Austin High School honored two former alums Thursday morning with the Distinguished Alumni award, recognizing Dr. Phyllis Dankers Yes and Earl “Butch” Butler for their outstanding contributions to society.

Yes graduated from AHS in 1959, attending Austin State Junior College (now Riverland) in 1961 and earning a bachelor’s degree in art education and elementary education from Luther College in 1961. Since then, she’s earned her master of arts and PhD. from the University of Minnesota and the University of Oregon, respectively.

She’s taught at colleges and universities across the country, and organized art showings throughout the world, including the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia earlier this year. Yes has also blazed trails in feminist art, creating works such as putting lace all over a Porsche and creating lavish epaulettes, usually reserved for soldiers for women who’ve served as housewife and mother. She’s also worked with bread, using it to make paintings and constructions, even a thoroughbred horse, which she made using wiring, steel and many bread slices.

Yes encouraged students to persevere during Thursday’s assembly, telling them stories of how much work she had to do to get noticed by the traditionally male-dominated art community. She also related how she applied over and over for a National Endowment of the Arts grant, spurred on by an article which read that women didn’t apply for grants more than once since they weren’t used to rejection like men were.

“Do what you love, love what you do and always persevere,” Yes told the assembly to applause.

Butler, who graduated from AHS in 1960 and Austin State Junior College in 1962, has created an amusement park empire since his time in Austin. From age 8, Butler worked in his father’s grocery story, managing the candy section and helping out where he could. He eventually ran several fair-like games at the store when he was in high school, and from there took over the business for a while in the ‘60s.

Butler and his wife sold their home in Austin to move out to California, placing a down payment on a carnival ride and from there, built Butler Entertainment.

Today, Butler owns more than $50 million in amusement park equipment (including some from Michael Jackson’s estate) and tours the country with the motto, “Cleanest Show in the West.” His attractions have been featured in movies like Doc Hollywood and Beverly Hills Cop 3, among dozens of others. He recently put on three state fairs at once, a feat he says no other amusement park company has ever done before. On top of that, his children and even some of his grandchildren all work for his company.