Elgin Sports Hall of Fame set for its annual gala
Some things get better with age.
The Elgin Sports Hall of Fame Foundation is one of those things.
The ESHOF has been around since 1980 and on Sunday night, the organization that has done so much to promote the past and present of sports in Elgin will hold its annual banquet and induction ceremony in the Heritage Ballroom at The Centre of Elgin.
On the list of "feel good" nights, this one ranks right at the top over the years and Sunday's program promises to be another spectacular one.
Five people will be inducted into the Hall of Fame, a Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented and the annual Vic Masi Service Award will be bestowed upon a worthy individual.
But most importantly, the ESHOF foundation will award 27 individual scholarships of $1,300 each to student-athletes from Elgin, Larkin, St. Edward, Harvest Christian, Westminster Christian, Elgin Academy and Elgin Community College.
The ESHOF foundation began awarding scholarships in 1981 - or, we should say one scholarship because that's all it was in 1981, and that was for $500.
Over the years, the number of scholarships and the dollar amount have steadily increased. After Sunday's $35,100 is awarded, the foundation will have doled out over $368,000 in scholarships. Much of that money has come through the ESHOF's highly successful golf outing as well as an annual outpouring of private donations.
That's truly what the ESHOF foundation stands for. Inductees, lifetime achievement awards, service awards, outstanding achievement awards … those things all add to the mission of the ESHOF and are important in their own rite, but the 27 young men and women who receive a $1,300 check to help with their college expenses will be the true winners on Sunday.
Beyond the scholarships, though, there is the glitz and glitter of the aforementioned awards. So let's review those as we prepare for another night of nostalgia and memory making.
First, the inductees. They are Jennifer Kiefer-Gumm, Doug Sanders, Frank Jemsek, Sue Hannula and Pat Sheehy.
Kiefer-Gumm, an Elgin High graduate, is being inducted for basketball. As an all-conference guard on two conference championship teams, the 1993 Elgin alum set school records for assists (603) and steals (238). In her senior year she averaged 16.1 points per game and had 233 assists. She then played three years at the University of Michigan where she served as team captain her senior year.
Being inducted for baseball and football. Sanders graduated from St. Edward in 2004. An all-conference and team MVP selection twice, he was named Suburban Catholic Conference Player of the Year and an IHSA Baseball Coaches Class A All-State selection in 2004. As the second baseman at Elgin Community College (2005), the team had its best season in school history and finished third in the nation at the JUCO Division II World Series. The following year, he set ECC records for triples in a career, most runs scored and number of hits in a season. He was named first-team all-Skyway Conference, first-team NJCAA all-American, and Region IV Finals MVP. He played second base at Kent State for two years as a member of the two time Mid-America Conference regular-season champions. As a senior, he led the team in hits and batting average and made the All-Mac Tournament first team. In football, Sanders was a two time all-area player and was selected Suburban Catholic Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2003. In addition, he was named to the Class 3A All-State Team by Illinois High School Football Coaches Association.
Hannula is being inducted for tennis and coaching. She was an undefeated three-year No. tennis singles player at Elgin High (1971) before the IHSA recognized girls tennis. She then played on the Elgin Community College men's tennis team as the No. 3 singles player and No. 2 doubles player. At Northern Illinois University, she competed in singles and doubles for three years, winning the doubles championship in 1975. Hannula played for the U.S. team against Great Britain for the Jr. Wightman Cup in 1973 and 1974. She is a six-time singles, six-time doubles and two-time mixed doubles champion in the City of Elgin Tennis Tournament. She has also played on the USTA circuit. Hannula served as tennis coach at Streamwood and Bartlett high schools, during which time her teams won three sectional championships (Bartlett).
Being inducted as a friend of sports. Jemsek, taking over for his father Joe, now serves as the president of the family corporations that operate four golf courses: St. Andrews in West Chicago; Cog Hill, site of the Western Open; Pine Meadow in Mundelein and Summer Grove in Newton, GA. Jemsek, who graduated from St. Edward in 1959, gave Cog Hill to the Western Golf Association rent free in 1991 for the Western Open. It meant adding $150,000 per year to the Evans Scholars Foundation for caddies because that was the amount Butler National Golf Club was charging the WGA for rent for the tournament previously. Jemsek also donated land to the Chicago District Golf Association to build the Midwest Golf Complex and three-hole golf course for First Tee, a nationwide youth golf program. Twelve high schools use Jemsek courses as their home playing sites for matches and practices at no charge.
Sheehy, a 1985 St. Edward grad, is being inducted for wrestling. He was a four-time conference champion. He won his regional three times and sectional championship twice. He took second place in the state tournament at the 126-pound level in 1984, then won the state championship at 132 pounds in 1985. That same year Sheehy was a Wrestling USA All-America honorable mention, posting a 36-0 record with 30 pins. His career record was 126-11, including 100 pins. He won a gold medal in the 1984 Illinois Prairie State Games in Greco-Roman wrestling. He attended Lehigh University on an athletic scholarship.
In addition to the five inductees, the ESHOF will present a lifetime achievement award to former Elgin High principal Larry Nemmers, who was an NFL official for over 20 years.
The Vic Masi Service Award will be presented to John O'Haire or his 40-plus years of service to Little League Baseball. Beginning as a volunteer umpire in the Elgin Continental T-ball program in 1973, O'Haire has served as a coach, vice president of the minor leagues, manager and coach of the senior girls softball team, vice president, secretary, executive vice president, and acting president in the league through 1994. He then joined the board of District 13, the administrative agency for Little League programs in North Central Illinois, in 1994 and has been the safety officer of the district since 1996, overseeing the Safety Awareness Program.
Finally, the ESHOF will recognize nearly 50 individuals and teams for outstanding achievements. Many of those plan to attend Sunday's banquet, including former Elgin High girls basketball greats Leslie Schock and Melissa Parker.
This will also be the final banquet presided over by ESHOF President Ron Lange, whose term comes to an end on Sunday night. Lange will turn the gavel over to Mike Wahl, but before he takes a seat as a board member and not at the front of the room, it's worthy noting the great strides the ESHOF has made under Lange's leadership. He has been innovative and he's been at the forefront of several new initiatives the organization has put into place to heighten awareness of the foundation's missions.
Yes, it will be a "feel good" night at The Centre Sunday.
And everyone associated with the Elgin Sports Hall of Fame Foundation has every right to feel good.
St. Edward HOF ceremony: The Elgin Sports Hall of Fame gala Sunday night will come on the heels of a smaller but equally "feel good" ceremony that St. Edward's Athletic Hall of Fame will hold Friday at noon at Jimmy's Charhouse in Elgin. There, Katie Yohn and Jim Olinger will be inducted into the St. Edward HOF.
Yohn, of course, was one of the best girls basketball players to every come through St. Edward, and Elgin in general. A 2009 Green Wave alum, she became the basketball program's all-time leading scorer before going on to a stellar career at Bradley University.
Olinger, a 1977 St. Edward grad, was one of the better pitchers of his time around the Elgin area. He was drafted by the New York Mets and played one year in the Mets' organization.
Follow John on Twitter @RadtkeJohn