A message from the Indian Hill Foundation
The Indian Hill Foundation is proud to announce the 2022 Award honorees. The awards honor and recognize the Indian Hill alumni legacy of commitment, integrity and achievement. Award recipients are an inspiration to current and future alumni and exemplify what it means to ‘be brave’ in the years beyond school.
Distinguished Alumni Award: Chris Kempczinski (IHHS 1987)
Kempczinski is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of McDonald’s Corporation, leading millions of team members around the globe. He previously served as President of McDonald’s USA, where he was responsible for the business operations of approximately 14,000 McDonald’s restaurants in the United States.
He joined McDonald’s in 2015, overseeing global business strategy, business development and innovation. In that role, he served business units and franchisees by identifying new ideas and best practices to accelerate their growth.
In addition to serving on the board of directors for McDonald’s, Kempczinski is also a trustee of Ronald McDonald House Charities. This year, he was also named to the Board of Procter & Gamble.
“I am honored by the recognition of the Indian Hill Foundation. I proudly accept and look forward to meeting with current IH students during my visit to Cincinnati.”
Kempczinski has spent 20 years working in the Food & Beverage industry holding executive posts with such household names as The Kraft Heinz Company, PepsiCo, and Procter & Gamble. He holds degrees from Duke University and Harvard Business School. In his personal time, he is a sports enthusiast with a passion for golf, skiing, and marathons.
Young Brave Award: Larry Shields (IHHS 2002)
Since 2018, Shields has been the Director of Engineering at WCPO Cincinnati and has led the station through several technical upgrades and installations. He has worked across the Scripps group to implement a company-wide news planning software and virtual control room solution to produce sports and news programs in the cloud.
All this automation came into play during the pandemic. Shields engineered the remote system set up at each reporter’s personal home so that they could connect directly to the WCPO station where it was integrated into the live newscast. He even built custom teleprompters from parts during the pandemic to keep everyone operating remotely.
Shields is a 2006 graduate of Ohio University where he started his career as a journalist. Since that time, he has served several stations in various capacities as journalist, photojournalist and transitioned to news operations manager.
He has won numerous awards from the Associated Press and Society of Professional Journalists, including an Emmy nomination from Ohio Valley NATAS.
Shields has also shown genuine commitment to his community. His work with WCET Action Auction and St. Vincent De Paul, serving as Director of Community Relations, are examples of his passion for service.
Remarks Shields, “My Indian Hill experience is three generations in the making. I was privileged to follow in the footsteps of my grandfather and father (John, IHHS ‘71). My thirteen years at Indian Hill were guided by passionate educators who taught me lessons I’ve retained for life and led me to my career in media.”
Brave Service Award: Dennis Dupps
Dupps is one of the longest tenured teachers in IHHS history. After graduating from Morehead State University, he started his teaching career at IHHS in 1969. He is continuing to evolve his curriculum and his own skills and service to the district to this day.
Dupps has taught a range of subjects starting with mechanical drawing, technical and engineering drafting, architectural drawing and photography. By 1983 he recertified at UC to teach computer science and CAD design. By 1998, he had evolved the student experience again to include robotics, video tech and the IH Television Network (IHTN) and studio which allowed students to create and edit their own broadcasts and begin to cover sports and school events.
Because of his commitment to student learning and evolving technology, Dupps has been the force behind keeping the IH district connected on so many fronts. IHTN’s streaming broadcasts have become the standard for our district for sharing community events from Board of Education meetings, athletic competitions, musical performances, award ceremonies and more. His personal commitment to helping the district communicate better with the use of video presentations – and along the way teaching his students these important skills – has been a critical service to so many at a critical time.
Dupps officially retired in 2006, but he continues to teach part-time and continues to devote a phenomenal amount of energy to planning, organizing and executing the video communications for our entire district. It is no exaggeration to say that the IH district would not have remained as connected as we did during the pandemic without his vision and leadership.
“What a wonderful surprise to be chosen. Although the pandemic increased the need for my video services, I have been developing this program for the last 25 years and providing video services as often as possible. It has been my pleasure to serve the IH District all these years and I hope to continue for a few more. As I get older, I realize how nice it is to be needed and this recognition is very special to me. Thank you to the many students who have worked with me and to the Foundation for all of your support,” reflects Dupps.
In his free time, Dupps enjoys playing handball and golf and spending time with his 4 children and 10 grandchildren.