On Saturday, September 20 at 10:00 a.m. at the Warren County History Museum three highly accomplished alumni will be inducted into the Monmouth-Roseville Hall of Achievement and one area citizen will receive the Distinguished Service Award.
Robin Johnson, Mark Lovdahl, and Luke Raymond have been named to the Hall of Achievement. Shawn Temple will be honored with the Distinguished Service Award.
The ceremony is free and open to the public. A brief reception, hosted by the Education Foundation will be held after the ceremony.
The Hall of Achievement recognition program was made possible through a donation to the Monmouth-Roseville Education Foundation by the Ralph Whiteman family in 1993 and is dedicated to the memory of his mother, Lucille Whiteman, who was once a one-room country school teacher.
The purpose of the Hall of Achievement is not only to recognize the accomplishments of the honorees, but also to honor the teachers and administrators whose dedication, motivation and inspiration helped make their success possible. The Distinguished Service Award honors individuals who provide exemplary service to the students of the district.
Following are brief summaries of the 2025 honorees.
Robin Johnson is a 1976 graduate of Monmouth High School. He has also obtained degrees from Monmouth College and Western Illinois University. Robin has worked on the Issues Staff for the Illinois House Speaker and in the Office of the Comptroller for the State of Illinois. He has written over 100 published articles, co-authored a book, and worked as a senior adviser to former Illinois Congresswoman Cheri Bustos and former Illinois US Senator Alan Dixon.
From 2000 – present Robin has been a part-time professor of political science at Monmouth College. In addition, he hosts a radio program, Heartland Politics, which has been on air since 2014. He currently resides in the Monmouth area where has served on the Monmouth City Council and is an active member of the First Lutheran Church.
Mark Lovdahl is a 1983 graduate of Monmouth High School. He then graduated from Augustana College in 1987 with a B.A. in Business Administration – Marketing and Communications. While at Augustana, Mark was a 4-year varsity letterwinner for a football team that won the NCAA Division III Football Championship in each of his four years. He is one of seven players to participate on 4 National Championship teams.
Mark began his career in Commercial/Industrial Sales for General Electric in Chicago. With various moves throughout the Midwest, and numerous sales and leadership awards, he landed in Cleveland, Ohio as part of the executive leadership team. He managed global accounts, a distribution center and eventually led the entire US sales organization for GE Lighting’s commercial and industrial lighting business. He retired from GE in 2023 and is currently Vice President of Sales for Southwire Company – a #1 North American Wire and Cable manufacturer.
Mark is an active member of St. Rita Catholic parish and has volunteered his time for the Boy Scouts, United Way, Make-a-Wish, as well as coaching various youth athletic programs. He has also served as a mentor for Cleveland STEM. He currently lives in Ohio with his wife, Kim. He has two adult children and four grandchildren.
Luke Raymond is a 1996 graduate of Roseville High School. He graduated from Monmouth College with a B.A. in Psychology and Sociology, and the University of Illinois-Springfield with a master’s degree in Human Development Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy.
Luke worked at OSF as a mental health therapist and then moved into a leadership role as the Director of Behavioral Health Service Line. In 2021, he began working in telehealth/health technology and is now the Executive Vice President and Head of Strategy at Precise Behavioral Health, focusing on integrating Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing with a large clinical network of physicians, therapists, and other care practitioners.
Luke has co-authored an article in Psychiatric Times on implementing telepsychiatry in rural settings, and he has spoken at numerous national professional conferences. He is certified in trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy and primary care integrated therapy with interests in ADHD, anxiety and trauma recovery.
Luke has volunteered for the County Medical Board since 2018 working to distribute tax levy to local organizations to improve services in mental health, substance use, and developmental disorders. He currently resides in Galesburg with his wife, Emily and daughter Lucy.
The 2025 Distinguished Service Award recipient is Shawn Temple. Widely recognized as the “Voice of the Titans,” Shawn began in 2006 as the PA announcer for Titan football, boys basketball and baseball. Since 2013 he has broadcast play-by-play for Titan football, boys and girls basketball, softball and baseball. He has also added several boys and girls soccer broadcasts. Since 2018, he has showcased our students’ musical talents broadcasting from the Solo and Ensemble contests.
Shawn has hosted various area fund-raisers including Relay for Life. He is a former member of the Monmouth Jaycees and Noon Lions Club. He has coached Little Lions and Midwest League youth baseball and for 11 years coached the Monmouth American Legion baseball team. On and off the radio, Shawn continues to be a champion for our students. He is a 1985 graduate of Yorkwood High School. He and his wife Cheryl have 2 sons and 5 granddaughters.
The 2025 Hall of Achievement inductees will begin the weekend celebration on Friday, September 19. They will speak to students at Monmouth-Roseville High School and Junior High. They, along with the Distinguished Service Award winner,
will then participate in the MRHS Homecoming Parade and be announced at halftime of the varsity football game. All family, friends, former teachers, classmates and the general public are encouraged to attend.
***Courtesy of the Monmouth-Roseville Education Foundation***
