North High Class of 1969- Hall Of Fame Recipients and Area Of Induction:

2019-  Barbara Yarnell Chamberlin (Humanitarian)

2016-  Robert Love (Athletics)

2015-  Jeff Turner (Business)

 

Barbara Yarnell - Wichita North High School Class of 1969

Barbara Yarnell Chamberlin has the distinction of being featured as a Hatteberg’s People….twice.

She was profiled by Larry in 1981 when she was employed as a “personal shopper” at Henry’s department store.https://youtu.be/gePs2xtLeNA The second profile happened during her tenure as executive director of the Wichita River Festival.

Barbara is a Riverside girl through and through and her family has strong ties to North High. Her father, R James Yarnell, mother Ann Holmes, and brother, Richard all graduated from North. Her great grandfather is the legendary L.W. Clapp. Lewis William Clapp was a visionary Wichita leader who served as the city manager, the mayor (1917-1919) and is generally regarded as the founder of Wichita’s public park system.

At 18th and Wellington Place, Clapp built the Clapp compound which included Clapp’s home and homes for his children. Barbara’s mother, Ann, grew up in the house just north of the Clapp Mansion.

After graduating from North, Barbara enrolled at the University of Kansas, showing great interest in a new curriculum, environmental sciences. From that point on Barbara has been a staunch protector of Mother Earth and avid recycler and vocal supporter of animal rights. She was also a proud member of Delta Gamma sorority. Alas, the study of environmental science was not fully fleshed out as a degree program in 1970 so after taking all the class offerings, Barbara returned to Wichita to begin her work career.

She worked for several small companies and recalls, now mayor Jeff Longwell, pumping her gas at his parent’s service station. She landed a spot with Henry’s as assistant to Rochelle Levitt and made dozens of friends among Henry’s staff at Henry’s downtown, Twin Lakes and Towne East. It was at Henry’s she met Fred Broadfoot and his exuberant wife, Elma. Elma convinced Barbara to join her at Pizza Hut’s corporate office. Elma, as it turns out, was courted to be the executive director of Wichita’s new and growing River Festival. Shortly thereafter, Elma hired Barbara to be assistant director.

Elma, of course, went on to become Mayor of Wichita and Barbara did a short stint at Big Brothers and Sisters. In August of 1992, Barbara was hired as Executive Director of Wichita Festivals, Inc. During her seven years as director, the River Festival saw explosive growth in sponsorships, events, and attendance. She became a Certified Festival Executive (CFE) and consulted with other festivals around the country. In 1995, she served as parade judge at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

In 1999, Botanica came calling and for eight years she steered the team at Botanica, The Wichita Gardens. Despite resistance from staff and others, Barbara felt Botanica was capable of being an exciting venue for weddings and special events. She founded and worked tirelessly to build the holiday event, Illuminations. Illuminations remains one of Botanica’s most successful fundraising and community events. She brought summer concerts to the garden with Tuesdays on the Terrace and found funding to replace hundreds of trees destroyed by a hail storm.

She claims to have a bit of a “seven-year itch” job wise so in September of 2007 she became the executive director of Ballet Wichita. She elevated the ballet’s awareness level and increased attendance at the long-time seasonal performance of The Nutcracker.

In 2012, she instituted the Ballet Wichita 5K Art Run. The course ran along the river where other arts groups performed. After crossing the finish line runners dipped their shoes and feet in paint and began leaving their footprint on a large billboard-sized canvas. These oversized pieces of art were displayed on outdoor advertising locations around the city. Click here to see coverage of the 2013 event https://youtu.be/xFKBuvcKuJE

The event was highlighted in Runner’s World magazine.

The third art run featured the opportunity to do silk painting with a ballet motif. The silks were the inspired work of Barb’s longtime friend and artist Julie Buller Cox Hamm. https://youtu.be/nGfil_MOSGs

In 2016 she joined NonProfit Solutions, Inc. a company offering “outsourced” services for nonprofits including accounting, IT and marketing. She traveled through Kansas and Oklahoma signing up nonprofits for the novel concept. She even outsourced herself when she became acting director for Make-a-Wish.

In late 2017 Barbara retired to concentrate on selling her parent’s Riverside home and her other volunteer activities.

Love of Nature, Love of Creatures, Love of Community

Her love of nature and animals she inherited from her mother. She has been a vegetarian since returning home to Wichita from KU in 1970. She has served as president of the Kansas Humane Society and was instrumental in launching the event we know as WOOF-Stock. She loves reading to children and has regular sessions with the students at Harry Street elementary. She is a volunteer and an advocate for Storytime Village, a group that is focused on youth literacy. Most recently she is consulting KMUW on their newest fundraising event, the KMUW Media Circus.

At the age of 49, Barbara married former journalist and advertising executive, Mark Chamberlin. They were married in the Clapp House in October 2000. They have no children but hundreds of friends.  They have been caregivers to cats, dogs, birds, and other creatures.  Mark and Barb are the adoptive parents of a cocker spaniel named Molly who belonged to close friend Katie Partridge.  Katie died of liver cancer in 2015 and Molly found a loving home with the Chamberlins.

 

                                                                               ROBERT S. LOVE

Robert Love is a motivating force behind helping individuals identify their purpose and passion. He is multi-faceted, with over three decades of experience as an educator, author, entertainer and athletic coach.

Robert uses his expertise in youth development, working with a number of programs to support success in thousands of students lives. While Robert is gifted in relationship building, he is a powerful presenter and motivational speaker, captivating young minds with his personal story of survival, the importance of education, and his long-standing success.

Robert’s athletic experience has also been one of trial and triumph. He began as a small basketball guard at what was then called Brooks Junior High School in Wichita. Even with his talents, he struggled. He was the last player to make the team, and was given a track uniform rather than a basketball uniform to play in. But he didn’t quit! He worked harder and kept working, and as a result, his accolades included: All-City First Team, All-State First Team while playing at North High School, National tournament team at Hutchinson Community College, Team Captain and MVP at both Hutchinson Community College and Washburn University.

Robert Love and his older brother, Rudy (also a Redskin and Hall of Fame honoree as well!) starred in a documentary, “This is Love”. The film is a fascinating look at Love and his talented family’s career in the music business. One of the Executive producers is Mick Fleetwood, and features Sinbad, George Clinton, and Marsai Martin of TV series “Black-ish” and Universal Pictures comedy film, “Little”,  just to name a few! Rudy Love’s career bumped up against the likes of Little Richard, Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles and most famously, the elusive Sly Stone, who remains a good friend. “This is Love” made its international debut at the Raindance Film Festival in London, where it won the Raindance Spirit Award. The film also swept the U.S. and European festival circuit, winning the Best International Documentary Award at Italy’s Rome Independent Film Festival. “This is Love” is on the Film Festival circuit now! The next stop is the Black Entertainment Television (BET) sponsored  Hip Hop Film Festival at the Harlem Theater in Harlem . “This Is Love” played to sold out audiences when it premiered at the Wichita Orpheum as part of the Tallgrass Film Festival.

 

Background and Selection Process

The North High Hall Of Fame was established in October 2005 in conjunction with North High's 75th anniversary celebration.  Each year a committee to include alumni, teachers past and present and the building principal review nominees and select inductees.

Requirements:

*At least 10 years removed from North High

*Be the recipient of significant recognition at the local, state or national level in the area of induction

*Be a pioneer and/or role model in their area of induction

*Be a positive contributor to the community of North High and beyond