National Wrestling Hall of Fame Journal Spring 2017
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NATIONAL WRESTLING HALL OF FAME JOURNAL www.nwhof.org SPRING 2017 WHAT’S INSIDE Looking to the Future ................. 2 - 3 41st Honors Weekend June 2-3 Class of 2017 ................................ 4 - 5 State Chapters .............................. 6 - 8 DGM News ................................ 9 - 10 Hall of Fame News .................. 11 - 15 BOARD OF GOVERNORS Terry Shockley, Chairman Steve Silver, Vice Chairman Tom Slowey, Secretary Ed Gallegos, Treasurer Rich Bender John Harris, III John Bowlsby Matt Hull Robert Buckley Jay Keel Mike Child Mike Moyer The National Wrestling Hall of Fame will induct the Class of 2017 during its 41st Michael David O’Hara Annual Honors Weekend on June 2-3 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. DerGarabedian Lee Roy Smith Stan Dziedzic Sandy Stevens Tom Talbot The Class of 2017 inductees are Distinguished Members Tony (Babe) Gizoni, Martin Floreani Noel Thompson Roger Frizzell Ty Wilcox Cary Kolat, Andre Metzger and Chuck Yagla, Meritorious Official Mike Hagerty, Outstanding American Captain Dominic (Dom) Pudwill Gorie, Order of Merit MUSEUM INFORMATION recipient Greg Hatcher and Medal of Courage recipient Thomas Green. National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum “The Class of 2017 features truly remarkable individuals who have been successful 405 W. Hall of Fame Ave. on and off the mat,” said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Stillwater, OK 74075-5025 Wrestling Hall of Fame. “We look forward each year to honoring those who have Phone: 405.377.5243 Fax: 405.377.5244 not only made contributions to our sport, but also those who have taken the skills www.nwhof.org/stillwater they learned in wrestling and have used them to excel throughout their lives.” [email protected] Hours Of Operation Honors weekend begins Thursday, June 1, with the State Chapter Conference. Monday - Friday Moderated by State Chapter Director Krista Graff, the event allows State Chapter 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Saturdays representatives to discuss best practices for growing their Chapters and our sport. 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. ————— ——— ——— — — — — — The Presentation of Plaques Ceremony for the Class of 2017 will be at the Hall of NWHOF Dan Gable Museum Fame & Museum on June 2 at 7 p.m. There is no charge for the plaque presentation. 303 Jefferson St. Waterloo, IA 50701-1321 Phone: 319.233.0745 On Saturday, June 3, there will be a Testimonial Brunch for honorees in the Fax: 319.233.3477 morning, a fashion fair and the 41st Annual Honors Banquet in the evening. The www.nwhof.org/waterloo [email protected] brunch and banquet will both be held at the Oklahoma State University Student Union. Hours Of Operation Monday - Friday 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. For more information or to receive a formal invitation to Honors Weekend, please On weekends by appointment call (405) 377-5243 or visit www.nwhof.ticketleap.com to make reservations. Please call ahead of your visit. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Continuing to Fulfill Our Mission Strategic Plan has us Seeing 20/20 None of the individuals honored by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame would ever accept In November, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame hosted a group of individuals for a Strategic Planning session, facilitated the premise that “just being good is good enough.” So, in serving our mission, we feature those by Board of Governors member John Harris. The Strategic Planning Committee identified and prioritized eight Action individuals who dare to achieve levels of excellence on, around and off the wrestling mat. Items to help determine the direction and focus of our organization from 2017 to 2020. To accelerate our goals, we have These qualities are exemplified by each class, including our Class of 2017 who are slated for defined the following areas upon which to focus our energy and resources to increase the stature, visibility and financial enshrinement this June. viability of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, the Dan Gable Museum and the State Chapter Program: What we try to do with our sport’s history at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, the NWHOF 1) Leveraging existing and new technology to reach as many people as possible, both inside and outside Dan Gable Museum and through our State the walls of our facilities. Chapter program, is to convey how wrestling continues to adapt to the ever-changing times, 2) Launching a professional public relations and marketing effort to further increase our reach. so that boys, girls, men and women from 3) Identifying, planning and implementing revenue-producing initiatives, including but not limited to Lee Roy Smith every background can learn the life skills and merchandise, sponsorships and programs of substantial value. Executive Director character traits gained from participating in the sport. For example, the expression “One Size Fits All” has never been 4) Cultivating the organization’s Sustainability Plan by offering a development program that will support applicable to the sport of wrestling. Quite the contrary, as many of our the ongoing annual operations of the organization while advancing the importance of investing in its exhibits demonstrate, wrestling is “A Sport For All – Any BODY Can endowment fund. Wrestle” because it does not discriminate against a person’s size, speed, Medal of Courage winner Kyle Maynard is pictured here climbing Stone Mountain in Georgia. Kyle inspires young 5) Promoting, actuating and continually affirming the organization’s core values of Accountability and strength, gender, physical limitations or socio-economic background. wrestlers to never give up regardless of various challenges. Integrity; Diversity and Inclusion; Excellence and Innovation; and Leadership and Service throughout At the core of wrestling’s benefits is learning how to best adapt, survive and even thrive in the face of opposition. Learning governance, operations, programs and services. these skills doesn’t just occur on the mat, but as a metaphor that is lived out through many aspects of sport, work and life. Furthermore, we reveal how the championship traits embodied by a great wrestler also make for a better person and 6) Revisualizing and reorganizing to improve and grow our State Chapter Program. overall citizen, which can help make a great country. 7) Proactively and opportunistically evaluating possible partnerships and taking action on those that fit We at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame are excited to serve our mission. a sport with values that reach beyond our walls to educate 8) Initiating board and staff programs that better communicate expectations, provide specialized training and inspire multiple generations. In 2016, we completed a opportunities and produce effective succession plans for board, staff and committee members of NWHOF. spectacular renovation of our Stillwater home and are now focused on doing the same with the Dan Gable Museum. By this time next year, we anticipate having two state-of-the-art museums to further inspire and educate youth, adults and If you would like to help us further our mission of preserving wrestling’s history, recognizing excellence and senior citizens about the most significant legends of our inspiring future generations, please fill out and return this form with yourtax-deductible gift. You can also visit sport. We will offer field trips and educational programs www.nwhof.org/support to securely give online. We appreciate your generosity and support of the Hall of Fame. and presentations to various target audiences, along with lesson plans, biographical stories, statistics, facts and video Coached by Cael Sanderson, a four-time NCAA Champion and Olympic gold highlights that can be accessed online for educational medalist who was inducted as a Distinguished Member in 2011, Penn State has Name: _________________________________________ Amount Enclosed: purposes. won five of the last six NCAA team titles. The Nittany Lions also won in 1953 and they rank fifth all-time in wrestling team championships behind Oklahoma State (34), Address: _______________________________________ ( ) $25 ( ) $50 ( ) $100 ( ) $250 Individuals like yourself who support the National Wrestling Iowa (23), Iowa State (8) and Oklahoma (7). Hall of Fame and its museums are important to us. We know City, State, Zip: __________________________________ ( ) $500* ( ) $1,000** ( ) $2,500 that you want our museums to be both a resource of information and an impressive real-time experience on the sport’s past, present and future, showcasing wrestling as the oldest and greatest sport in the world. Our work is challenging, but Phone Number: _________________________________ ( ) $5,000 Other: ________________ also uplifting. Thanks to you, we have come further than we ever could have imagined, and with your continued support, we can take our mission even further ... and faster! Email: _________________________________________ Mail to: NWHOF, 405 W. Hall of Fame Ave., Stillwater, OK 74075 * Those who donate $500 annually are eligible to purchase NCAA tickets through the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. ** Those who donate $1,000 annually become a member of the Chairman’s Champions Club. PAGE 2 NATIONAL WRESTLING HALL OF FAME • SPRING 2017 PRESERVING HISTORY • RECOGNIZING EXCELLENCE • INSPIRING GENERATIONS PAGE 3 HALL OF FAME INDUCTIONS CLASS OF 2017 Tony Gizoni Cary Kolat Andre Metzger Chuck Yagla Captain Dominic Gorie Tom Green Mike Hagerty Greg Hatcher Distinguished Member Distinguished Member Distinguished Member Distinguished Member Outstanding American Medal of Courage Meritorious Official Order of Merit Distinguished Member Tony (Babe) Gizoni was a three-time state champion for Washington (Pennsylvania) High School Outstanding American recipient Captain Dominic (Dom) Pudwill Gorie was 41-9-1 at Miami Palmetto High School in Florida, and won back-to-back NCAA Division I championships for Waynesburg University in 1950 and 1951, earning Outstanding and wrestled at the United States Naval Academy. Gorie received his bachelor’s degree in ocean engineering from the Naval Wrestler in 1950. He was ineligible to compete in the NCAA tournament as a freshman and was declared ineligible as a Academy and his master’s degree in aviation systems from the University of Tennessee.