CELINA-Nominations are being sought for the 2015-16 class of the Clay County Sports Hall of Fame, group officials announced on Friday.
The deadline for accepting nominations will be Wednesday, November 25 at 3 p.m.
“We urge people to be a part of the process by nominating the athlete they feel is deserving of this honor,” the spokesperson said. “Don’t just say that person needs to be in the Hall of Fame – nominate them for this prestigious honor and include stats, dates they played, specific details about their career (if available). For somebody to get in the Hall, somebody has to take the time to nominate them.
“We have inducted over 70 people into the Hall since its inception,” said Hall Chairman Don Napier, “and we look forward to including several more deserving members in January.
Just like last year, nominations must be presented on an official Hall of Fame application or must contain all the information asked for on that application, without exception. Paper applications can be picked up at the Clay County Schools Central Office, or can be downloaded from Napier’s Facebook page. People who choose not to use the official ballot must make sure all the required information is included in their nomination paperwork. It is very important that you include the email and postal address of the person you nominate, so the Hall can contact them.
Once the applications are properly filled out, they can be mailed to Don Napier, P.O. Box 792, Crossville, TN or emailed to [email protected]. Those people who were nominated last year, and did not receive enough votes to be inducted, will automatically be included on the ballot for 2015-2016 class.
Athletes who have been out of high school for 10 years are eligible to be nominated, along with “heritage” members and “contributors.” Heritage members are people whose careers were largely based at least 50 years ago, while “contributors” are administrators or people who were involved in some capacity besides coaching or playing. Athletes whose careers date back at least 50 years can also be voted in as regular members.
Nominations are not just for those who excelled in high school sports. Athletes who excelled in a post-high school sport are also eligible, and have already been voted into the Hall of Fame.
“We always want to see nominations in the heritage and contributor categories,” Napier said. “We want to make sure those athletes whose careers date back over a half-century are recognized, along with those who contributed to our sports programs in some other capacity.”
The induction ceremony and banquet is scheduled for January 16, 2016.