Four of the inductees into Canton High’s Wall of Fame. From left, Jim Martin, Angel Prince, Ron Morris and Dan Legeyt.
CANTON, Nov. 19, 2015 – Canton High graduate Angel Prince isn’t fazed with air travel. In a span of a few days, Prince flew across the continent from her home in Hawaii for a visit to Canton and induction in the Canton High Wall of Fame.
A few days later, she was on her way to Buenos Aires, Argentina to study for a Master’s Degree from the National Institute of Art.
Prince was one of five Canton High graduates recently inducted into the school’s Wall of Fame for exceptional service to their communities and/or their field of business. Prince, a graduate from the Class of 1995, was honored along with Daniel LeGeyt (1970), James Martin (1981), Ronald Morris (1950) and the late Michael Dickert (1962).
Seventy-four other Canton High graduates, dating back to 1912, have been recognized by the school.
As part of the induction ceremony, current students contact the inductees, interview them and present them for induction. From left to right: Noah O’Leary, Jr., Jim Martin, Noe Powell, Angel Prince, Maggie Treacy, Ron Morris, Jason Benedetti, Dan Legeyt and Jaela Davidson
Prince was recognized for her contributions in Hawaii where she founded the non-profit Prince Dance Institute in 2004 and the Prince Dance Company in 2008. Since 2006, she has created six, full-length, multi-media dance performances, an original musical called the Trash Heap which has toured Hawaii, and an international theatrical dance show, using performers from the U.S. and Argentina.
Many of her shows have environmental themes. One show was an ecological dance thriller based on renewable energy. Another show was about water conservation and a third was about global warming. Her 2015 show Legends of the Forest was about building awareness of Hawaii’s forests. Prince is an artistic director, choreographer, dancer and instructor. She hopes to continue teaching once she completes her Master’s Degree in Argentina.
She began dancing at the age of three. Once she began attending Canton Elementary School, she began dancing at Valley Ballet in Collinsville. After graduating from Canton, she graduated from Hofstra in New York with a BA in dance and psychology.
Then, Prince moved to Hawaii. “I was ready to get back to nature and get grounded,” she said. “I wanted to be inspired by beauty.”
Dickert grew up in Canton and graduated in 1962. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1965 through 1991 when he retired as a Lt. Commander. In his 27-year Navy career, he was recognized with many awards and commendations. Dickert received the Navy Commendation medal three times, the Navy Achievement medal (3 times), Meritorious unit commendation (5), Navy ‘E’ ribbon (5) and the Vietnam service medal twice.
A humble man, Dickert donated a portion of each of his Navy paychecks to the Christian Children’s Fund, something his wife didn’t learn until he had passed away.
He served in Italy, Austria, France, Scotland, England, Mexico and the Carribean before settling down with his wife, Margaret, in the eastern Washington state town of Poulsbo.
He later worked for Calabria in Hanford until he retired in 2010. He was very active in the Elks Club in Bremerton, Washington where he served as a trustee of the local chapter. Dickert and his wife had two daughters and six grandchildren.
LeGeyt graduated from Canton High in 1970 – the first class to graduate from the current high school building. A life-long resident, he has served the town in several capacities. He has been a youth soccer, softball and Little League baseball coach.
He served the Board of Education for seven years in the 1990s and was the vice chair for part of his term. He has been the chair of the Board of Trustees at the Canton Center Congregational Church and a member of the Cherry Brook Grange. He served on several committees at the Canton Community Nursery.
Martin graduated from Canton in 1981 where he was on the varsity soccer team, played in the jazz band, participated on the math team and was coaching youth baseball while still in high school. He graduated from Bryant College and earned a Masters of Business Administration from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
He was a senior executive at Fleet Financial Group for 12 years before opening his own financial planning firm – Goldberg, Martin and Schnable. A certified financial planner, Martin is now managing principal of Sagemark Consulting Private Wealth Services with clients across the country in Florida, New York, northern California, Ohio, Texas, and Washington, D.C.
Martin has also served his community of Windsor. He has served as chair of Windsor’s Economic Development Commission for the past 15 years. He served as a board member and past president of FirstTown Downtown and a board member of Windsor International Little League and the Windsor Historical Society. He has served as the chair of his church’s executive council.
In 2003, he was recognized with an extraordinary volunteerism award for his work to save a historic manufacturing building in Windsor that was refurbished into quality housing units. He has been active with Habitat for Humanity and the Connecticut Women’s Initiative. He has been a coach with the Connecticut Mirage and Connecticut Tigers youth fast pitch softball programs. He also coached youth baseball and soccer in Windsor, earning national coaching certification in both sports.
Morris lived in Canton for most of his life. He won four varsity letters playing football at Canton High in the late 1940s as a fullback. After graduation in June 1950, he joined the Air Force and served in the Korean War as an airport firefighter.
After returning home, Morris attended the Porter School of Engineering Design and worked for a number of local companies designing tools and gauges.
In 1962, he started Design Company (DECO) on Maple Avenue. The company grew and employed more than 50 designers and engineers. They served Pratt and Whitney, Sikorsky, General Electric, Hamilton Standard and Texton Lycoming providing tool design and engineering services.
He was also a long-time and charter member of the North Canton Volunteer Department. The volunteer’s equipment was stored in one of Morris’ barns on Cherry Brook Road. Morris and his wife raised five children in town.
Angel Prince in front of the Wall of Fame at Canton High.
Previous Wall of Fame recipient David Gilchrist, left, and Dan Legeyt
Photos of 2015 Wall of Fame ceremony
2014 Wall of Fame induction ceremony
2013 Wall of Fame induction ceremony
