ISD 191 Announces Hall of Fame Inductees for 2012

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A diverse collection of alumns will be honored at this year's Burnsville High School Hall of Fame ceremony, which will induct two teachers, a former "Sparky" mascot, a hockey champ, a business leader and the top law man in town.

The BHS Hall of Fame came about in the relatively recent past. The awards ceremony was established in 2006 to recognize Burnsville grads who have excelled in their lives beyond high school. included  and Amy Stromwall, medical advisor to the Minnesota Twins, USA Swimming, and the Indy 500, among others.

This year's inductees are as follows:

• Mike Corcoran taught at Burnsville-Eagan-Savage Schools from 1971 to 2001, where he pioneered a "popular and path-breaking" civics course, Majority at 18, which inculcated citizenship in students and showed them how they could be involved in a democratic government. In 1993, he was chosen as the District 191 Teacher of the Year and went on to become a finalist for Minnesota Teacher of the Year. After retiring in 2001, Corcoran worked at Edina Community Lutheran Church until he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2005. Following this life-changing diagnosis he dedictated his time teaching and learning about this disease, eventually serving as a board member of the American Lung Association. He was the co-founder of the Twin Cities Lung Run/Walk and A Breath of Hope Lung Foundation for which the Angel Foundation awarded him the “Angel Award” in 2009. Corcoran died after a long fight in March 2009.

• Joshua David Dahl was a 2003 BHS graduate. While in high school, Dahl loved sports and was an avid member of both the adapted soccer team and adapted hockey team. He lettered in 11 times before graduation. In 2002, he was named to the State All Tournament Adapted Soccer Team.

Dahl was a well-known student at BHS, serving as student manager for the BHS varsity baseball team from 2000 to 2003, participating in other sporting events as the Blaze mascot "Sparky" and sitting on the BHS Homecoming Court in 2001. 

He was also an active participant at his church and in Young Life and was training to be a junior leader. He died in January 2004. 

• Kevin Gorg, a 1985 BHS grad, was the starting goalie on the Burnsville boys’ hockey team when the team won its first-ever state championship. After high school, Gorg played in the United States Hockey League for the Des Moines Bucs, where he was chosen as both the Most Valuable and Most Popular Player. After his stint Des Moines, he played for the University of St. Thomas, winning 3 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) championships and qualifying for the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament his senior year. After college, he coached boys’ hockey at his alma mater in Burnsville, then Mounds View High School. In the late 1990s, he returned to collegiate sports as the first coach of the women's hockey team at St. Thomas, a post he held until 2007.

Gorg has taken on a second career in sports broadcasting on both TV and radio, working for Canterbury Park, KFAN FM 100.3 and Fox Sports North. 

• Burnsville Police Chief Bob Hawkins is a 1978 graduate of BHS. While in high school, he lettered in baseball and was a member of the National Honor Society. After high school graduation, he joined the United States Army, serving from 1978 to 1981.

Upon return to civilian life, he became a canine officer in Eagan, then joined the PD in Burnsville. He has an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice from Metropolitan State University and a Master’s degree in Law Enforcement Administration from the University of St. Thomas. He was named Police Chief of Burnsvillle in 2004. 

• Paul W. Jensen lettered in swimming four times before graduation from BHS in 1985. After high school, he attended Northwestern University on a Navy ROTC scholarship, graduating in 1989 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He served the Navy as a commissioned officer until 1998. During his military service, he won many awards for military service including the Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal and the Joint Meritorious Unit Award.

Jensen went into business after leaving the Navy, as owner of Jensales Inc. 

• Muriel Thompson taught literature at BHS for 32 years, where she also served as advisor to the yearbook and Student Council. Thompson retired in 2001.

Outside of BHS, she was a founder of the Minnesota Writing Project and served as co-director beginning at its inception in 1990 until 2003. She now serves as director of the group, which leads summer institutes at the University of Minnesota for teachers who hope to improve literacy instruction. She was recognized with an honorable mention for the University of Minnesota’s Outstanding Community Service Award in 2009.

The induction ceremony will take place during a dinner on Saturday, Aug. 25, at Neisen’s Event Center, 4851 West 123rd Street, Savage. It will be preceded by a social hour at 5 p.m. Dinner starts at 6 p.m. followed by the induction ceremony. Tickets are $35. They can be purchased at www.BurnsvilleBlaze.net.