A volunteer firefighter, a communications professional, an entrepreneur and a football player have been named distinguished alumni of Worthington Schools.

The four were honored at convocation, the annual back-to-school meeting of school staff held Aug. 25 at Thomas Worthington High School.

The honored alumni were Marilyn Landis Fagerstrom; Thomas C. Sawyer, Ph.D.; Pete Kight; and Dimitrious Stanley.
Fagerstrom, Class of 1948, made her mark as a volunteer firefighter in Colorado.  After working at the University of Nebraska as a physical education professor for 25 years, she and her family moved to their Colorado summer home in 1985.

Fagerstrom took hundreds of hours of rigorous training to become a firefighter and joined the fledgling Lefthand volunteer fire department as a way to give back to the community.  At the Yellowstone fire of 1988, she was the only woman in a 16-person crew, most of whom were much her junior. 

In 2000, she spent six straight weeks in the field on wildfires, including the fire at Mesa Verde National Park.  In 2002, at age 71 and a grandmother of six, she ran the Olympic torch through Boulder and was honored by the U.S. House of Representatives for her spirit, service and tenacity as a firefighter.  

Sawyer, Class of 1963, is president of Opinion Consultants, a national market research and communications consulting firm which he founded in 1997. 

After earning his doctorate from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, he began his career in 1972 as Minority Counsel of the U.S. House Communications Sub-Committee in Washington.
He became executive vice president of the Ohio Association of Broadcasters in 1975 and returned to Washington in 1983 to accept the position of vice president, Washington operations, NBC, Inc.

Sawyer has taught part-time at several universities and co-authored two textbooks on communications.  He did his undergraduate and master's degree work at Ohio State University and was named
Outstanding Senior Man at OSU in 1967. 

He was chairman of the board of the OSU Alumni Association from 1995-1997 and served on the advisory council to three OSU Presidents.  Sawyer and his wife, Debbie, reside in Columbus.

Kight, Class of 1974, is considered a pioneer in financial services technology and today is vice chairman of Fiserv, Inc., a Fortune 500 company. 

Upon graduation, Kight left for California to become a college decathlete and in 1981 returned to Worthington to found CheckFree in his grandmother's basement on Alrojo Street.

In 2007 that business was sold to Fiserv for $4.4-billion. Today, those who pay bills online, access their accounts online, direct deposit their paycheck or use an ATM are probably using an infrastructure his company built. 

In 2007, Kight received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and was the first recipient of the Peter J. Kight Lifetime Achievement Award from Bank Technology News.  He is a member of the board of directors of a variety of organizations.

In recent years, his interest in wine and the science of grape growing led him to acquire an estate winery in California.  He and his wife, Terri, are primary supporters of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, where they currently reside.

Stanley, Class of 1993, is a sports analyst for Buckeye Football Fever.

During his years at Ohio State University, he was a standout wide receiver helping the Buckeyes win four bowl titles including the 1997 Rose Bowl where, after running 72 yards in the third quarter, he
caught two third-down passes as part of the remarkable final one-minute fourth quarter drive and touchdown that put the Buckeyes on top 20-17.

After graduating from Ohio State, Stanley played for the NFL Miami Dolphins and AFL New Jersey Reddogs.

In 2000, he created the non-profit organization Camp Mind Games. He is also a personal trainer with Snap Fitness in Grandview Heights.

For the past seven years, Stanley has served as the commentator for the Battle of Worthington, the basketball game between selected middle school students and Worthington Special Olympic Stars.