll multiple years. In 2019 he was the 39^th overall draft pick in Major League Baseball, drafted by the Minnesota Twins. He made his debut in the 2022 Futures Game this past September. In Minor League play, Matt has been honored as a Texas Post Season All Star and Minor League Baseball Organization All Star.

 

 

 

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