(BENTON, Ky.) – The Marshall County School District, in conjunction with the MCHS Class of 1985, is proud to announce the inductees who will comprise the 2026 class of the Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame: Reed Conder, Sue Darnell Ellis, Kerry Harvey, Hatler E. Morgan, and Tom Rickman.
The Marshall County Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame recognizes and celebrates the vast history of successful alumni produced from Marshall County Schools. Inductees for the 2026 class were selected by a committee of alumni of the MCHS Class of 1985, community members, and district officials.
A reception to honor these inductees will take place Tuesday, January 13th in the MCHS Cafeteria beginning at 4:30 pm. The public is invited to attend. The inductees will also be recognized at approximately 7 pm that evening between games of the basketball double header vs. Calloway County in Reed Conder Gymnasium.
CLASS OF 2026 INDUCTEES:
Reed Conder
Reed Conder is an alumnus of Calvert City High School, graduating with the class of 1944. He served in the US Naval Air Corps from 1944-1946. He graduated from MTSU with a degree in Biology and Physical Education/Coaching. He next earned his master’s in education from Peabody College in Nashville. He has an honorary doctorate from Murray State University. He taught in Clifton, TN (1950-1952) and was principal/coach at Brewers High School (1952-1956). He was the first principal at South Marshall High School (1956-1964). He served as Assistant Superintendent of the Marshall County School System under Holland Rose (1964-1965). He was the Marshall County School System Superintendent from 1965-1988 where he helped the school system go through school consolidation. The Marshall County High School gymnasium bears his name.
Sue Darnell Ellis
Sue Darnell Ellis is an alumnus of Marshall County High School, graduating with the class of 1976 (Sue Ellen Williams). She graduated from Murray State University with a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Science in 1980. She later earned a master’s in teaching (1984) and Rank 1 in education administration (1987). She taught in the Marshall County and Paducah Independent school systems. She was selected as NASA’s Kentucky Teacher in Space Ambassador in 1985. After the Challenger disaster in 1986, she was recruited by the Kentucky Department of Education to direct the first state-based Space Science Education Program. She joined NASA in 1993 as Director of Staff Development to coordinate teacher programming in all 50 states. She received the national Christa McAuliffe Memorial Teaching Award for improvement in Mathematics and Science Education in 1990. She has said that the key to success is dreaming big and not being afraid of failure. “Our mistakes often lead us to more knowledge than our successes.”
Kerry Harvey
Kerry Harvey is an alumnus of Marshall County High School, graduating with the inaugural class of 1975. He graduated summa cum laude from Murray State University in 1978 and was first in his class at the University of Kentucky School of Law in 1982. He served as County Attorney for Marshall County from 1986-1994. He served on the MSU Board of Regents from 1988-1992 where he served as chairman from 1989-1992. He served as General Counsel for the Commonwealth of Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. He was US Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky from 2010-2017 where he had special emphasis on fraud and public corruption as well as efforts to combat the opioid epidemic in Kentucky. He served as Cabinet Secretary for Kentucky Justice and Public Safety from 2021-2024. He is currently serving on the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission from 2024-2028.
Hatler E. Morgan
Hatler E. Morgan is an alumnus of Benton High School, graduating with the class of 1926. He worked summers at Bank of Marshall County while he obtained his two-year teaching certificate from Murray Normal School in 1928. He later earned his bachelor’s degree from Murray Normal School in 1934. He taught in Puryear, TN and Benton High School before briefly becoming principal at Benton High School in the fall of 1941. He joined Bank of Marshall County in late 1941. He worked there for the next forty-six years becoming president in 1967 before retiring in 1987. He was a co-founder of Morgan, Trevathan, and Gunn Insurance in 1947. He also served as mayor of Benton in the mid 1940s. He was a noted philanthropist in Marshall County. He served several years on the Freed-Hardeman Board of Trustees. He served 28 years on the board of Potter Children’s Home & Family Ministries.
Tom Rickman
Tom Rickman is a graduate of North Marshall High School, graduating with the class of 1957. He attended graduate school at the University of Illinois and studied directing and screenwriting at the American Film Institute Conservatory in its first class. His film screenwriting credits include: Hooper (1978), Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980), The River Rat (1984) which he also directed, and Everybody’s All-American (1988). He was a 1981 Academy Award nominee – Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium for Coal Miner’s Daughter. He was also a two-time Emmy nominee for TV Movies: Truman (1995) and The Reagans (2003). He was the 2001 Writer’s Guild of American winner in the category of Adapted Long Form for Tuesday’s with Morrie.
Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame Nominations are always open—if you or someone you know would like to nominate a Marshall County alumnus to the Hall of Fame, please visit our district website at marshall.kyschools.us and click on “Distinguished Alumni” from the menu. Nominations can be submitted digitally, or the printable nomination form can be completed and mailed to our office at 86 High School Road, Benton, KY 42025.
An account has also been created in the following account to allow those that wish to contribute to the Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame:
Check made payable to Marshall County Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame
Mailed to:
Marshall County Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame
86 High School Road
Benton, KY 42025