The new Hall of Fame members received medals from ODVS Director Deborah Ashenhurst.
Members of the Class of 2023, who range in age from 56 to 86, span 14 Ohio counties and four major branches of the United States Armed Forces: the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, according to the Ohio Department of Veteran Services.
New Hall of Fame members
Darrin M. Adams, 62, of Shelby County, is a Gulf War and Bosnia veteran. He is a founding sponsor and advocate for both the U.S. Army National Museum and the U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum.
Adams served more than 10 years with the U.S. Department of Labor Veterans Employment and Training Services, working to help veterans and their families through education, employment and transition assistance programs. As State Director, he managed more than $13 million of federal grants.
He also served as Veterans Program Administrator for the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services Veterans Program, educating employers on the skills of military members transitioning into the workforce.
Carolyn Destefani, 56, an elected trustee in Sugarcreek Township, Greene County, is an Air Force veteran. She served in the Gulf War and regularly contributes to veterans projects and organizations as well as her community. Destefani is director of federal programs for Flairsoft Federal.
Among her other veteran advocacy efforts are spearheading the Sugarcreek Veterans Memorial Park project, serving on the Miami Valley Military Affairs Association Board of Directors, and serving as Treasurer for the Greater Ohio Valley Women in Defense chapter, promoting young national security STEM careers.
Governor Mike DeWine appointed Destefani to the Executive Order of The Ohio Commodores last year in recognition of her contributions to the economic development of the State of Ohio.
Terry Johnson, 58, is an Air Force veteran from Montgomery County who went on to work 26 years in public education. He taught high school science, coached numerous sports, volunteered as an after-school tutor and led several student organizations.
Johnson served Germantown as a council member for 26 years, including 17 years as President of Council and he was elected Mayor of Germantown in 2021. He also was a charter member of the Valley View Excellence Committee, created to improve community and school district relationships.
He is a founding member of the Miami Military Institute Committee, which hopes to memorialize the former military school in Germantown.
Paul M. Keller, 75, of Greene County, served in both the Vietnam and Gulf wars with the Air Force and Air Force Reserve, and dedicated his life to community service.
Keller first served on the Downtown Fairborn Betterment Association, then later was elected to City Council, where he helped the city develop its first strategic plan. Keller was elected Mayor of Fairborn in 2017 and remains in that position today.
He helped found Operation Fairborn Cares for post-9/11 deployed veterans and their families as they reintegrated into civilian life and also was instrumental in making Fairborn a Purple Heart Community.
John C. Looker, 75, of Warren County, is an Army veteran who served in the Vietnam War, then dedicated his life to bettering his nation through a wide variety of veteran service organizations.
Looker is an American Legion National Committee Member for Veterans Employment and Education, and he has held many leadership roles in the Commanders Action Network for the Disabled Veterans of America.
In Mason, Looker is involved in the city’s Veterans Board of Affairs, the Warren County Veterans Court Mentorship program and the Warren County Suicide Prevention Coalition. He has helped develop Mason’s Military Banner Program, organized its POW/MIA Memorial, and orchestrated annual Memorial Day and Veterans Day parades and ceremonies.
Lester L. Lyles, 77, of Montgomery County, was the son of a Tuskegee airman and had a distinguished military career in his own right, culminating as commander of the U.S. Air Force Materiel Command at Wright Patterson Air Force Base.
Lyles’ career includes service to the Air Force, NASA, the State Department and Presidential interagency panels. He received the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal for serving on the President’s Commission on Implementing the U.S. Space Exploration Policy.
Among many awards, Lyles received the NAACP’s Roy Wilkins Renown Service Award for outstanding contributions to military equal opportunity policies and programs.
Laurel A. Mayer, 86, is an Air Force veteran from Fairborn in Greene County.
Having taught courses at military bases around the world, Mayer joined the Sinclair Community College faculty after his Air Force retirement. He went on to a 35-year career at Sinclair before retiring as a professor emeritus.
Mayer has served on the Fairborn Planning Board, Zoning Board, Communications Board, and is still currently serving on the Parks and Recreation Board. He is a founding member of the Fairborn Education Foundation and a volunteer at the Miami Valley History Museum, where he gives presentations on his tour of duty in Vietnam.
Purcell Taylor Jr., 82, of Warren County, served with the Marine Corps in Vietnam, Cuba and Quemoy-Matsu, and today volunteers his time as a peer mentor for the Warren County Veterans Treatment Court.
A lifelong researcher and educator, he is a renowned forensic psychologist and was the first African American at the University of Cincinnati to earn a doctorate degree in school psychology in 1977.
Purcell was appointed to the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission and Hamilton County Task Force for Community Safety. He is the founder of Cincinnati’s DECLARE Therapy Center, which treats people suffering from chemical dependency.
This year’s class joins 954 Ohio veterans who have been inducted since the Hall’s inception and represent all eras, branches and walks of life, according to the Ohio Department of Veteran Services.
The Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame was established in 1992 by former Gov. George Voinovich to recognize professional achievement, service to the community and “selfless acts of veterans” following their military service.
Charter members of the Hall’s Class of 1992 included the six Ohio military veterans who were elected president of the United States and all Medal of Honor recipients from Ohio.
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