Garden City High School Hall of Fame Honors Two Former Graduates

USD 457

The Garden City High School Hall of Fame committee has selected two former Garden City High School graduates to be inducted into the 2020 GCHS Hall of Fame.  The local inductee is Dan Fankhauser and the out-of-county inductee is Robert Lewis. 

Dan Fankhauser is a 1962 graduate of Garden City High School.  He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Kansas State University in Architecture.  He is a long-time resident of Garden City and currently is a successful businessman with his brother in a number of businesses and runs his own architectural firm, Dan Fankhauser, AIA, Architect.  He helped develop the Fankhauser addition, along with several office and retail buildings in the community including Fulton Terrace, half of Kansas Plaza and the complex at Main and Walnut along with being the architect for many buildings in the community.  He served on the Garden City, Finney County Planning Commission for 22 years, on the Garden City Commission for nine years and was Mayor of Garden City twice during his tenure on the commission.  He has received a number of community awards for his service and leadership in numerous associations and organizations in the community.

Robert Lewis is a 1976 graduate of Garden City High School.  He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Grinnell College and a Juris Doctorate from Stanford Law School.  He is currently active in two law firms, in Freeman Lewis, LLC, Co-Founding Partner, and Marsh Law Firm, Senior Counsel, in New York City.  His experiences have led to a professional career in Domestic and International Law.  He has taken on the crimes and corruption of the sexual exploitation of children in our country.  His direct involvement with the important Paroline v. U.S. (2014), which was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, led to the landmark Child Victims Act of the State of New York.  He translated from German to English the Introductory Chapter of “Drug Laws in Europe”, which was commissioned by the German Federal Criminal Police Office.  He has also produced a number of publications.  He continues to be a model for his leadership for all that he has done nationally and even in Garden City. 

GCHS Hall of Fame Background

In 1984, an idea was conceived among administrators and Board of Education members of the school district, to recognize past graduates of GCHS who had gone on to distinguish themselves through outstanding accomplishments.  This idea was brought into action the following spring, when the first members of the Garden City High School Hall of Fame were inducted.  The purpose for the formation of this select group is twofold:  It is to honor past graduates of the school for their accomplishments in their chosen professions.

It is also to present positive role models to the current graduating seniors as well as to the rest of the student body.

It is the Hall of Fame’s purpose to communicate to Garden City residents and the rest of the world that Garden City High School produces graduates who are second to none.

Each year two distinguished graduates of Garden City High School are added to the Hall of Fame. To date 68 people have been inducted into the Garden City High School Hall of Fame.