The newest class of Iowa Central Community College’s Hall of Fame will be honored on Oct. 14 with an induction ceremony on the campus in Fort Dodge.

The Class of 2023 Hall of Fame includes Donald L. and Dianne Decker, the late Elizabeth (Maiwurm) Morrell, Tim Hanneman, Roger Natte, Terell Parks, Rick Sandquist and the 2008-2009 Iowa Central Triton softball team.

The Deckers will be honored as Triton Humanitarians. Parks, Sandquist and the 2008-2009 softball team will be recognized in athletics, Morrell and Hanneman as distinguished alumni and Natte as distinguished faculty.

The event will begin at 4 p.m. with a social hour followed by a meal and honoring of the inductees at 5 p.m. A silent auction will be held featuring a variety of items.

Tickets for the event are $25 and are available online, at the Foundation Office or the Iowa Central Bookstore in person or by phone at 515-574-1081.

Triton Humanitarian Award

Don Decker is a 1968 Iowa Central Community College graduate and a 1970 graduate of Drake University in Des Moines with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and postgraduate studies in economics. He is currently the executive chairman of the board of The Decker Companies. He and his wife, Dianne Decker, live in Fort Dodge.

The Deckers are long-time supporters of Iowa Central Community College and have made significant contributions over several decades. They have created scholarships for students, donated various equipment to support departments related to truck driving and diesel mechanics, played a major role in the start of the Iowa Central culinary and turf grass management programs, funded matching gifts to secure grants for programs, and donated funds to purchase the electronic scoreboard in Hodges Fieldhouse.

Additionally, Don Decker’s past accomplishments and positions held include:

Member of the executive committee and board of directors of the Iowa Motor Truck Association

Two-time past president and chairman of the board of the Iowa Motor Truck Association

Member of the board of directors of the Truckload Carriers Association

Member of the board of directors of Traffic Insurance Co., Schaumburg, Illinois

Member of the board of directors of Captive Investors Fund, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Member of the World Presidents Organization

Past member of the Drake University Board of Trustees

Past member of the Judicial Nominating Committee for the State of Iowa

2008 recipient of the Outstanding Philanthropic Business/Corporation Award — Fort Dodge

Triton Athletic Award

Parks started his college journey at Iowa Central in 2009 and was a member of the men’s basketball team. As a Triton, Parks was named an NJCAA Division II First-Team All-American in basketball and set records in career scoring (eighth overall with 991 points), was second in single game rebounds with 22 and first in single game blocks and season rebounds with seven and 420, respectively. He graduated from Iowa Central with an Associate of Arts degree in 2011 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree from Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois, where he continued his basketball career. At Western Illinois, Parks received All-Summit League Honorable Mention accolades in 2012. He was named Summit League Defensive Player of the Year in 2013 and received NABC Second-Team Division I All-District honors.

Sandquist earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri, in 1986. He served as an assistant baseball coach at Fort Dodge Senior High (FDSH) School from 1988 to 1991. In 1991 he was named head baseball coach at FDSH and held that position until accepting the position of head baseball coach at Iowa Central in 1996. One year later, Sandquist was named the 1997 Two-Year College Coach of the Year. He led the Triton baseball team to the NJCAA College World Series five times during his tenure as coach. From 2006 to 2010, Sandquist served as head softball coach at Iowa Central. He led the Tritons to the school’s only NJCAA Tournament berth in three years. In his time as a head coach at Iowa Central, Sandquist saw over 930 career victories: 425 in softball and 390 in baseball. He was the recipient of the 2008 Community Colleges for Iowa Outstanding Support Staff Award. Sandquist served as athletic director at Iowa Central from 2010 until his retirement in 2018.

Led by several athletes from the Iowa Central service area, the 2008-2009 Iowa Central Triton softball team finished the season recording the most wins in school history with 62. Their overall record of 62-8 included the 2009 Region XI and District F championships. The team achieved a fifth-place finish in Iowa Central’s first and only NJCAA Division II Softball World Series and was named the NJCAA Academic Team of the Year. The Tritons broke 13 records in the 2009 season and had their very first NJCAA DII All-American, Brittany Martin. Ashley Willard was named a Golden Spikes Award recipient for the most stolen bases in the country that season. The team also produced 13 Region XI All-Region Winners, and two members of the NJCAA All-National Tournament Team.

Distinguished alumni

Hanneman received his associate degree in general studies from Iowa Central in 1977. During his time at Iowa Central he was a member of the Honor Society. He later attended the University of Redland in California where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in management in 1985 and Master of Business Administration in 1989. Hanneman became a nationally recognized member of the engineering profession, and served with the American Institute for Astronautics and Aeronautics. He is one of only 350 AIAA Fellows worldwide. Hanneman was named to the 1994-1995 edition of Who’s Who in Science and Engineering. He served as president of the San Fernando Valley Chapter of the National Management Association and led his team to national awards on two different occasions.

Morrell received her associate degree in nursing from Iowa Central and went on to the University of Iowa in Iowa City where she was a member of Gamma Phi Beta Sorority. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the University of San Diego, in California. She continued her nursing education, obtaining both a masters and doctorate degree in nursing. Throughout her nursing career, Morrell worked in several leadership and management positions in critical care, cardiology and stroke care and ended her career as a senior director at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego.

Morrell was instrumental in developing and launching programs which made direct improvements to the overall health and well-being of many in her community. Even as a cancer patient, Morrell continued to advocate to better the lives of those with cancer by participating as a patient in the national forum for a protocol in treatment to help health care workers more fully understand ovarian cancer from a patient’s perspective. Morrell passed away in February 2023 after a five-year battle with ovarian cancer.

Distinguished faculty

Natte majored in history and social sciences at Iowa State Teachers College (today’s University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls) beginning in 1956. He was among the first group of Peace Corps workers assigned to Libera, serving 1961-1963. Natte came to Iowa Central Community College in 1965 where he taught history and social science courses for 33 years, retiring in 1998. Natte is a recipient of the Lions Club Community Service Award and received the Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame Award in 1997. He is the 2018 recipient of the William J. Peterson/Edgar R. Harlan Award, which recognizes an individual, group or organization that has made significant long-term or continuing contributions to Iowa history. An avid local historian, Natte has written more than two dozen articles and several books related to Iowa history.