Three Harrisonville High School graduates will become the ninth class inducted into the HHS Distinguished Alumni Wall of Fame during Winter Homecoming activities at HHS Feb. 1.

G.R. Milner, Ret. Lt. Col. Renee (Labitska) Holmes, and Dr. Hillary (Rolls) Kelly will be inducted during a banquet and introduced to the community prior to the 7 p.m. varsity basketball game.

Milner graduated in 1958 from Harrisonville High School as the salutatorian. During his youth, he was highly involved in 4-H and band. He is a lifetime resident of Cass County.

Following graduation, Milner went to work as a bookkeeper at Henderson Burris Motors in Harrisonville. He worked in all facets of the business and at 23 purchased shares of stock in the business. He was one of the youngest dealers in the nation to be given ownership approval by the Ford Motor Company. He also graduated from the Ford Motor Companys School of Accounting and their School of Retail Salesmanship.

In 1977, he became full owner and changed the name to GR Milner Ford Sales and in 1978, he moved the dealership from near the square to its current location on Cantrell Road. During this time, Milner grew the business to one of the largest Ford, Lincoln, Mercury dealerships in the state of Missouri and tripled the number of his employees.

In 2012, Milner was honored by the Ford Motor Company for his 50 years as a dealership owner. Milner was a member of the Missouri Automobile Dealers Association and served in numerous leadership capacities including the associations 60th president in 1998.

As a business leader in Harrisonville, he was a member of the Chamber of commerce, Masonic Lodge and Ararat Shrine.

Milner and his wife, Karazo, will celebrate 22 years of marriage this year. His family includes two children, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Holmes is a 1986 graduate of Harrisonville High School and spent a 20 year career with the United States Marine Corp.

She retired in December.

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Harrisonville announces Wall of Fame inductees