2025 Hall of Fame Inductee
A member of THS’ Ramblers basketball team, Ira Hutchison joined the United States Navy after graduating and then attended Kansas State University, earning a BS in Physical Education and Recreation in 1950. He was a recreation director at the Topeka State Hospital before moving to New York City to work with emotionally disturbed hospital patients and earn a master’s in therapeutic recreation from Columbia University. He then moved to Washington DC to work for the National Recreation and Park Association. In 1972 he joined the National Park Service as chief of community programs for the National Capital Region in Washington, DC. In 1977 he was named the first African American Deputy Director of the National Park Service. He founded the Roundtable Associates, an organization for African American professionals in the fields of parks, recreation, and conservation. In 1983, Ira moved to the office of the Secretary of the Interior where he worked to increase opportunities for women and minorities. He retired in 1994 and died in 2011.