Karl W. Olson, left

Matthew P. Norcia, centre

Melissa (Mallonn) Marconi 

Jimmal Ball, top row on the far right

Karl W. Olson, Matthew P. Norcia, Melissa (Mallonn) Marconi and Jimmal Ball will be recognized on July 18 during Timken High School’s 2019 Distinguished Alumni dinner and reception.

CANTON The Timken Alumni Association will honor four distinguished alumni on July 18.

Karl W. Olson, Matthew P. Norcia, Melissa (Mallonn) Marconi and Jimmal Ball will be recognized during Timken High School’s 2019 Distinguished Alumni dinner and reception that begins at 6 p.m. at Arrowhead Banquet Center. Tickets are available by contacting Bill Trbovich at 330‐232‐3177.

Since 1967, the Timken Alumni Association has selected 80 distinguished alumni based on their accomplishments in the areas of academics/education, the arts, athletics, business/professions, community service, government and military service.

About the honorees

Olson, a 1954 graduate, has been granted several patents. During his graduate studies for electrical engineering, he became involved in a project titled, “The Automatic Highway,” which developed an “instrumented test vehicle” that was successfully driven at freeway speeds with all-automatic steering control on a specially prepared section of a highway. Olson also was instrumental in the development of a visual display generator for an aircraft landing simulator yielding two patents. He also developed a circuit and sensor crystal configuration that greatly improved the sensitivity of a biomedical probe used during colon cancer surgery.

Norcia, a 1977 graduate, is an anesthesiologist/critical care affiliated with University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. He also holds the following positions in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at UHCMC/CWRU: Residency director, chief of anesthesia for liver transplants, director of surgical intensive care unit and assistant professor of anesthesiology. He became the medical director of the Cleveland Medical Center’s master of science in anesthesiology program in 2007. He has been in practice for more than 20 years.

Marconi, a 1981 graduate, has been the superintendent of Tuslaw Local Schools since 2016. She began as a science and math teacher in the Canton City School District from 1988 through 2005. In 2005, she became a science curriculum consultant at the Stark County Educational Service Center. In 2010, Marconi was hired as superintendent of Osnaburg Local Schools, a position she held until 2013 when she became principal of Tuslaw High School.

Ball, a 1996 graduate, played professional basketball in Europe for 14 years before retiring in 2014. During his professional career, he was named league MVP four times, including three times by the French Basketball Federation. During his college years at the University of Akron, Ball was as a four‐year starter, selected as the Mid‐American Conference Freshman of the Year and was an All‐MAC performer each of his four seasons with the Zips. In 2015, Ball was inducted into the university’s sports hall of fame, called the Varsity “A” Association. He finished his Zips career as the sixth all‐time leading scorer, second all‐time leader in assists and first all‐time in steals. Upon his retirement from professional basketball in 2014, Ball completed his bachelor’s degree at the University of Akron. He currently is employed as a student outreach specialist in the office of Academic Diversity Outreach at Kent State University.