By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
The portal to nominate people for the 2025 St. Joseph Area Sports Hall of Fame class is now open.
St. Joseph Sports Commission Director Brett Esely says while the portal is actually always open, now is the critical time to get those names in for consideration.
Esely says it's pretty simple to nominate someone for the hall of fame
"Obviously we want to know who the nominee is, we want to know if they're living or deceased, we need contact information to get ahold of them because if they are selected, we obviously want to contact them before they hear it in a news release," Esely tells KFEQ Hotline host Barry Birr. "But then the most important thing is people ask, what all supporting information do you need? Well, I would answer that question very simply, give us more than you think we need."
To be eligible the nominee must meet at least one of the criteria: Be born in Buchanan County, made their sports career or accomplished their feat in Buchanan County, or be currently making their career in Buchanan County.
Esely says if you've previously nominated someone who has not been chosen, information on the nominee can also be updated
"All information submitted is relevant, there's no doubt about it," Esely explains. "And I think it's important to note, sometimes people submit a nomination, they aren't selected right away, and people just assume well that person is never getting in or why doesn't this person again, well it's an active nomination for five years."
Esely says it's important to nominate worthy people and build the nomination database, because that's how the hall of fame continues to grow
"We have a lot of people who sit around our steering committee table that are very knowledgeable about sports from all areas of St. Joseph, but realistically there are a number of student athletes, coaches, contributors, or high-level feats that we know nothing about," Esely says. "And that's the beautiful thing about this process is it gives others the opportunity to submit and say this person's worthy."
Nominations must be received by April 4th. The class will be announced in late May, a ceremony will be held on August 24th at the Stoney Creek Hotel and Conference Center.
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