The Danville Enhancement Committee and the Danville Community School District have announced that they will add Jill Wagner Bowers, a 1970 graduate of Danville High School, to the Danville Hall of Pride at induction ceremonies on Friday, October 18th at halftime of the Danville-Columbus varsity football game in Danville.
Wagner Bowers was a 13-year student of the Danville Community School system, graduating in 1970, then attending Drake University where she earned a BA in
English and followed with a Master’s Degree in Reading and Administration from the University of Iowa. She then spent 32 years in education - nine teaching junior high and 23 years in administration.
In 1994, she was chosen to be the founding principal at Greenfield Junior High in Gilbert, AZ, and three years later was named East Valley Tribune Educator of the Year. In 2002, she was honored with the Arizona Administrator of the Year award. Wagner Bowers underwent kidney transplant surgery in 1997, receiving a kidney donated by her husband - George - and a second donation in 2012 from a former student, Katie Moorhead. To support and encourage organ donation, Jill has participated in the Transplant Games of America, an Olympic-style event, for the past 25 years.
As a final commitment to the people of Danville, Jill and George chose to donate 40 acres of farmland from her parents’ estate to the community to be used for the Holly & Katie Wagner Memorial Park. The land sits behind her former childhood home on East Roosevelt Street and honors not only Jill and her parents, but her brother and sister, Mark and Pam, as well.
To nominate someone for the Hall of Pride and view past recipients visit the Danville Enhancement Committee website: https://danvilleenhancement.weebly.com/danville-hall-of-pride.html