WCPS to induct 7 into Hall of Distinguished Alumni

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - On Friday, May 5, Warren County Public Schools will induct seven alumni into its Hall of Distinguished Alumni. The ceremony will be held at the Sloan Convention Center at 1021 Wilkinson Trace in Bowling Green with the doors opening at 5 p.m. and dinner and the program beginning at 6 p.m.

Tickets are $35 each and can be purchased here: https://bit.ly/2023HODA.

John H. Bailey, Jr., a 1991 Warren Central High School graduate, is a former captain with Western Kentucky University’s (WKU) Police Department and a current deputy with the Warren County Sheriff’s Office. During his 16 years at WKU, Bailey oversaw departmental policy, training and officer development. Bailey is also a flight instructor with Honaker Aviation. He is an FAA instrument-certified commercial flight instructor pilot and a drone pilot.
Paula L. Barnes, J.D., a 1992 Greenwood High School graduate, is a University of Louisville (cum laude, 1996) and Howard University School of Law Honors graduate (cum laude, 1999). She began her career as an assistant district attorney in New York prosecuting felony child abuse cases. She is currently senior legal counsel at GucciAmerica, Inc. and has also served as legal affairs counsel for MetLife, Inc. and senior counsel at Macy’s, Inc.
Dr. C. Daniel Benson, M.D., a 2001 graduate of Warren East High School, is a widely-recognized orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Benson earned a full scholarship to Georgetown College, and in 2005, graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. He went on to earn his Doctor of Medicine at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in 2009 and complete his residency at the University of Kansas in Kansas City. He has been an orthopedic surgeon at OrthoTennessee Oak Ridge since 2014 and has written numerous scientific publications and presented professionally across the United States and in Austria. Dr. Benson also finds time to commit to regional youth as he works with high school athletics teams in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Dr. Alfred Leland Crabb (January 22, 1884 – October 1, 1979), a graduate of Plum Springs School, was an accomplished educator and writer. Dr. Crabb’s formal education began and continued for several years at Plum Springs School in the community of his birth. Crabb continued his education at Southern Kentucky Normal School, Western Kentucky Normal School (now Western Kentucky University), Peabody College and Columbia University. His career as an educator included assignments as a teacher and a principal. He also worked in higher education as a professor of history and education and held leadership positions as dean at both Western Kentucky University and Peabody College.
Dr. Meliha Hrustanovic-Kadic, M.D., a 2008 graduate of Warren Central High School, is an accomplished physician who immigrated to the United States from Bosnia as a child. Hrustanovic-Kadic continued her academic career at Western Kentucky University, graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. She then completed medical school at the University of Louisville and continued her medical training there as an internal medicine resident. She is currently a pulmonary and critical care medicine fellow for the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System.
LCDR Jason Thomas, USN, Retired, a 1999 graduate of Warren Central High School, is a retired Navy officer and nuclear engineer. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the Navy Nuclear Power Program. In 2003, LCDR Thomas graduated from Thomas Edison State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nuclear Engineering Technology. He then was selected for Officer Candidate School, earning his commission in 2005 as a surface warfare officer. In 2022, he earned his Master of Business Administration degree from Western Kentucky University.
Brigadier General Todd Wiles, a 1991 Warren East High School graduate, has served our country for the past 26 years. He is an Air Force command pilot and United Airlines pilot with more than 5,100 flying hours in the F-16, MQ-9, Airbus A320, Boeing 757, 767 and 787. He previously served in numerous Air Force and Air National Guard roles including having served as an F-16 instructor/evaluation pilot, squadron and group commander, and until November 2022, the wing commander of the 118th Wing at Berry Field, Air National Guard Base in Nashville. He is currently the Tennessee Air National Guard chief of staff, Joint Force Headquarters, and flies the 787 as a first officer for United Airlines based in Chicago.