Co-founder of Charter, designer featured in Vogue and more added to local Wall of Fame

Granite City High School inducted five alumni into its Wall of Fame at a ceremony on Friday.

Learn more about each inductee’s accomplishments, according to information provided by the school:

Jack Jenkins, class of 1971

Jenkins was the resident house organist at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis until his retirement in 2021. He recorded two albums that sold in the U.S., Australia, Canada, England and Germany.

Robin Nunn, class of 1973

Nunn is an entertainment-industry and special-event production manager who worked on the lighting crews for the rock groups Kiss, Styx and Bob Seger and has worked with every White House administration since Jimmy Carter.

Jerry Kent, class of 1974

Kent is an entrepreneur in the telecommunications and technology industries. He co-founded Charter Communications, Inc. in 1993.

Kim Seybert, class of 1975

Seybert is a tabletop decor designer, including table runners, place mats and napkin rings. Her work is available at Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, has been featured in Vogue and has been purchased by celebrities.

Mike Patton, class of 1981

Patton is the general manager at U.S. Steel Corporation with 34 years of experience in the steel industry, beginning as a maintenance engineer.

What they learned in Granite City

Three of the inductees talked about what they learned from growing up in Granite City in videos posted on the Wall of Fame’s Facebook page.

Jerry Kent, the co-founder of Charter, said Granite City schools introduced him to bookkeeping skills and at home, his dad taught him about the value of partnerships.

“One of probably the most valuable things that he taught me was in choosing your business partners, be as careful as choosing your spouse,” Kent said of his dad.

For Jack Jenkins, the former Fox Theatre organist, Granite City schools gave him “an excellent background in music theory.”

“The education that we got at that time in Granite City, specifically about music, was incredible,” he said.

Jenkins said he wanted to study music after his parents helped spark an early interest in pipe organs by taking him to St. Louis Cathedral and the Fox.

Designer Kim Seybert said fashion and design were also early interests for her. She recalled getting dressed up by her mother to go to church as a child.

“By high school, I made everything I wore. I wanted to decorate my own room. Just all my surroundings, I wanted to be involved in the design,” she said.

Watch the full videos by visiting facebook.com/GraniteCityHighSchoolWallofFame.

This story was originally published November 12, 2022 at 5:03 PM.