Above: The EGHS Wall of Honor Class of 2022, from left, Arthur Vallely, Mason Rhodes, Jason Iannuccilli, and James Bowen. 

The five are Jeff Santos, Roderick Moore, Rick Walsh, Charlotte Dumas and Alan Clarke

Submitted

The 2023 honorees include two graduates of the EGHS Class of 1982 (one who’s traveled the world and one who made his life right here in East Greenwich), a graduate of the East Greenwich Academy’s Class of 1943, a member of the Class of 1972 who stayed involved through the EG Booster Club, and a town historian who has devoted his later years to maintenance and upkeep of EG’s historic cemeteries.

Here’s the list:

Jeff Santos is a lifelong resident of East Greenwich. A graduate of URI, he heads the Farmers Workplace Solutions Technology Group. A 1982 EGHS grad, Santos was a three-sport athlete and good student. He is involved in community activities from serving on the Little League Board to being on the EG Athletic Fields Committee, to being one of the three men (together with Guy Asadorian and Anthony Ucci) who brought back the East Greenwich Athletic Hall of Fame. He is also involved in a myriad of other activities in the town.

Roderick Moore‘s resume is extensive. He grew up in East Greenwich and attended EG schools, also graduating in 1982. After Brown University he entered the foreign service and served at all levels in U.S. diplomatic missions and was the first U.S. ambassador to Montenegro. For his outstanding work he has received many awards, including the Presidential Meritorious Service Award. He speaks several languages and has taught at the Naval War College and the Tufts Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy.

Richard ‘Rick’ Walsh  died too soon, in October, at the age of 68. A pillar of the community, Rick was a standout at EGHS in football and basketball, graduating 1972. He also played football at Tufts University. In 1980 he graduated from Suffolk Law School and started his own practice in North Kingstown. An active member of the East Greenwich Booster Club, he started the Football Alumni Thanksgiving pasta dinner. He helped lead a drive that raised $25,000 for an EGHS student scholarship fund. He was known for his generous pro bono work for people who could not afford legal counsel.

Charlotte Dumas attended Eldredge School K-9 and graduated from East Greenwich Academy in 1943. After two years at Colby College, she graduated from URI in 1947. She worked as a biochemist at Harvard Medical School before leading an exciting life that saw her become the service director at the military base Johnson Air Force Base (now Iruma AFB) in Japan followed by the same position at a base in Germany. She later became a school teacher in Georgia, teaching in both black and white schools before the end of segregation. She eventually retired back here in East Greenwich. Charlotte, 97, served as grand marshal in November for the town’s annual Veteran’s Day Parade (read more HERE). 

Alan Clarke is well known in East Greenwich. After graduating from EGHS in 1958, he served in the Air Force working radar units for the Strategic Command. He then went to college and became a graphic artist eventually gaining employment with The Rhode Island Pendulum. He also did freelance work helping to establish the Block Island Times. However, Alan is best known locally for his work with the EG Historical Preservation Society and the Advisory Commission for Historic Cemeteries, for which he established a database. Alan also has had three books published on local lore and history.

The East Greenwich Wall of Honor is not a Wall of Fame. Those selected have either attended East Greenwich schools or graduated from either East Greenwich Academy or East Greenwich High School and have not only been successful in their lives, but can serve as a model and inspiration for current students at East Greenwich High.Extensive research went into the start of this program with searches going back to 1928, and one back to 1886. The Committee has approached well over 300 people about this award – some have been contacted and chose not to participate in the program, including a few “famous” people. Surely, some people have been missed (in fact, Roderick Moore was one). The WOH Committee welcomes input from the public, and, in particular, EGHS reunion organizers who might know of someone in their class worthy of the honor. If you know of someone who fits the criteria, feel free to contact committee members Bob Houghtaling at (401) 230-2246 or [email protected]; Leigh Carney at (401) 886-8604 or [email protected]; or Casie Rhodes at (401) 398-1562 or [email protected]. All recommendations will be given due diligence and proper consideration.