Jon Lovald LHS Hall of Fame Inductee

The Litchfield High School Hall of Fame ceremony is coming up on Friday evening – just before the 7 o’clock Marching Band Indoor Concert. One of this year’s inductees is 1989 Litchfield High School graduate Jon Lovald who had a distinguished 25-year military career.

Lovald was born in Litchfield and grew up near Darwin and says he enjoyed his time at Litchfield High School, especially playing the tuba in the Marching Band. He says he joined the U.S. Army right out of high school and his first overseas tour was in Korea.

Lovald says after 4 years in the Army, he attended St. Cloud State University, was in the ROTC and served in the National Guard – with deployments to Kosovo and Iraq. He says he retired as a Lt. Colonel.

Lovald says he joined the Excelsior Fire Department after retiring from the Army, and is active in the American Legion and VFW. He says he has been the chief operating officer of the MN Assistance Council for Veterans for the past 7 years, helping to end veteran homelessness.

Lovald’s wife, Nicole, is originally from Hutchinson and they have two children – Jackson who is a junior and Sofia who is an 8th grader in the Minnetonka school district. He says he was lucky to be able to grow up near Darwin, attend Litchfield Schools and have great adult role models at that time that formed the foundation that helped set him on his life’s path.