By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
A new class of individuals and one legendary team have been officially inducted into the St. Joseph Area Sports Hall of Fame.
Two of those individuals are Charlie Shields and Dirck Clark, who had a large role in bringing Chiefs Training Camp to St. Joseph back in 2010.
Both Chiefs President Mark Donovan and CEO Clark Hunt have said if it wasn't for Shields and Clark, the Chiefs would not be in St. Joe. Shields says while that's nice to hear, it was a true team effort.
"Not just myself, but Dirck Clark who was President of the Board of Governors at Missouri Western, a bunch of people made this happen and the Chiefs realize that and it's great that they recognize the accomplishment for this community," Shields tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post following the enshrinement ceremony.
Shields says no one ever thought the Chiefs would be in St. Joseph for 14 years, but the way the community has embraced camp keeps them coming back.
One legendary St. Joseph basketball team has also found its way to its rightful place, among the greats in the St. Joseph Area Sports Hall of Fame.
The 2007 Benton Girls basketball team made history, going an unprecedented 30-0 and winning a state championship, the first ever in Benton history.
Current Benton Athletic Director and coach of that team Brett Goodwin says what made that group of girls so special was how determined they were on the court
"There was no telling them that they can't do this, or they can't do that, they truly felt like every single time that they walked on the floor that they were better than everybody that they were going to play," Goodwin explains. "And they did that by showing up every day, working hard, making no excuses, and just playing to the best of their abilities."
The '07 Cardinals team was also inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame last year, but Goodwin says this one feels a bit more special having everyone who supported them in attendance.
Along with a new group of area athletes and coaches being inducted into the St. Joseph Area Sports Hall of Fame, two individuals were also honored with awards.
One of those awards was the Bill Snyder Woman of Impact Award, presented to Bishop LeBlond Volleyball Coach and Principal Kimberly Huss.
Huss says she was honored to represent the community in being presented with the award.
"I think I go quietly about my day just doing things with kids every day and didn't expect anything big like this," Huss says.
Huss says she feels it's important to understand the impact that you have. . .
"It stands as a great reminder for me of the work that I do every day to know that that is such an important part of lots of lives," Huss says.
Also honored was Savannah's Charlie Phillips with the Special Olympics Area Athlete of the Year Phillips earned four medals during the Special Olympic World Games in Berlin.
10 individuals and one team were enshrined into the Hall of Fame during a ceremony at the Stoney Creek Hotel and Conference Center.
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.
