Three join MASH Hall of Fame

Three new inductees joined ranks of the Medford Area Senior High School Academic Hall of Fame Monday night.

John Frey, Dr. Robert J. Scheuerell and Dr. Robert A. Zawacki, PhD. were inducted during a ceremony held Monday night at Medford Area Senior High School. The ceremony also included the installation of new initiates into the Medford chapter of the National Honor Society.

John Frey is a 1978 Medford graduate of Medford Area Senior High. He was nominated by Dave Koester.

After graduating from Medford, Frey went on to UW-Eau Claire and graduated with a bachelors of arts degree in accounting. He began his career in 1982 as a CPA at Wipfli in Green Bay. In 1990, John purchased Tosca with his business partner Jere Dhein. Together, they created an environment of teamwork & employee empowerment. Tosca became a leader in pooling reusable containers for its customers in the cheese, beer, spinach and case ready meat industries. When they sold the business in 2011, Tosca had nine plants strategically located throughout the country for cleaning and shipping reusable containers. In 2013, Frey purchased Hansen Foods with his business partner Mike Fechter. Hansen Foods manufactures and sells frozen pizzas including the “Pep’s” brand which was purchased from Pep Simek’s estate. Frey and his wife Claire were very proud to help the Medford All Sports Boosters bring artificial turf to Raider Field in 2018. Robert Joseph Scheuerell, MD (Bob) graduated from Medford High in 1961. He was nominated by Patrick Pleus.

Following graduation from MASH, Scheuerell’s education continued at several institutions: at the University of Wisconsin he earned a bachelor of science in chemistry; he earned his M.D. at Marquette School of Medicine; he completed Henry Ford Hospital internship and Orthopedic surgery residency and had additional training at New England Baptist Hospital. He practiced orthopedic surgery at St. Cloud Hospital and St. Cloud Orthopedics. He was board certifi ed and also a member of the American College of Surgeons. He was hospital chief of staff in 1983 and served on the St. Cloud Hospital board of directors from 1989-1995.

He also served on the United Way board of directors. In retirement he serves on the Sun City emergency preparedness committee, drives a citizen on patrol car, and volunteers for needed activities. He and Judy were married in 1965. They have two sons (both of whom are college professors).

Dr. Robert (Bob) A. Zawacki was nominated by Leon Zawacki.

Dr. Robert (Bob) A. Zawacki was born on June 24, 1937 in a gravel pit on Hwy. 64. His parents (Mike and Rose) owned the gravel pit where Hwy. 64 crosses Rib River east of Medford. They sold gravel for 10 cents a load to help build Hwy.64. There was no bridge across Rib River at that time. Bob went to one room grade schools and for the last 3 years (grades 6, 7, and 8) he attended Victory School which was 2 miles east of Stetsonville. Bob was the only boy in the last 3 grades and this was his early leadership training. The teacher would take one of the lower classes and she would tell Bob to take another class in Geography or Math.

At 17, Bob joined the US Air Force and was sent for BasicTraining at Lackland AFB. After completing Basic Training, Bob was sent to FEWarren AFB in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He progressed up the enlisted ranks rapidly and was the youngest Non-Commissioned Officer at the Base. When the Air Force started the first AF missile program at Warren AFB, as a SSgt. he was selected as the token enlisted man to be the first NCO assigned to the 706th Strategic Missile Wing along with a Colonel. After 5 years at Warren AFB, he was selected for transfer to the University of Wyoming responsible for AF ROTC Cadets. He was permitted to attend 6 Semester Hours of college classes free each semester along with his duties. He graduated w/honors in 1963 and immediately sent to Officer Training back at Lackland AFB. He again graduated with honors and received a Regular Commission in the USAF. After a remote assignment at a Radar Squadron, he was again assigned to the U of Wyoming for his MS. Then he was handpicked for assignment to the USAF Academy. At the Academy he designed the first Quality Control Program for cadets. He was awarded the AF Meritorious Service Medal and rewarded with an assignment for his Ph.D. at the U of Washington. His Ph.D. in Leadership and Organization Effectiveness was awarded in 1972 and he immediately returned to the Academy as the Director of the Faculty leadership Course. Under his command were 25 Faculty and over 1,000 cadets each semester.

Retiring from the Academy at 38, he joined the Faculty of the University of Colorado for the next 30 years. He was Dean of the College of Business and a Professor of International Business. In addition to becoming an in-demand speaker, he wrote, or co-authored 21 books and gave numerous presentations worldwide.

Bob retired with 30 years from CU in 2005 to devote full time to his consulting company. His wife Jimmie was the finance officer and they designed and implemented the Human Resources/Technology Symposium where a select group of technology firms shared best practices. This Symposium had worldwide attendees and existed for 17 years. During this same time, Bob presented over 200 speeches, many in Europe and the Far East, and consulted with over 150 compa-