Many Cazenovia community members, including Cazenovia High School student-athletes and alumni, may not know that just inside the main high school entrance from the west parking lot there is a display case dedicated to honoring Cazenovia’s greatest athletes.
But there have been no additions to the case since 2010.
But now, after a four-and-a-half-year hiatus, the Cazenovia Athletic Association is working to revive the program — and the hall of fame committee is actively seeking nominations for this year’s induction ceremony.
“The Cazenovia Lakers Sports Hall of Fame has been a great concept since its start back in 2003, and the induction ceremonies have been fantastic events for community members, faculty and staff, and for our many alumni,” said Mike Byrnes, coordinator of athletics and communications for the Cazenovia Central School District and a member of the CAA Hall of Fame committee. “We have had many top-tier student-athletes and teacher-coaches come out of the Cazenovia School District over the past 85 years, and the Hall of Fame is an excellent way to honor many of the Caz greats.”
The Lakers Hall of Fame, established 12 years ago, honors athletes and coaches who have exhibited total dedication, consistent commitment to excellence and had many accomplishments in athletics during their years at Cazenovia Central School and beyond.
The hall of fame was created by the CAA, in conjunction with the school district, as a way to not only honor district athletes and coaches but also to help generate enthusiasm in the town, Byrnes said.
Nine people were inducted into the hall that first year — Tom Blackford, L. Stanley Damon, Andy Howard, Elliot Ivey, Paul Johnson, Jana Polzin, Robert Ryan, Marian Teitsch Sears and Paul Stoecker — and the induction ceremony, held in Hubbard Hall at Cazenovia College, was “a great turnout with a lot of community spirit,” Byrnes said.
There were 17 more inductions to the hall through 2006, but then the CAA found itself with a dearth of volunteers to organize the annual event. Five more inductees were included in 2010, but then a second lack of volunteer organizers hit the association and the hall of fame event has not occurred since.
“We’re really trying to get this going again,” said Katie Cannizzaro, a 2003 and 2010 hall of fame committee member, and one of the organizers of this year’s induction ceremony. “For us on the committee … it’s just a way of giving back to the community, of paying respects to successful athletes. The individuals in the Lakers Hall of Fame have done tremendous things in athletics while they were at Cazenovia.”
The CAA Lakers Hall of Fame Committee met on Dec. 30 to begin organizing and planning the 2015 induction ceremony. The committee hopes to continue the previous tradition of past ceremonies and hold the event in Hubbard Hall at Cazenovia College in September or October. The goal also is to monetarily break even with the event — it is not a fundraiser — with the CAA fronting the money for pre-event costs such as creating the invitations and plaques to be hung in the hall of fame, according to the committee minutes. The ticket cost to attend the event is hoped to recoup the up-front expenses by CAA.
In addition to holding the new induction ceremony, the Hall of Fame Committee plans to also update as necessary any current plaques in the hall of fame, and also to create plaques for the five 2010 inductees, who still do not have a presence in the trophy case. The committee also has discussed allowing entire teams to be nominated for the hall of fame in addition to individual players and coaches.
For now, the committee is most interested in bringing the 2015 induction ceremony to fruition, and to do that, they need nominations.
“Whether a ‘Cornhusker’ or a ‘Laker,’ not only is this recognition truly meaningful to each inductee, but it is also a special feeling for the inductees’ family members, former teammates and former coaches, many of whom contributed to the athletes’ successes in the athletic arena and, more importantly, in life,” Byrnes said.
Cannizzaro said the committee is looking for “an array of individuals” to be nominated this year, but the committee will also include in their considerations nominees from previous years who were not voted in at the time of their nominations.
For 2015, the hall of fame voting committee will be comprised of current hall of fame members; there are already nine individuals who have expressed an interest in participating, Cannizzaro said.
Nominations for Hall of Fame Candidates are accepted throughout the year. Candidates can be men or women from nearly any high school class year — a nominee must be out of high school for at least five years before becoming eligible for consideration. All candidates for induction must be formally nominated.
Nomination forms for the Laker Hall of Fame can be found on the district’s website (cazenoviacsd.com) on the athletics page, under CAA and Hall of Fame.
(Followed by year person was inducted)
Tom Blackford (2003)
L. Stanley Damon (2003)
Andy Howard (2003)
Elliot Ivey (2003)
Paul Johnson (2003)
Jana Polzin (2003)
Robert Ryan (2003)
Marian Teitsch Sears (2003)
Paul Stoecker (2003)
Cliff Haaf (2004)
Darlene Farwell McEntee (2004)
Walter S. Moore (2004)
David Riedl (2004)
Steve Suhey (2004)
Sam Volo, Sr. (2004)
Edward J. “Ted” Clarke (2005)
Sue A. Daggett (2005)
Kadie Falso Leonard (2005)
Fred Vero (2005)
Bill Zupan (2005)
Earl F. “Sparky” Brown (2006)
Nick Christakos (2006)
Neal Greenfield (2006)
Amos Hall (2006)
Kelly Morse Leonard (2006)
Harry Stevens (2006)
Don Cliffe (2010)
Johnny Dougherty (2010)
Ron Fuller (2010)
Michael Johnson (2010)
Jim Whidden (2010)
Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].
