FREDERICKTOWN — After a 15-year hiatus, the Fredericktown Athletic Hall of Fame is once again a reality.
Picking up where it left off, several members of the Fredericktown community, along with the athletic department, have been working hard to re-establish the hall and they need the community’s help.
“Our department of athletics really wanted to get it going again,” said committee member Tom Craze. “What we want to do is honor our athletes that have achieved great things in individual sports, our coaches and our teams. We do have a great number of teams and athletes that have done some pretty remarkable things, so we want to honor them, not only from years past, but more recent as well. The athletic department felt it was very important to do this.”
In the old Fredericktown High School, the Athletic Hall of Fame was on display after walking into the school’s front doors. The new display, which will include the former members, will be located in the middle school/high school commons area for all to see.
“Once this facility got built and we got things running, it was decided to go ahead with this,” said Craze. “We actually started this back in 2005, but it was decided we should put things on hold until that transition was done. Then we had to find a space to do this. We wanted it to be centrally located, and we feel the space that we have is a great area. When you come into the school, no matter if you are attending an athletic event or another function, you are going to be able to see the display. It is definitely going to be first class.
“The only real changes will be we won’t have photos because of the space limitations we do have,” Craze added. “We will put the names and years of the inductees on a plaque for each of the 12 varsity sports.”
Through much research, many athletes qualify for this honor, and Craze is encouraging the community to nominate those athletes. The committee is asking for more input, however, to ensure it does not miss anyone.
“We really want community input in this; we want community involvement,” said Craze. “This is something they can be proud of. Nomination forms are available at the high school office and the superintendent’s office. We are also going to rely on all of our coaches; we need their input. We don’t want to miss anybody that is deserving of this great athletic honor.
“We want to look at as many athletes as we can. We are open to any individual, team or coach. There are some eligibility requirements, but we want to look at as many athletes as we can. We are looking at athletes that have just graduated from Fredericktown all the way back from several years past. We’ve received nomination forms for athletes all the way back into the 1950s.”
The Hall of Fame committee includes Craze, Tom Foster, Ann Ullman, Joan Logan and Dan Hathaway; and the committee will be the one ultimately selecting the inductees.
“The selection process is done by a vote,” said Craze. “The Hall of Fame has bylaws that are board approved and we are going by them. We’ll narrow it down and then take a vote on the individuals going in.”
All nominations need to be returned by July 12 in order to be considered for this year’s class. Hall of Fame induction will take place at the Fredericktown Sports Banquet in October.
Paying for the new hall of fame is a joint effort between the Fredericktown Athletic Boosters and the Fredericktown Athletic Department. Signline Graphics and Trophies Unlimited are responsible for creating the Hall of Fame display and plaques.
Craze said, being nonprofit, donations will be accepted.
“We have been working very close with our athletic department and our boosters as far as funding this project,” Craze said. “We are hoping to have everything up before the end of July, so it is on display when school begins.”
Anyone wanting more information can contact Craze at 504-3862, or pick up a nomination form at the superintendent’s office.