The group working on forming an athletic hall of fame at International Falls High School is gearing up to start receiving nominations as well as begin fund-raising to cover start-up costs.
Group members at Wednesday’s meeting reviewed forms for those purposes that are planned for two upcoming alumni newsletters.
The nomination form, which the group also wants to have available on the school district’s Web site, seeks the name of a player, coach/director/advisor, at-large member or team to submit to the hall of fame in care of FHS athletic director Don Rolando.
Rolando, Bronco sports booster and math teacher Timm Ringhofer and a few others began meeting in April in an effort to turn the athletic hall of fame idea into a reality.
The details on determining who to induct in the hall of fame have yet to be finalized, though the group is planning on setting up a seven-member selection committee for that purpose.
Under a written proposal the group has looked at, a five-sevenths majority vote of the committee would be required to be inducted into the hall of fame.
The proposal also would direct the selection committee to vote on a maximum of six nominees in the first year and a maximum of four in subsequent years.
“I think six is the right number (in the first year),” Ringhofer said.
Group member Merlin Holm, who noted he is interested in the process to set up the hall of fame but doesn’t want to be one of the seven on the selection committee, said he hopes more people will be showing up at the group’s meetings so they could be considered for the committee.
Once the nominations would be received, the group has yet to determine which ones the committee should consider for possible induction.
Ringhofer said a process used in Proctor ranks its hall of fame nominations.
Though there may be disagreement over who should be inducted in the Falls, given how many people have been involved in athletics over the decades, Ringhofer said Bronko Nagurski, who is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, should be an obvious choice.
“I’d think we’d get laughed out of town if we didn’t put him in the first year,” he said.
The group is planning to honor inductees with plaques in a style yet to be finalized and is looking at having the plaques displayed on the wall area outside the entrance to the FHS gym.
Seeking so-called “seed money” to pay for those plaques and other start-up costs has led to the group wanting to begin fund-raising.
The fund-raising form the group looked at Wednesday would be sent to alumni, so they could send a donation payable to the “Bronco Athletic Hall of Fame” at FHS in care of Rolando.
To receive proper authorization from the Falls School Board, so that money raised for the hall of fame could be placed into the area association account through the school, group member Stuart Nordquist, who coached football for decades in the Falls and is currently on the school board, agreed to look into that authorization being placed on the board’s agenda for consideration.
The group set its next meeting for July 13 at 7:30 p.m. in the FHS cafeteia.
