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District 544 Hall of Fame Welcomes 3 New Members

By Craig Olson, 10/10/21, 12:00AM CDT

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Fergus Falls Homecoming Weekend included the Fergus Falls High School Hall of Fame Ceremony on Saturday night at the Kennedy Secondary School Auditorium.  Distinguished Alumni Tom Hintgen and Jenny (Hyslop) Westrup, joined Jason Retzlaff (Athletics) as the three latest inductees into the District 544 Hall of Fame.

Distinguished Alumni – Jenny (Hyslop) Westrup

Jenny (Hyslop) Westrup is a 1984 graduate of Fergus Falls High School.  Jenny graduated cum laude from Wake Forest University with a Bachelor of Science in biology (with honors) and received her medical degree (with honors) at University College Dublin.  During here internal medicine residency at Boston University Medical Center, she was named “Resident Teacher of the Year” and awarded the CREST scholarship – a National Institute of Health grant.  Jenny completed a fellowship in hematology/oncology at Boston University Medical Center and is American Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology.

Currently, Jenny is the Director of Oncology at Beacon Hospital in Dublin, Ireland.  She is a Clinical Professor at University College Dublin and chairman of the Beacon Foundation.  Apart from her clinical role, she is a Life Sciences Advisor at Atlantic Bridge, which is a company that invests seed funding into Irish biomedical entrepreneurs.  Jenny has also volunteered with the Save Africa Foundation to provide support for local health centers in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.

Jenny and her husband, Jonathan, have two kids: Grace and Jack.  The family lives in Ireland and returns to Fergus Falls every summer to enjoy time at the lake and to dilute the kids’ Irish accents.


Jason Retzlaff, Jenny (Hyslop) Westrup, and Tom Hintgen. PHOTO by MINDY FUDER


Preparing for the Homecoming Parade. PHOTO by MINDY FUDER

Distinguished Alumni – Tom Hintgen
Tom Hintgen graduated from Fergus Falls High School in 1966.  He then attended and graduated from Fergus Falls Junior College and Moorhead State College where he majored in mass communications.  Tom’s interest in journalism and communications dates back to 1963-64 when, as a high school sophomore, he was a member of the journalism club.

Tom has worked for the Fergus Falls Daily Journal, Fargo Forum, Pelican Rapids Free Press and in public relations for Otter Tail Power Company.  He was also a member of the Minnesota Newspaper Association for 42 years.  Two of Tom’s more memorable interviews include Minnesota’s Hubert Humphrey, who served as U.S. senator and later on as vice president, and Margita White, President Gerald Ford’s director of communications.

Tom is the author of two books: “Golden Memories” which is about life in Fergus Falls from the late 1940’s to the early 1970’s and “Baglien’s Partisans” which reviews the outstanding 1957 Fergus Fall High School boys’ basketball team.

Tom and his wife, Sharon, have two adult sons, Mark and Paul.  They enjoy visiting state and national parks, and taking train trips.

 

Athletics – Jason Retzlaff
Jason grew up in Fergus Falls and graduated from Fergus Falls High School in 1996, where he was a four year letter winner in basketball and three year letter winner in Track and Field.  In basketball, Retzlaff broke all major scoring (previously held by his brother Ryan) and assists records while leading the Otters to a 58-15 record from 1993-1996.  Jason was a two time all-state selection and was named to the MN Outstate All Star Team.

Jason moved on to play college basketball for his father, Dave, at Fergus Falls Community College (M State).  In 1997-98, the Spartans finished the season 29-0 on the way to winning the NJCAA Div. III National Championship in Delhi, NY.  He was a two-time first team All-American selection and in 1997-98, he was named the NJCAA Div. III National Player of the Year, while Dave was named National Coach of the Year.  After FFCC Jason went on to play at NDSU where he was named to the All North Central Conference team twice.

Since college, Jason has been coaching and teaching for the last 20 years.  After assistant coaching stints at NDSU and FFCC, Jason became the head coach of the Spartan men’s basketball team from 2006-2012.  After a year of teaching Phy Ed and Health at FFHS, he has spent the last 18 years employed at M State in Fergus Falls and is currently the Spartans co-Athletic Director, Head Golf Coach, and faculty member.  His golf team won the NJCAA Div. III National Championship in 2012 and has finished in the top five at the national tournament every year since.  Retzlaff has coached many former FFHS golfers in his tenure.

Jason has worked as a part-time sports broadcaster for nine years and has called many Otter boys’ and girls’ basketball games throughout the years.

Jason currently resides in Fergus Falls with his wife Stephanie (2001 FFHS grad) and sons Charlie (6) and Roy (3).

 


Hall of Famers (left to right): Dic Pickett, Gordy Kvern, Roger Johnson, Ann Newell, Terry Harrington, Sherry (Mjelde) Landrud, Kevin Pearson, Craig Olson, Jason Retzlaff, Jenny (Hyslop) Westrup, Tom Hintgen.