September 8, 2023 - The Center High School Alumni Committee is happy to announce that the CHS Hall of Honor Inductees for 2023 are Jen E. Ihlo (Class of 1973) and Dr. Martha Lou Chadwick Scott (Class of 1967)!
Both new inductees will be recognized at the Center High Homecoming football game on Friday, September 29th. Their Hall of Honor Awards will be presented on Saturday, September 30th at the Annual Alumni Association Meeting at the Windham Civic Center at 10am. The celebration will continue at the Homecoming Parade on the Center Square at 4pm Saturday, September 30th.
Everyone is welcome to come and celebrate the CHS Homecoming Events and congratulate the new Hall of Honor Inductees.
A 1973 graduate of Center High School (CHS), Jen lhlo earned her Associate of Arts degree from Tyler Junior College in 1975 and her Bachelor of Arts degree from Stephen F. Austin State University in 1977. During summer breaks from college, lhlo worked as a congressional intern in Washington, D.C., for Wright Patman and later for Sam B. Hall, Jr. lhlo fulfilled her childhood dream of becoming an attorney when she earned her JD from South Texas College of Law in 1983. She is licensed by the State Bar of Texas and is a member of the U.S. Supreme Court Bar.
Ihlo's 38-year legal career was spent in public service to the State of Texas and the United States. She served as an Assistant District Attorney in Beaumont, Jefferson County, Texas (1983-1984), and as Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, Washington, D.C. (1984-1989).
Ihlo joined the Tax Division, Criminal Enforcement Section (CES), at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as a trial attorney in 1989. During her 32 years at DOJ, Ihlo served as lead counsel in numerous investigations and jury trials, many involving tax defier/tax protester schemes. Among the cases she successfully litigated was a 186 million dollar multi-defendant federal tax fraud conspiracy in Oregon, for which Ihlo and her co-counsel received the John Marshall award, the Department's highest honor for trial attorneys.
Over the years, Ihlo developed an expertise in tax defier/tax protester and domestic terrorism cases and became the Department's expert in litigating those cases. She was highly regarded within the Division, Department, and the broader law enforcement community for her leading roles as a litigator, educator, and mentor. Prosecutors across the country relied on her as an invaluable resource.
Ihlo was a sought-after mentor and regularly taught other attorneys at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina. She advised the Attorney General's Advisory Committee on Domestic Terrorism and served on the Domestic Terrorism Executive Committee from its inception, following the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, until her retirement in 2021.
During her career, Ihlo served as Special Counsel for Tax Protest Matters (Criminal) (1996-2008) and National Director of the Tax Defier Initiative (2008-2021). Ihlo published several professional articles and received numerous awards, including a second John Marshall Award and a DOJ Meritorious Award from the Department of Justice. She received several Outstanding Attorney Awards and a Special Act of Service Award from the Tax Division.
Jen retired from the U.S. Department of Justice in April 2021 after 38 years of federal Government service.
Ihlo has also been a trailblazer for women since high school. She went to the State Tournament in women's golf when CHS didn't even have a women's golf team. She was one of only three women attorneys when hired as Assistant District Attorney in Beaumont, where she quickly
rose to serve as Chief of the Misdemeanor Trial Section. Ihlo was one of fewer than a dozen women attorneys in the Tax Division's Criminal Section (CES) when she was hired in 1989 and was the first woman selected to serve as Senior Litigation Counsel in CES.
In other areas of leadership, Ihlo has held elected positions at every level of governance in The United Methodist Church (UMC), from the local church to the jurisdiction and the worldwide General Conference. Ihlo has long been an advocate for justice and full inclusion in the UMC. She has served as a Board member of The UMC General Commission on Religion and Race for the past 11 years. GCORR develops resources for local churches and UMC members to dismantle racism. In addition to working to dismantle racism, Ihlo has also worked tirelessly to help The UMC become a fully inclusive church, welcoming and supportive of all people, including LGBTQI+ people.
Ihlo, the daughter of Margaret and George Ihlo, was born and raised in Center. She is married and lives in Alexandria, VA. In retirement, Ihlo loves traveling, is playing golf again and learning to speak German.
Dr. Martha Lou Chadwick Scott was a 1967 graduate of Center High School where she was involved in countless organizations and activities including several state competitions. After graduation, she continued her education at Baylor University where she received a Bachelor's degree in Home Economics Education.
During her time at Baylor, she worked in the Office of the Dean of Women. Her initial plans were to be a high school teacher but fell in love with the work in the Dean's office and quickly became a fixture in the department. The job has evolved over the years but the love for interaction with students has only grown. She was placed in charge of housing for female students, then was given the responsibility to coordinate and supervise the dorm directors.
After the Dean of Women's office, she moved to the Dean of Students Office where she supervised Greek life and foreign students. Along the way she got her Master's degree from Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University) in Public Administration and her Doctorate degree from Baylor University in 1984. Prior to her retirement, she held the title of Associate Vice President of Student Life.
Everyone on campus knew her as "Martha Lou" or the "Baylor Fairy Godmother" because of the personal interest she shows every student with whom she crosses paths. She may be called on in the middle of the night with a personal crisis or from the airport when a frantic student is having trouble with travel arrangements. She may be gracefully terminating a student's relationship with the university one minute and encouraging an evaluation of degree plans the next. She is a respected leader with difficult responsibility which she handles with the grace and firmness of a loving parent. She takes great pride in knowing that students from Shelby County are on Baylor campus and tries to host each of them at the beginning of their school career, letting them know that there is hometown help when they need it.
While still feeling the need to be a classroom teacher, Martha Lou taught at least one course each semester for Baylor and has taught the preschool class at First Baptist Church Waco for over 30 years. Her greatest joy is seeing an individual develop into the person they can be. Her greatest reward is to see them achieve success and share it with others. Martha Lou exemplifies her CHS Class motto of "Not merely to exist, but to amount to something in life" by dedicating her life to higher learning. She is a true role model that has given countless students, friends, family members and complete strangers the courage to be their very best.
