Two standouts in the history of Perry girls basketball — Cassie Hagar Smith, PHS Class of 2002, and Lori Rausch Seeley, PHS Class of 1976 — delivered the keynote addresses Thursday morning at the Iowa Retired School Personnel Association (IRSPA) annual conference at the Hotel Pattee.
Sue Kimpston, president of the Dallas County Area Retired School Personnel Association, welcomed about 100 attendees to the conference, and Tom Burkgren doubled the welcome to Perry and the Hotel Pattee.
Anne Cowley of Sioux City, president of the IRSPA, introduced the organization’s state officers and committee chairs and then turned over the floor to Seeley and Smith, who delivered a back-to-back set of humorous and inspiring talks about the character values and leadership skills their acquired through their years playing sports.
Smith led the Jayettes to a girls state basketball 3A championship in 2002 and went on to further success with the University of Northern Iowa Panthers. A professional career in the WBA was cut short by health issues. Smith is now the principal of the Humboldt Middle School. She and her husband, Tyler Smith, have two children.
Rausch lettered in both softball and basketball as a Jayette, racking up more than 100 career wins as a pitcher and excelling as a forward in six-player basketball prior to the sport’s switch in 1993 in Iowa to five-on-five, full-court play. She taught physical education at the Perry Elementary School and is now an active grandmother and a regular volunteer in the Perry community.
Founded in 1947, the IRSPA is the only organization working primarily to protect and improve the financial benefits of Iowa’s retired school personnel. It is affiliated with the National Retired Teacher Association. The Dallas County Area Retired School Personnel Association, which hosted Thursday’s conference, is a member of IRSPA.