BH Athletic Alumni Association Honors Former Athletes, Ex-Diplomat and Betty White

The Beverly Hills Athletic Alumni Association last week recognized former Beverly Hills High School athletes and other distinguished alumni, including actress Betty White, at its “Hall of Fame” dinner.

The Oct. 25 event at the Beverly Hilton marked the first time the BHAAA has included non-athletes among its honorees.

“Taking our 5-year-old BHAAA Hall of Fame dinner for former athletes and expanding it to include a Performing Arts Hall of Fame made a lot of sense to us,” said former Board of Education member Steven Fenton, a 1988 BHHS graduate who founded the BHAAA. 

The BHAAA raises funds for the BHHS athletic department. The organization has collected more than $1.3 million since it was founded six years ago.

After the organization decided to expand its annual dinner, the BHHS Alumni Association asked Fenton to include their inductees too, he said.

Alumni get into the BHAA Hall of Fame by being voted in by all prior recipients. The 2012 honorees are:

• Mayor William Brien, class of 1975
• Former U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas Nicole Avant, class of 1986
• Television and movie actress Betty White, class of 1939
• Horace Mann Principal Steve Kessler, class of 1971
• Former National Football League player Patrick Cunningham, class of 1985
• Former BHHS volleyball coach Keri Frankenstein, class of 1980
• Former Los Angeles teacher Sandy Marks, class of 1965
• Attorney David Weber, class of 1978

The evening also included a tribute to former BHHS drama teacher and television star John Ingle, who died last month at 84.

The money raised from the dinner will be divided between the athletic and performing arts departments at BHHS, and the BHHS Alumni Association.

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