On Saturday, March 29, 2014, with the utmost sadness, Glenbrook South's Principal Dr. Brian Wegley shared with his staff, students and community, the tragic loss of faculty member Jeff Yordy after recent heart surgery. 

Mr. Yordy joined the GBS Science Department in 1984 and served in many roles and impacted thousands of lives during his thirty years of service. He was the assistant football coach from 1984-2001 and sponsor of the Horticulture Club since 1987, and the Horticulture National Team since 1992. He also held office as president of the Metropolitan Agriculture and Horticultural Teachers' Association.

Mr. Yordy received his Bachelor of Science degree in Ornamental Horticulture from the University of Illinois, and a Masters in Education from Northern Illinois University. He was a passionate teacher, respected and loved by his students. He also served on the Student Assistance Program team, which addresses and guides difficult decisions on serious student issues. An esteemed leader in the field of horticulture education, he was a finalist for the 2010 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching, and was chosen as Glenbrook South High School's Distinguished Teacher in 2010.

Mr. Yordy harvested the best from his students. He motivated them to achieve what they perceived as impossible with a culture and climate for learning that extended beyond the classroom. 

He trained and accompanied a horticulture team to the state Future Farmers of America (FFA) horticulture competition each year of his career at GBS, and his team won the state championship twenty-two of those years. Additionally, for nearly two decades his students have been invited to and competed in the national FFA nursery landscape and floriculture competitions. In 2006 and 2007, he supported an ambitious student project that culminated in the Glenbrook South High School Flower & Garden Show, transforming the Lyceum into a landscaped wonderland. Mr. Yordy also proposed that his horticulture classes design and landscape the school's courtyard, resulting in a centerpiece of beauty for GBS. Instilling service with excellence, his classes also created and tended a donation vegetable garden on school property that has provided hundreds of pounds of produce given to the local food pantry. Under his direction, students not only learned about horticulture at GBS, they did horticulture in ways that affected and enhanced the school and community.

The annual Glenbrook South Teaching for Life Skills (TLS) basketball game will be held on Friday, April 25, at 11:45 a.m. in the gymnasium against the Glenbrook North TLS Spartans. This event offers students with cognitive and physical disabilities an opportunity to participate in an athletic competition.

The game will feature varsity poms and cheerleaders, the Titan Stars, De la Cru, pep band, GBS Freshman Boys' Chorus, and a video sportscast. The event is free and the community is welcome and encouraged to attend.