HOF 1977 Liz Cahill

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Liz Cahill

  • Graduated from Weston-McEwen High School in 1977

    • was a member of the first year class when Athena and Weston combined schools

    • a gifted athlete, she earned 12 varsity letters, lettering all four years in volleyball, basketball and track ~ she was the first  Weston-McEwen athlete to accomplish this

    • she was a member of the 1974-1975 girls basketball team that took 4th in state, again this was the first TigerScot girls' team to compete and place in the state tournament

    • her senior year she was captain of the basketball team and selected both the most valuable and best offensive player

    • she was chosen as the best female athlete in the class of 1977

    • student leadership was also part of her high school resume`, she was president of the junior class and her senior year was president of the student council

  • Receiving an athletic scholarship, she attended Blue Mountain Community College where she played both volleyball and basketball

    • she earned four letters and special recognition for basketball

    • she majored in History and minored in English as was on the Deans list

    • she graduated with her BMCC Associates Degree

  • Following BMCC she attended Oregon State University

    • at OSU she spent two years as a cadet in the Reserve Officer Training Corps

    • upon graduation with a degree in History, she was commissioned 2nd LT in the United States Air Force

  • She served 5 years active duty and 10 years in the Air Force Reserves

    • she earned her expert marksmanship ribbon and outstanding unit citation

    • she complete the Air Force POW/Survival School at Fairchild Air Force Base, which was significant for her and her credibility as an intel officer working with air combat crews, at the same time there were not that many female officers in that role

    • her last active duty station, Offutt AFT in Omaha NE, Officer Cahill was a watch officer in the underground intel center, two stories below ground, gathering intelligence for the military including the Strategic Air command

      • her command tracked Soviet nuclear bus movements and briefed the commanding General every morning regarding the time of impact to Washington D.C from possible missiles launched from Soviet Yankee class subs sitting off the east coast.

      • her active duty career was helping to keep America safe

      • before she separated from the military with the rank of Major, she earned a master's degres at Sam Houston State University

  • She returned to Eastern Oregon and began her teaching career in Helix in 1998 and coached the Grizzly's volleyball team

  • In 1992 she began teaching at MacHi in Milton-Freewater

  • retiring in 2016 completing 24 years of teaching

  • She and her spouse Dianne Groff both taught at MacHi and since her retirement they enjoy outdoor activities and keeping track of extended family members

  • in 2010 she was awarded Teacher of the Year receiving the ESD Crystal Apple Award

Liz Cahill