HISTORY Of The NEBRASKA HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS HALL OF FAME FOUNDATION
This brief history was written by Randy Cordes in January of 2008 (with updates added as recently as May of 2024); major contributions to this history were provided by Dennis Smith, Roger Neujahr, and Buck Mahoney.
Where should a history of a new organization begin? The answer is with the idea. Where did the idea for a Hall of Fame come from? Who were the contributors to this dream? To answer these questions we first look at two groups of people.
One of the groups contributing to the idea of having a Sports Hall of Fame in Nebraska was a group of interested persons from Gothenburg. One day (in July of 1990) several members of the Gothenburg Rotary Club (following their weekly meeting) had a discussion outside the Swede Café …. “Wouldn’t it be great to have a high school sports hall of fame?” That conversation included several individuals, including three future members (Steve Windrum, Ted Rowan, and Roger Neujahr) of the Board of Directors of the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame.
At about the same time, the Nebraska School Activities Association (N.S.A.A.) Board of Control had been discussing the potential of creating a Hall of Fame. Dennis Smith, Board of Control Member from District II, initiated discussion on preserving the history of athletics in Nebraska. In the late 1980’s, he attended a number of meetings and workshops dealing with the creation of Halls of Fame. At the N.S.A.A. Board of Control Meeting on February 8, 1991, a vote (6-0) was taken to create a committee to pursue the feasibility of establishing a Hall of Fame.
After reading the N.S.A.A. Board Minutes reporting the establishment of this Hall of Fame Committee, Roger Neujahr, Gothenburg Activities Director, called Dennis Smith; Roger indicated to Dennis that a group of people in Gothenburg had been working for about a year to bring an Athletic Hall of Fame there. That conversation led to the first of several meetings between the N.S.A.A. Committee (Dennis Smith, Conde Sargent, Jim Riley, and others) and those Hall of Fame organizers from Gothenburg.
The first official meeting (when Minutes were kept) of the two groups was held on September 12, 1991, at the N.S.A.A. Office in Lincoln. This meeting was for discussion purposes only; no decisions or votes were taken. The committee then met in Gothenburg on October 10, 1991. The Gothenburg Committee presented to the Hall of Fame Committee a comprehensive look at the planning that had been taking place there over the past year. The Hall of Fame Committee was so favorably impressed with the commitment of the Gothenburg Committee, that at the subsequent November 25, 1991, meeting, the eight Hall of Fame Committee Members unanimously approved a motion to place the Nebraska High School Hall of Fame in Gothenburg. The N.S.A.A. Board of Control on December 13, 1991, (by a 6-0 vote) also endorsed Gothenburg as the future site of the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame.
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The initial idea (the Gothenburg promoters had) was to link the Pony Express in Gothenburg and the Hall Of Fame together at the same site. Over the course of the next several years, however, it became apparent that sufficient support could not be generated in the community of Gothenburg to have the Hall of Fame and the Pony Express located at the same site. Therefore, the Hall of Fame Board of Directors later (in 1997) decided that Lincoln would replace Gothenburg as the site of a future Hall of Fame Facility.
Organization of a decision making body for the Hall of Fame began in June of 1992, when letters were mailed to a number of Nebraskans asking them to serve on the Hall of Fame Board. The original Board would eventually have eighteen Directors (see next paragraph). On July 30, 1993, Articles of Incorporation for the Hall of Fame were prepared by Steve Windrum, a Gothenburg attorney and the first Hall of Fame President. Following the filing of the Articles of Incorporation with the Secretary of State, this new organization would officially be known as the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame Foundation. The first meeting following the creation of this Non-Profit Corporation took place on August 27, 1993, in Lincoln.
The original Directors were: Conde Sargent (Lincoln), Steve Johnsen (Lincoln), Chuck Jura (Columbus), Dennis Smith (Papillion), Jerry Neely (Norfolk), Bill Shoemaker (Cambridge), Hoppy McCue (Alma), Bill Madden (Scottsbluff), Ken Fischer (Lincoln), Tom Mihane (Scottsbluff), Jerry Mathers (McCool Junction), Buck Mahoney (Kearney), Dick Thompson (North Platte), Roger Neujahr (Gothenburg), Ted Rowan (Gothenburg), Jack Hallstrom (Omaha), Steve Windrum (Gothenburg), and Carol Frost (Wood River).
The Hall of Fame is very fortunate to have had several outstanding leaders; the following have served as President of the Board of Directors. The first President, selected in 1993, was Steve Windrum (Gothenburg); Duane Haith (Omaha), took over the helm in 1996. Bob Whitehouse (Omaha), became President in 2000; Wally McNaught (Lincoln), presided over the Board beginning in 2005. Bob Whitehouse resumed as President in 2007, followed in 2009 by Jack Guggenmos (Lincoln), Dick Beechner (Kearney) was President in 2011 and was followed by current President Pat Salerno (Omaha), who took office in 2015.
See the List of Officers & Board of Directors Document, which includes Current and Former Officers as well as Current and Former Board Members.
In those early years, as the Hall of Fame became organized, many decisions had to be made. One was to establish the criteria for individuals to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. See the brochure of the Hall of Fame, which includes that criteria. Another decision to be made was the adoption of a Hall of Fame Slogan; “Honoring Our Past to Inspire the Future” was ultimately selected. Over time, legal issues had to be dealt with. The Foundation was fortunate to have Britt Ehlers, from Lincoln, be the first to provide legal counsel for the Hall of Fame; today, legal advice comes from Tara Tesmer. That counsel has included advice on non-profit status, liability protection, contract wording with the N.S.A.A. concerning the new facility, and many other items.
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The first class of Hall of Fame Inductees was picked by the Selection Committee and approved at the February 7, 1994, Board Meeting in Gothenburg. The Class of 1994 included Contributor Gregg McBride, Coaches Skip Palrang, Ed Johnson, and Dutch Zorn, Pioneers Grover Cleveland Alexander, Nile Kinnick, and Ed Weir, and Athletes Bob Gibson, Nancy Kindig, Tom Osborne, Johnny Rodgers, and Julie Vollertsen. These individuals and others were honored at the Great Hall of the Lincoln Train Station on Friday, September 23, 1994.
The first six Classes (1994 through 1999) had ceremonies at the Great Hall of the Lincoln Train Station; those events included a full banquet dinner prior to the Induction Ceremony. From 2000 to the 2014, the site in Lincoln changed to the Lied Center for the Performing Arts with a “Dessert Buffet Social Hour” preceding the Induction. Beginning in 2015, the Lincoln East High School Theater became the site for the Induction Ceremony.
See the list of all Banquets / Induction Ceremonies and the lists of all Hall of Fame Inductees and all other Hall of Fame Award Recipients.
In 2001, the Board of Directors created the officer post of Executive Director. This part-time position (which is more full time than part time) was first filled by Dick Beechner. Beechner, who had been a Board Member beginning in 2000, was unanimously approved as the first Executive Director of the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame Foundation at the February 21, 2002, Board Meeting. Randy Bates, served from 2010 thru 2011; Larry Munksgaard, served from 2011 thru 2014; and, Chuck Johnston, was selected on October 5, 2014, to be our new Executive Director. Our Assistant Executive Director, Mike Rasmussen, was hired in 2014: his primary duties center on development of the Exhibit hall, located in the NSAA building.
The Hall of Fame has several Standing Committees which do much of the work of the organization. Those Committees include: The Executive Committee (composed primarily of the Hall Of Fame Officers), the Induction Ceremony Committee, the Selection Committee, the Fund Raising & Finance Committee, the Public Relations Committee, the Nominations Committee, the Memorabilia Committee, the Newsletter Committee, and the position of Historian. See List of Current Members on each of these Committees.
The Hall of Fame has four regular Board Meetings each year. Since Board and Officer Terms of Office begin and end with the meeting in September or October, we will refer to it as the first meeting of the year. That meeting is held in Lincoln in the morning prior to the Induction Ceremony on or about October 1st each year. The second meeting of the year, which is held in York (either at the Cornerstone Ban or at the First United Methodist Church) now meet in early December (the day of the week varies). The third meeting held in early March will take place before either the Girls or Boys State Basketball Tournament; the meeting site is the N.S.A.A. Building (across the hall from the Hall of Fame Exhibit Hall). The fourth Board Meeting is held in May in Omaha on the Tuesday before the State Track Meet; the site used for the May meeting has varied over the last few years.
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The Hall of Fame has a Newsletter, which provides updates to supporters on its activities; Chuck Johnton is in charge of this twice a year publication.
The Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame Foundation also has a web site. It lists the Current Officers, the Current Board of Directors, the most recent Class of Inductees and Honorees, how to nominate an individual, a video of scenes from the Exhibit hall, and much more. The web site can be found at nebhalloffame.org
One unique Member of the initial Board of Directors was Jerry Mathers. Being the author of a book entitled, “Nebraska High School Sports” (2nd edition), made him a natural; his book dealt with the history of athletics in Nebraska from the 1890’s through the 1979-1980 school year. Mathers had also prepared documents to be included in a subsequent book that would take the History of Nebraska Sports through the 1999-2000 school year. That 3rd edition was never published (for a variety of reasons). Jerry Mathers died in 2003. Following his death, the Hall of Fame acquired Mather’s manuscripts about Nebraska athletics for the last two decades of the twentieth century. Hopefully, this 3rd edition will some day be published in some form. Jerry Mathers’ knowledge (while he was living) and his printed research (following his death) have been tremendous aids in helping to select each group of Nebraska Hall of Famers.
Since the early 1990’s, the Board of Directors has had a dream that a Hall of Fame Exhibit Hall would some day be built. As a part of that dream, the Board was also hopeful that some day that the Hall of Fame, the Nebraska School Activities Association, and the Nebraska Coaches Association (N.C.A.) could all operate under one roof. Both of those dreams became a reality in the spring of 2006 when Hall of Fame Board of Directors accepted the N.S.A.A. invitation to join the N.S.A.A. (and the N.C.A.) in their new facility. The Hall of Fame Board of Directors extends a big “Thank You” to Dr. Jim Tenopir and the N.S.A.A. Board of Control (now Board of Directors) for their willingness to include the Hall of Fame in their new building. Construction on this new structure, which is located in the Haymarket Ballpark Area just north of the Baseball and Softball Complex, began in 2007. The N.S.A.A. Offices were completed in the spring of 2008. The exterior of the Exhibit Hall for the Hall Of Fame was completed at the same time, with interior furnishings to be added in the future.
A major fund raising project (which was officially launched on November 22, 2008) began the process of raising approximately $1.5 million. The Exhibit Hall (partially completed at the time) opened with a Press Conference & tour on December 9, 2013. Officially the Exhibit Hall opened on January 9, 2014. To date (2024) progress on the Exhibit Hall has been a continuing work in progress. Funding is still being sought to help with the on-going attractions and updates that are a constant to the facility. Today, the Exhibit Hall is open Wednesday,Thursday and Friday (1:00 PM to 4:00 PM) and on special days (i.e. State Basketball Tournament), and staff will be available to provide tours to groups (schools and others) making appointments. If you would like to donate funds to help with the development of the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame Foundation, please see the web site.
NEBRASKA HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS HALL OF FAME FOUNDATION
OFFICERS & BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MOST RECENT UPDATE – NOVEMBER, 2022
CURRENT OFFICERS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR – – – – CHUCK JOHNSTON
ASST. EXEC. DIRECTOR/FINANCES – – – MIKE RASMUSSEN
PRESIDENT – – – – – – – – SUE WILCOXSON
VICE PRESIDENT – – – – – – STEVE BORER
SECRETARY – – – – – – – – WENDY HENRICHS
TREASURER – – – – – – – – DAN NOVAK
OFFICERS TENURE – CURRENT & FORMER
+ EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR – – DICK BEECHNER – – – 2002 – 2010
RANDY BATES – – – – 2010 – 2011
LARRY MUNKSGAARD – 2011 – 2014
CHUCK JOHNSTON – – 2014 – PRESENT
& ASST. EXEC. DIRECTOR – MIKE RASMUSSEN – – 2014 – PRESENT
PRESIDENT – – – – – – STEVE WINDRUM – – – 1993 – 1996
DUANE HAITH – – – – 1996 – 2000
BOB WHITEHOUSE – – 2000 – 2005
WALLY MCNAUGHT – – 2005 – 2007
BOB WHITEHOUSE – – 2007 – 2009
JACK GUGGENMOS – – 2009 – 2011
DICK BEECHNER – – – 2011 – 2015
PAT SALERNO – – – – 2015 – 2021
SUE WILCOXSON—–2021-PRESENT
VICE PRESIDENT – – – – BILL SHOEMAKER – – 1993 – 1995
JACK HALLSTROM – – 1995 – 1999
BOB WHITEHOUSE – – 1999 – 2000
DUANE HAITH – – – – 2000 – 2003
WALLY MCNAUGHT – – 2003 – 2005
STEVE SHANAHAN – – 2005 – 2007
JACK GUGGENMOS – – 2007 – 2009
STEVE SHANAHAN – – 2009 – 2012
SHANAHAN / HAITH – 2012 – 2013
JERRY BARTEE – – – 2015 – PRESENT
STEVE BORER———-2021-PRESENT
SECRETARY – – – – – – ROGER NEUJAHR – – – 1993 – 1996
STEVE SHANAHAN – – 1996 – 2005
NANCY BECKER – – – 2005 – 2008
JERRY STINE – – – – 2008 – 2010
PAT SALERNO – – – – 2010 – 2015
SUE WILCOXSON – – – 2015 – PRESENT
WENDY HENRICHS——–2021-PRESENT
TREASURER – – – – – – ROGER NEUJAHR – – – 1993 – 1996
DENNIS SMITH – – – 1996 – 2016
JEFF RITZ – – – – – 2016 – 2018
DAN NOVAK———–2018-PRESENT
NOTE – FROM 1993 TO 1996, THE OFFICES OF SECRETARY & TREASURER WERE COMBINED
INTO ONE POSITION; IN 1996 THEY WERE SEPARATED, CREATING TWO OFFICERS.
TERM OF OFFICE – OFFICER TERMS & BOARD MEMBER TERMS (3 YEARS EACH) BEGIN AND
END WITH THE FALL (SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER) BOARD MEETING.
+ – THIS POSITION WAS CREATED IN 2001 & FIRST FILLED IN 2002.
& – THIS POSITION WAS CREATED IN 2013 & FIRST FILLED IN 2014.
NEBRASKA HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS HALL OF FAME BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS – MAXIMUM OF 33 ACTIVE DIRECTORS
NAME TERM EXPIRES YEARS SERVED
BUCK MAHONEY * 2018 1993 – PRESENT
DENNIS SMITH * 2018 1993 – PRESENT
RANDY CORDES 2019 1995 – PRESENT
BOB WHITEHOUSE 2018 1995 – PRESENT
JIM PAIGE 2018 1995 – PRESENT
DUANE HAITH 2018 1995 – PRESENT
GENE HAYNES 2017 1996 – PRESENT
JERRY STINE 2019 1996 – PRESENT
ALAN FRANK 2019-PRESENT
SUE (SOKOLL) WILCOXSON 2019 1999 – PRESENT
DEL SCHOENFISH 2018 1999 – PRESENT
JACK GUGGENMOS 2017 2000 – PRESENT
JO DUSATKO 2019 2002 – PRESENT
DAN MOORE 2018 2004 – PRESENT
PAT SALERNO 2018 2004 – PRESENT
CHARLES MEYER 2019 2006 – PRESENT
BOB MARTIN 2017 2008 – PRESENT
STEVE SHANAHAN 2017 1996 – 2007 / 2009 – PRESENT
DICK BEECHNER 2017 2000 – 2002 / 2011 – PRESENT
RANDY YORK 2017 2011 – PRESENT
DARIN BOYSEN 2019 2011 – PRESENT
JIM EBERLY 2018 2012 – PRESENT
MITCH STINE 2019 2014 – PRESENT
JERRY BARTEE 2017 2014 – PRESENT
JEFF RITZ 2017 2014 – PRESENT
DENNIS DOLLIVER 2023 2018–PRESENT
MARK BRAHMER 2023 2019-PRESENT
DAN NOVAK 2024 2017-PRESENT
LARRY KING 2022 2018-PRESENT
WENDY HENRICHS 2024 2020-PRESENT
* – MEMBER – ORIGINAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS…
CURRENT HALL OF FAME BOARD MEMBERS – (CONTINUED)
NAME TERM EXPIRES YEARS SERVED
DENNIS DOLLIVER 2018 2016 – PRESENT
LARRY KING 2017 2017 – PRESENT
MARK BRAHMER 2019 2017 – PRESENT
NUMBER OF BOARD MEMBERS TERMS ENDING BY YEAR & # OF VACANCIES – 3/1/2017
2017 – 11 – – – – – – 0 VACANCIES
2018 – 11 – – – – – – 0 VACANCIES
2019 – 11 – – – – – – 0 VACANCIES
HISTORY OF THE SIZE OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ORIGINAL BOARD IN 1993 – – – – – – 18 MEMBERS
BOARD EXPANDED IN 1995 – – – – – – 25 MEMBERS – #
BOARD EXPANDED IN 1998 – – – – – – 30 MEMBERS – #
BOARD EXPANDED IN 2007 – – – – – – 33 MEMBERS – #
# – MAXIMUM NUMBER OF BOARD MEMBERS ALLOWED BY THE CONSTITUTION…
NOTE: WHEN CHARLES MEYER WAS APPROVED AS A BOARD MEMBER AT THE
FEBRUARY 15, 2006, MEETING, THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME THE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS HAD ACTUALLY REACHED THIRTY (30) MEMBERS.
NOTE: WHEN BOB MARTIN, DAVE VAN METRE, AND BOB DANENHAUER WERE
APPROVED AS BOARD MEMBERS AT THE FEBRUARY 13, 2008, MEETING,
THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS HAD ACTUALLY
REACHED THIRTY THREE (33) MEMBERS.
CURRENT EMERITUS HALL OF FAME BOARD MEMBERS
NAME YEARS SERVED
HOPPY MCCUE * 2011 – PRESENT
KEN FISCHER * 2011 – PRESENT
AL PAPIK 2011 – PRESENT
DAVE VAN METRE 2011 – PRESENT
CONDE SARGENT * 2011 – PRESENT
STEVE WINDRUM * 2011 – PRESENT
SANDY PILFOLD 2015 – PRESENT
BUCK EDWARDS 2016 – PRESENT
RAY EHLERS 1996-PRESENT
ROGER BARRY 1998 – PRESENT
- – MEMBER – ORIGINAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS…
FORMER HALL OF FAME BOARD MEMBERS
NAME YEARS SERVED
JERRY NEELY * 1993 – 1994
STEVE JOHNSEN * 1993 – 1995
BILL SHOEMAKER * 1993 – 1995
BILL MADDEN * 1993 – 1996
TOM MIHANE * 1993 – 1996
DICK THOMPSON * 1993 – 1996
TED ROWAN * 1993 – 1998
STEVE WINDRUM * 1993 – 1998
CHUCK JURA * 1993 – 2000
CAROL FROST * 1993 – 2000
JERRY MATHERS * 1993 – 2003
JACK HALLSTROM * 1993 – 2004
ROGER NEUJAHR * 1993 – 2008
HOPPY MCCUE * 1993 – 2011
KEN FISCHER * 1993 – 2011
CONDE SARGENT * 1993 – 2011
TOM MILLSAP 1994 – 1996
GEORGE SHINKER 1994 – 2000
ROY POUNDS 1995 – 1995
CON MARSHALL 1995 – 1996
SANDY PILFOLD 1995 – 2015
BARB WAGNER 1996 – 199
LARRY MOLLRING 1996 – 2000
STEVE SHANAHAN @ 1996 – 2007
ROGER SAYERS 1996 – 2009
WALLY McNAUGHT 1997 – 2014
LINDA CARLSON 1999 – 2000
KAREN HAND 2015 – 2018
KENT HALLEY 2016 – 2018
RYAN HOGUE 2012 – PRESENT
BRUCE PARISH 2012 – 2019
* – MEMBER – ORIGINAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS…
@ – REJOINED BOARD OF DIRECTORS IN 2009
# – REJOINED BOARD OF DIRECTORS IN 2011
FORMER HALL OF FAME BOARD MEMBERS – (CONTINUED)
NAME YEARS SERVED
AL PAPIK 1999 – 2011
ALDIE JOHNSON 1999 – 2014
BUCK EDWARDS 1999 – 2016
DICK BEECHNER # 2000 – 2002
DICK DAVIS 2000 – 2003
NANCY BECKER 2001 – 2008
STEVE ERWIN 2002 – 2003
BOB JENSEN 2005 – 2012
STEVE JOEKEL 2007 – 2012
DAVE VAN METRE 2008 – 2011
STEVE BORER 2008 – 2011
KATHI WIESKAMP 2008 – 2012
BOB DANENHAUER 2008 – 2014
ADRIAN FIALA 2011 – 2013
RYAN RUHL 2012 – 2016
TOM ASH 2013 – 2014
CHUCK JOHNSTON 2013 – 2014
TOM ERNST 2014 – 2016
* – MEMBER – ORIGINAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS…
@ – REJOINED BOARD OF DIRECTORS IN 2009
# – REJOINED BOARD OF DIRECTORS IN 2011
FORMER EMERITUS HALL OF FAME BOARD MEMBERS
NAME YEARS SERVED
DICK BEECHNER 2010 – 2011
JACK HALLSTROM * 2012 – 2014
ALDIE JOHNSON 2014 – 2016
* – MEMBER – ORIGINAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS…
