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Saxony Lutheran seeks nominations for inaugural hall of fame class
Saxony Lutheran High School is seeking nominations for its inaugural hall of fame class.
Unlike most schools which only have an athletic hall of fame, any former student, staff member or team who “distinguished themselves in an extraordinary manner” may be inducted into Saxony’s hall of fame.
“We wanted to make sure that we set standards and we looked at how other schools started their hall of fames, but we wanted to do something a little bit different,” Saxony principal Mark Ruark said. “Most high school hall of fames recognize athletic achievement, and that’s a great thing, but we wanted to recognize beyond that. Our hall of fame is going to recognize people who stood out in athletics but also people who stood out in other extracurricular areas such as band, drama, music and even academically.
“It’ll be the same high standards. It has to be something extraordinary that you did to be nominated and accepted into the hall of fame and we have a committee that will look at the nominations, and then select people across the board. We’re really excited about the opportunity to be able to recognize our former students who did special things in their lives while they were here.”
According to Ruark, Saxony’s administration has been working on creating a hall of fame for two to three years.
“The importance of a hall of fame is it reflects the tradition and history of a school,” Ruark said. “I think that’s first and foremost. Secondly, it’s a way to re-engage people and let them continue to feel like they’re a part of the family of the high school that they attended. Even family members who don’t get directly inducted in the hall of fame, there’s some pride for that family and they will always have a tie to Saxony when they can say, ‘My brother, my uncle, my dad, whoever was inducted into the Saxony Lutheran Hall of Fame.’ It really creates a bond with those families and that’s what we’re hoping to accomplish.”
To qualify, a former student must be out of school for eight years and have “distinguished themselves in an extraordinary manner through
their involvement in co-curricular activities may be nominated.” Former staff members who have made an “extraordinary contribution to the students” are eligible to be nominated following their retirement, although can be nominated while still employed at the school under special circumstances. Teams are eligible for nomination eight years after the accomplishment they’re being nominated for, but only one team can be inducted every three years.
As of now, Ruark said the committee hasn’t received many nominations, but there are a handful of teams and individuals worthy of induction.
“We’ve had a couple of scholar bowl teams that were state champions, we’ve had a couple of girls soccer teams that were state champions and we’ve had some girls basketball teams that made it to the final four,” Ruark said. “I would suspect that those teams would be nominated when they become eligible, and then it will be up to the committee. ... I would strongly suspect that our state championship teams would all be nominated at some point and inducted.”
Perhaps most worthy of induction is legendary coach Larry Cleair who was inducted into the Missouri Track & Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2020.
“There’s no question that he’s a hall of fame caliber person,” Ruark said. “He’s in the Missouri track hall of fame, and I think he’s even in the Illinois track hall of fame. I would say he certainly would be a staff member that I’m quite certain his name will be nominated as well. I certainly think he’s one who would be very deserving to be nominated without question.”
Anyone interested may submit their nomination — complete with statistics and accolades that qualify them for the hall of fame — by mail to Saxony Lutheran High School, addressed to the Hall of Fame Committee. Additionally, nominations will be accepted via email and should be sent to athletic director Sam Sides at ssides@saxonylutheranhigh.org or Ruark at mruark@saxonylutheranhigh.org.