2026 Hall of Fame Inductees

The Chandler/Turner Scholarship Fund was founded in 1999 by Teola Chandler Tillman, Eldora Chandler Gray, and James Chandler Jr., in honor of their parents, Ellen and James Chandler. </>

Ellen and James’ lifelong encouragement of education inspired the siblings to develop the scholarshi p’s mission of community support, encouragement, and constructive involvement in secondary education for African American high school students in the Greater Kansas City Area. The Chandler/Turner Scholarship Fund awards scholarships annually, ranging from $500 to $2,000.

Dr. Charles Reitz is a widely published researcher and distinguished former member of the KCKCC Faculty.

Dr. Reitz taught a variety of courses at KCKCC from 1987 until his retirement in 2006, such as German, Ethics, Logic, Intro to Philosophy, Business Ethics, Sociology, Social Problems, Education in a Multicultural Society, Intro to Teaching, Career Awareness, and The American Worker and the Economy. In addition, Dr. Reitz played a key role in establishing KCKCC’s intercultural center and in developing the College’s multicultural curriculum.

David and Patricia Hurrelbrink are Wyandotte County natives whose story together began at KCKCC in the early 1970s.

The couple is known to many in the Kansas City Community as hardworking leaders who never fail to help others when the opportunity arises. The Hurrelbrinks’ love of KCKCC is evident in their continued support of the scholarship fund they established in 2024, The Hurrelbrink Family Nursing Endowed Scholarship.

Mary Beth Gentry began her journey in Kansas City at KU Medical Center in 1998, where she designed an interdisciplinary approach to empower women and increase their resiliency despite physical challenges.

Throughout these efforts, Mary Beth engaged in outreach with the Kansas City Kansas Public Schools and identified a need for similar interventions for young women. Because of this, in 2005, Mary Beth founded the nonprofit Young Women on the Move, with the goal of providing middle school and early high school girls in the KCPS District with resources to live a holistic, healthy life. Young Women on the Move provides mentoring and education on physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health, as well as skill development in academic success, college and career prep, and financial literacy. Currently, Young Women on the Move serves 150 young women from 6 different schools in the KCPS District.