LHHS Alumni Awards

    Dr. Charles “Chuck” Carona is a distinguished educator and proud graduate of Lake Highlands High School, where he first made his mark both in the classroom and in athletics. A member of the inaugural Lake Highlands graduating class in 1964, Chuck was a dedicated team player in multiple sports, and he excelled on the basketball court. He became the first player in school history to earn All-District honors in basketball, and his contributions to Wildcat athletics were later recognized with his induction into the LHHS Athletic Hallof Fame. He received a basketball scholarship to Cooke County College. Upon graduation from LHHS, Chuck attended East Texas State University, earning a Bachelor’s degree in 1968. He later completed both a Master’s and Doctorate in Education at North Texas State University, preparation that served him well for a lifetime of service in education and educational leadership.

Chuck devoted his career to developing students and supporting educators across North Texas. He served as assistant principal at Lake Highlands Junior High, LHHS, and Highland Park High School, where he helped guide school communities and foster environments focused on learning, discipline, and opportunity. He later became principal of J.J. Pearce High School, where his steady leadership and commitment to excellence shaped decades of students and teachers. In 1998, he was named one of the top ten principals in DFW. Chuck served as Dean of the School of Education at Dallas Baptist University, where he mentored and prepared future educators for classroom and school leadership careers.

Throughout his life, Chuck has remained committed to helping young people grow and succeed. His work reflects a lifelong dedication to developing character, instilling honesty and integrity, and setting students on an upward path in school and in life.

Chuck and his wife, Suzette, have one son and two grandchildren. They are active members of Park Cities Baptist Church, where Chuck has faithfully served as a Deacon.

As Director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, Dr. Philip Huang is responsible for the health policy and programs impacting 2.6 million residents of the second-most populous county in Texas and the eighth-most populous in the United States. He is a national leader in infectious disease and chronic disease prevention where his work intersects with government, medicine, and the general public. A 1978 graduate of Lake Highlands High School, Phil returned to his hometown in February 2019.
He accepted the role of DCHHS Director with the goal of addressing longtime public health disparities. Prior to Dallas County, Phil served for 11 years at the Austin Public Health department, 16 years in the Texas State Department of Health, and two years as a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Epidemic Intelligence Service officer. He received his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from Rice University, MD from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, and Masters in Public Health from Harvard with a concentration in Health Policy and Management. His more than two decades of experience in public health informed his steady leadership and guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Phil is creative, musical, and loves performance. An amateur magician, he performed for birthday parties in high school, and still does magic today, noting it helps him communicate and simplify processes. He is also an accomplished musician, playing trumpet and piano, and he was a trumpet player and student conductor in the LHHS Band and Orchestra. Recently, his love for Lake Highlands, music, and performance came full circle when he played his trumpet with other band alumni and current LHHS band students at a Dallas County holiday celebration.
Phil has been recognized with several awards for his public health work and impact, most recently in February with the American Medical Association’s Award for Outstanding Government Service. Phil is married and has three daughters.

Kristi Scales Sutton graduated from Lake Highlands High School in 1985 and has tackled life with gusto ever since, excelling as a storyteller with a special blue and white lens.

Fresh from Texas A&M where she majored in speech communication, Kristi started her career under Ron Chapman, legendary DJ at KVIL 103.7 FM, when he convinced the Dallas Cowboys to broadcast their games on FM stereo. Kristi was originally the in-booth producer, working with such announcers as Brad Sham and Dale Hanson. In 1999, she moved to the field becoming the first female color commentary analyst for an NFL radio broadcast. This year marks Kristi’s 28th season as the sideline reporter for the Dallas Cowboys Radio Network and her 36th working for the Cowboys organization. She has expanded her imprint on the Cowboys’ various media platforms with interviews, sports columns, and podcasts, and produced three Super Bowl broadcasts as well as several international American Bowl games. Kristi is a judge of the annual spring tryouts for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and is author of “America’s Sweethearts: The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.”
Kristi has been recognized with three Katie Awards for excellence in radio broadcasting and received with Charean Williams the 2017 Blackie Sherrod Lifetime Achievement Award for sports journalism and broadcasting. They are the first women to earn this award and share the honor with sports broadcasting luminaries Pat Summerall, Dan Jenkins, Frank Luksa, Verne Lundquist, and Brad Sham. Sports writer Barry Horn calls her the “gold standard” among sideline reporters. A proud LHHS Wildcat, Kristi has served as a keynote speaker at Forest Meadow Middle School and the high school, including as an alumni speaker for the Lady Wildcats basketball team. She is the voice of a DVD story celebrating the 40th anniversary of LHHS. A role model for aspiring journalists, Kristi holds the door open for others, especially women, to the world of sports journalism. She is married to Louis Sutton whom she met while working at KVIL.

Pete Grieder devoted more than three decades of extraordinary service to Lake Highlands High School, leaving a legacy that continues to shape students, athletes, and the broader Lake Highlands community. From 1984 to 2016, he served as a LHHS mathematics teacher and as head wrestling coach, building the Wildcat wrestling program into one of the most respected and successful programs in Texas. Under his leadership, LHHS wrestling achieved unparalleled consistency and excellence. Pete’s teams earned numerous honors and distinctions, including 24 District Championships and 6 Regional Championships, and the program produced 175 state qualifiers and 46 state placers, including 30 consecutive years of state meet participation. His dual‑meet record of 575 wins stands as a testament to sustained excellence, but numbers alone do not define his impact.
Pete was widely admired for his calm, respectful, and student‑centered approach. He led without intimidation, emphasizing accountability, humility, perseverance, and sportsmanship. His open‑door philosophy and genuine concern for students extended far beyond the wrestling room, shaping countless young men into confident, disciplined, and compassionate adults. As a mathematics teacher, Pete demonstrated the same patience and dedication, ensuring every student had the opportunity to succeed. His contributions have reached well into the community. He founded and led the Lake Highlands Wrestling Club, hosted the Tri‑State Classic Tournament for 16 years, and actively invested in youth development at every level. His service earned him numerous honors, including Richardson ISD Coach of the Year, Texas Wrestling Regional Coach of the Year, and induction into the Texas Wrestling Hall of Honor and National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Pete’s legacy is defined not only by championships, but by lives changed through selfless service, leadership, and unwavering commitment to LHHS. Pete graduated from Southern Illinois University. He and his wife, Pam, have three sons and five grandchildren. Pete is still teaching, now at Bishop Lynch, and he occasionally helps with the BL wrestling team.

Patti Clapp’s civic leadership is rooted in Lake Highlands where she has lived since 1968. She has served in local, regional, state, and national capacities for nonprofit and governmental organizations with an emphasis on education, health, advocacy, and leadership.

A noted leader for 24 years at the Dallas Regional Chamber, Patti served as vice president of government affairs, leadership, and education. She also served as an elected RISD Trustee for 15 years, including several years as President. Her lifetime commitment to education spans all levels of learning, from early childhood, K-12, and higher education to workforce development.
Patti is a member of the Lake Highlands Women’s League, Charter 100, and the Dallas Summit. She is past Gubernatorial Appointee to both the Texas Board of Nursing and the Texas Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. More recently, she represented Lake Highlands as an Appointee on the Dallas Municipal Library Board and Dallas Charter Review Commission. In addition, she is Past President and/or Board Member for numerous nonprofits, including the American Cancer Society, Community Council of Greater Dallas, Friends of the Dallas Public Library, Tejas Girl Scout Council, Texas Center for Education Research, Trinity River Authority, and United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, to name but a few. Patti has been recognized in boardrooms and banquet halls throughout the years for her effectiveness as an education advocate and volunteer leader. Community collaboration and collective impact are at the core of her legacy.
Patti graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Arts in English and serves on the Board for OU’s Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences. She and her husband, Roger, annually sponsor Constitution Day at OU’s Institute for the American Constitutional Heritage. They are the proud parents of three children, all of whom are LHHS graduates, and six grandchildren.