By Kaitlyn Kreutzer
Staff writer
IG: kaitlynxxspam2
Rusty Hilst was a beloved teacher, friend, golfer and sports broadcaster.
Around Hutchinson Community College, he was known for his broadcasting the Blue Dragons. Around the community, he was known as a caring and joyful person to be around.
On June 17, he lost his battle to bulbar-onset Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Hutchinson Community College and is honoring Hilst by dedicating the broadcasting room at Gowans Stadium to Hilst, as the ‘The Rusty Hilst Broadcasting Room’.
Hilst will always be remembered as a person of integrity and grace.
Hilst was an impressive golfer also. He received a spot in the Kansas Golf Hall of Fame in 2002.
“He loved his golf,” said Glen Grunwald, who broadcast Blue Dragon football and basketball games with Hilst.
Hilst taught for 54 years as a math teacher at Hutchinson High School. He loved teaching and loved his students. He never intended to become a teacher, but when a job as a math teacher at Hutchinson High School opened up, he took it. Hilst then realized he loved teaching and stuck to it.
In 2023 Hilst got inducted into the Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame.
“He had an amazing sense of humor but also could be very intense,” Grunwald said.
Hilst and Grunwald worked together in sports broadcasting for 22 years. Grunwald can attest that Hilst’s biggest pet peeve is tardiness.
“I got the time we were supposed to meet before a game wrong by 30 minutes and he didn’t talk to me the whole first half of the game,” Grunwald said.
Hilst began his broadcasting career in 1969. He was fair, always called a play as he saw it, good or bad, no matter what team it was.
“It was a pleasure to be Rusty’s friend and broadcasting partner,” said HutchCC business instructor Dan Naccarato, who also worked with Hilst during high school games.
Hilst persuaded Naccarato to join the broadcasting team in 2014.
“It was a wonderful experience broadcasting games with Rusty and Glen Grunwald,” Naccarato said. “Our road trips were slices of heaven. We engaged in hours of stimulating and memorable conversations. We exchanged observations and opinions about sports, politics, news, education, culture, art, music, movies, broadcasting, family . . . and we laughed. We laughed a lot.”
Hilst truly has had a positive and cheerful impact on our community.
“Thank God Rusty Hilst chose to live, work, and play here in Hutchinson, Kansas, USA” Naccarato said.