See information and Kenny’s bio below

Nomination Time:

  Criteria and nomination forms for this annual award may be obtained at the links below or by contacting the USD 365  District Office at 785-448-6155.  

Kellstadt Hall of Fame Nomination and Selection Criteria and Process

Kellstadt Hall of Fame Nomination Form 

Annual Inductees:

Click on the inductees below to learn more about their accomplishments

2018 – Peggy Tholen (inaugural year)

2019 – Jerry Howarter

Kenny Kellstadt Family Hall of Fame Award Bio:

This award honors longtime educator Kenny Kellstadt.  Individuals selected for this honor award exhibit and model high standards of excellence in personal and/or professional life. Recipients have made outstanding contributions to volunteer service in their local community and have succeeded at local, regional, or international levels in any appropriate area of endeavor, including academia and education, arts, business, media, public service, medicine, military, sports, etc. 

Mr. Kenny Kellstadt retired at the end of the 2017 school year after 44 years of teaching and administration at USD 365.  Kenny truly spent his entire life in this district.  He started as a student graduating in 1969 and spent his entire education career here. This is a rare occurrence in the education world.  During his tenure, his primary philosophy was that kids will be kids and it is our job as educators to find a way to connect, especially during the formative years of middle and high school. Education is a changing profession and during his 44 year’s he saw many changes.  Despite them all, kids are still the same; they make mistakes and learn from them.  At some point, they grow up to discover a sense of their individual identity.  He always strived to instill in his students that you enter our school to learn and you leave our school ready to serve.  The positive impact and connections that Kenny had with his students have lasted for years and even decades. When asked what he would miss the most, his response was, “I will miss the kids.” 

Kenny attended school in Welda until the district high schools merged and he graduated from Garnett High School.  He attended Allen County Community College and then graduated with his teaching degree from Emporia State.  He started teaching for the district in 1973 as part of the social studies department and he developed and ran the work-study program.  Eventually, he added Government to his schedule and started his annual AP Government Washington DC trip every spring.  Kellstadt also sponsored and developed student leaders by sponsoring the Student Council for 39 years.  He also served on the National Student Council Board for three years.  Kenny received his master’s in administration and became Assistant Principal in 1994 and then Principal in 2007.

Kenny provided 44 years of dedication, having a positive impact on numerous lives.  Kenny and his wife Rosalyn still live on the family home in Welda.  They have a daughter, Amber, son-in-law Dan, and one grandchild, Colin.