New honorees plaques unveiled on first anniversary of the reopening of the renovated Wrestling Hall of Fame
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
The 2017 Class of Honorees for the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. In front row, left to right: Daton Fix, Cierra Foster, Greg Hatcher, Tom Green and Tony Gizoni. Back row, left to right: Mike Hagerty, Chuck Yagla, Andre Metzger, Cary Kolat and Dom Gorie. Photo by Larry Slater.
VIDEO PLAYLIST: Hall of Fame Honors Weekend interviews
Traditionally, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Honors Weekend kicks off with a social on Friday night, followed by the unveiling of plaques, where the new class of honorees get to see their Hall of Fame exhibits for the first time.
One year ago, the kickoff activity for Honors Weekend included the grand reopening of the newly renovated Hall of Fame and Museum, which was received with great excitement and rave reviews. As the 41st Hall of Fame Induction got underway one year later, the buzz about the new look remained at high energy, as many in attendance had never been to the modernized facility.
“This is our first anniversary, our first year of having this place open. Many of you haven’t seen it before, but it is quite a bit different. It was completely gutted and renovated. We are very proud of it. It embodies everything we want to sport of wrestling to celebrate. We are here to celebrate the heritage of our sport this weekend,” said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Terry Shockley, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Hall of Fame, announced that there is another renovation underway, as the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa is now going through a major update process.
“We also have the Dan Gable Museum, which is owned by the Hall of Fame, in Waterloo. Like this Hall of Fame, we are completely in the process of renovating that facility. We are in a major campaign to raise the funds, hopefully by early fall we have the funds raised so we can drop the flag and begin construction on the Gable Museum. It is a terrific place, doing a lot of educational things and serving many youth in the area,” said Shockley.
He talked about the role that the Hall of Fame and Museum plays in showcasing wrestling in its best light.
“This is a great weekend to be inspired by our sport, and inspired by our heroes and heroines. We are here to protect our heritage and to keep the history of our great sport alive and well. Hopefully, what we are long term doing here is to inspire the youth of America to gravitate to our sport and to get the great lessons that we learn from our sport,” said Shockley.
Shockley challenged everybody to take their inspiration from the Hall of Fame, and put it to work in their community.
“If we don’t become ambassadors for the sport, if we don’t become the town criers for our sport, no one else is going to do it for us. We all have to get out there and promote the sport to anyone who will listen. As you leave here today, you have to take this inspiration from this great sport of ours and take it to the public,” he said.
The emcee for the weekend’s activities, Sandy Stevens, led the guests to each of the exhibit areas where the display for the new inductees were unveiled. At each of the locations, Stevens read the biography of the winner before the black curtain covering the display was pulled away. Official photographer Larry Slater took a number of photos with each inductee with their family and friends in attendance.
First up were the winners of the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award, Daton Fix of Oklahoma, and the Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award, Cierra Foster of Idaho.
Stevens next unveiled the presentations for the other major award winners, the Meretorious Official to Mike Hagerty of Missouri, the Medal of Courage to Tom Green of New York, the Order of Merit to Greg Hatcher of Arkansas and the Outstanding American to astronaut Dom Gorie of Colorado.
To conclude the ceremony, Stevens introduced each of the Distinguished Members as their displays were shown to the public, with wrestling legends Tony Gizoni, Cary Kolat, Andre Metzger and Chuck Yagla getting to see their plaques and displays, and posing for photos with their families.
There will be a change on Saturday morning schedule this year, with a new Testimonial Brunch, where each inductee will have two people who will speak on their behalf and tell the stories of each of the award winners from a very personal perspective. The weekend concludes on Saturday night, with the 41st Honors Banquet at 7:00 p.m. at the Ballroom at the OSU Student Union.
VIDEO PLAYLIST: Hall of Fame Honors Weekend interviews
Traditionally, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Honors Weekend kicks off with a social on Friday night, followed by the unveiling of plaques, where the new class of honorees get to see their Hall of Fame exhibits for the first time.
One year ago, the kickoff activity for Honors Weekend included the grand reopening of the newly renovated Hall of Fame and Museum, which was received with great excitement and rave reviews. As the 41st Hall of Fame Induction got underway one year later, the buzz about the new look remained at high energy, as many in attendance had never been to the modernized facility.
“This is our first anniversary, our first year of having this place open. Many of you haven’t seen it before, but it is quite a bit different. It was completely gutted and renovated. We are very proud of it. It embodies everything we want to sport of wrestling to celebrate. We are here to celebrate the heritage of our sport this weekend,” said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Terry Shockley, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Hall of Fame, announced that there is another renovation underway, as the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa is now going through a major update process.
“We also have the Dan Gable Museum, which is owned by the Hall of Fame, in Waterloo. Like this Hall of Fame, we are completely in the process of renovating that facility. We are in a major campaign to raise the funds, hopefully by early fall we have the funds raised so we can drop the flag and begin construction on the Gable Museum. It is a terrific place, doing a lot of educational things and serving many youth in the area,” said Shockley.
He talked about the role that the Hall of Fame and Museum plays in showcasing wrestling in its best light.
“This is a great weekend to be inspired by our sport, and inspired by our heroes and heroines. We are here to protect our heritage and to keep the history of our great sport alive and well. Hopefully, what we are long term doing here is to inspire the youth of America to gravitate to our sport and to get the great lessons that we learn from our sport,” said Shockley.
Shockley challenged everybody to take their inspiration from the Hall of Fame, and put it to work in their community.
“If we don’t become ambassadors for the sport, if we don’t become the town criers for our sport, no one else is going to do it for us. We all have to get out there and promote the sport to anyone who will listen. As you leave here today, you have to take this inspiration from this great sport of ours and take it to the public,” he said.
The emcee for the weekend’s activities, Sandy Stevens, led the guests to each of the exhibit areas where the display for the new inductees were unveiled. At each of the locations, Stevens read the biography of the winner before the black curtain covering the display was pulled away. Official photographer Larry Slater took a number of photos with each inductee with their family and friends in attendance.
First up were the winners of the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award, Daton Fix of Oklahoma, and the Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award, Cierra Foster of Idaho.
Stevens next unveiled the presentations for the other major award winners, the Meretorious Official to Mike Hagerty of Missouri, the Medal of Courage to Tom Green of New York, the Order of Merit to Greg Hatcher of Arkansas and the Outstanding American to astronaut Dom Gorie of Colorado.
To conclude the ceremony, Stevens introduced each of the Distinguished Members as their displays were shown to the public, with wrestling legends Tony Gizoni, Cary Kolat, Andre Metzger and Chuck Yagla getting to see their plaques and displays, and posing for photos with their families.
There will be a change on Saturday morning schedule this year, with a new Testimonial Brunch, where each inductee will have two people who will speak on their behalf and tell the stories of each of the award winners from a very personal perspective. The weekend concludes on Saturday night, with the 41st Honors Banquet at 7:00 p.m. at the Ballroom at the OSU Student Union.
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