SPS Hall of Fame will induct author, journalist, members of Ozark Mountain Daredevils

The Missouri poet laurate. An award-winning journalist. Three founding members of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils.

Those five graduates of Springfield Public Schools — David Harrison, Daniel Arnall, Steve Cash, Randle Chowning and Larry Lee — will be inducted next month into the 2023 SPS Hall of Fame.

The luncheon ceremony will be at noon Oct. 5 at the White River Conference Center. Tickets are $30 and will be on sale through Sept. 15.

Created in 2010, the SPS Hall of Fame inducts several outstanding alumni each year. It gives the district a chance to celebrate their successes and highlight individuals that may inspire current students.

David Harrison

The author and philanthropist is a 1955 graduate of Central High School. He published his first book in 1969, which sold 2 million copies.

He has since authored and published almost 100 other books, many of them inspired by his love of nature.

Harrison was named Missouri Poet Laureate in July by Gov. Mike Parson. Among his other honors: Missouri Pioneer in Education, 2006 Missourian, Poet Laureate of Drury University, member of the Missouri Writers Hall of Fame and recipient of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Children’s Literature Medal.

The former SPS board member helped create the Foundation for Springfield Public Schools and the annual Teacher Appreciation Banquet. He also spearheaded an effort to raise nearly $4 million to replace and add books in school libraries in Springfield.

An elementary in southwest Springfield has been named in his honor.

Daniel Arnall

The award-winning journalist and senior vice president of news programming for MSNBC/NBC News Group is a 1992 graduate of Hillcrest High School.

At age 14, as a student journalist, he helped envision what became Hillcrest's award-winning broadcast journalism program, HTV.

Arnall, inspired to pursue journalism, graduated cum laude from University of Missouri’s School of Journalism and earned a master’s degree with honors from the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University.

Arnall started his career as an on-air reporter and anchor eventually advancing to leadership positions at ABC News, Bloomberg Television and NBC News Group. While at NBC, he led the team that produced Nightly News Weekend. He is currently responsible for MSNBC Reports news programming.

During his career, he has won an Emmy Award and an Edward R. Murrow Award for breaking news coverage.

Ozark Mountain Daredevils members

Steve Cash is one of three founding members of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils — along with Randle Chowning and Larry Lee — set to be inducted at the event.

In 1973, they signed a recording deal with A&M Records and headed to London to record their self-titled album, which included “If You Wanna Get to Heaven” sung by Chowning and co-written by Cash. It hit No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the critically acclaimed album was ranked among the 100 Top Pop Albums that year.

Their best known song and biggest hit, “Jackie Blue,” came in 1975 following the release of their second album. The song, written by Cash and Lee, reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and made it to No. 1 on Cash Box Top 100.

Cash, who passed away in 2019, performed with the Daredevils for more than four decades. He was a 1964 graduate of Parkview High School.

More: SPS Hall of Famers Anthony Tolliver, John Holstein say they 'admire teachers'

He played harmonica on “Chicken Train,” one of the Daredevils’ signature songs.

An artist at heart, Cash was a painter, poet and author. He wrote a trilogy of historical fiction including “The Meq,” “Time Dancers” and “The Remembering.”

At Parkview, he was a member of the state championship basketball team known as the Jolly Green Giants.

Lee and Chowning met while attending Glendale High School. They graduated in 1965 and 1968, respectively.

During that time, Chowning began to write songs and work with other musicians. He was a driving force behind forming the Daredevils and was the band’s lead vocalist and lead guitarist.

Chowning and Lee eventually left the band and continue to pursue their passion for music and songwriting as solo artists.

Lee spent more than 20 years working in Nashville as a songwriter, session musician and record producer. During that time, he helped create 13 No. 1 hits for Alabama and worked with other artists including Restless Heart and Juice Newton.

He sang background vocals on several Jimmy Buffett records and also toured as a member of Buffett’s band.

Chowning also lived in Nashville for a decade where he continued to write songs and record music.

In 2015, Chowning and Lee received the Quill Award from the Missouri Writer’s Hall of Fame, which is the first time it was presented to songwriters.

Want to go?

The SPS Hall of Fame lunch is at noon Oct. 5 at the White River Conference Center, 600 W. Sunshine. Tickets are $30 each and may be purchased through Sept. 15 by calling 417-523-0021 or emailing communications@spsmail.org.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: SPS Hall of Fame inducts author, journalist, Ozark Mountain Daredevils