Group starts planning for high school athletic hall of fame

Date: 2/3/2009

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor



CHICOPEE In the fall, a select group of Chicopee athletes will be the first class in a local high school hall of fame.

Chicopee Schools Athletic Director James Blain explained to Reminder Publications the idea behind starting a hall of fame is to link today's athletes with those who preceded them.

He also said that a number of local school districts, including Ludlow and Springfield, have halls of game.

The first meeting of about 20 people who have volunteered to organize the effort took place on Jan. 26.

Blaine said that although many details need to be set, the group did make a number of decisions about the Chicopee hall. Students from both high schools will be honored together and the inductees will be categorized by the decade in which they gradated.

Blaine explained that prior to 1962, when Chicopee Comprehensive High School opened, the city had only one high school, therefore, the number of inductees from Chicopee High School will be larger overall. The number of inductees from the decades from the 1960s and on will be equal between the two schools.

Coaches and contributors will be honored, yet the exact number each year has yet to be determined.

Blaine hopes to have the plaques honoring the athletes installed in the corridors of each high school outside of the respective gyms. He will have to seek permission from the School Committee to do so, he added.

The volunteers will next meet on Feb 9 at 3 p.m. in the teacher's cafeteria in Chicopee High and will meet monthly on the second Monday. At the next meeting, the volunteers will divide themselves into groups to address issues such as fundraising, the organization of the induction banquet and awards.

Blain said the group has booked Chicopee Country Club on June 20 for a golf tournament to benefit the hall of fame.

Nominations will not be made by the committee, but by the public. Nomination papers will be available at location around the city as well as on the Chicopee school's Web site.