Central puts HOF back in motion

~ The school plans to induct its first class of new members since 2002

The Central hall of fame has stood at 39 members for eight years.

That's long enough for former Central athletic director Terry Kitchen, who's put his go-getter mindset to changing that number soon.

Kitchen, a HOF member himself who oversaw the school's hall of fame for 12 years during his tenure as AD, and current Central AD Lance Tollison are spearheading the movement to resurrect the dormant shrine to the school's past athletes and coaches. The pair will assemble with a 15-member hall of fame committee tonight in an organizational meeting as the movement takes its first step in eight years toward considering new members for enshrinement.

"I just think we've got several good athletes that have walked the halls of this school that need to be recognized," Kitchen said.

Kitchen currently is the AD at Central Junior High School, a position he's held since 2003, which coincides with the time Central's hall of fame activity ceased.

"All of a sudden the whole thing stopped," Kitchen said. "And in my opinion, I think it is a very important part of our total school program."

The 15-member committee will consist of Central alumni ranging from the 1950s to the 2000s. The committee will take nominations through March and April.

"Then I'm going to bring the committee back in May and then we're going to select some new Tiger hall of fame people," Kitchen said.

Kitchen said plaques for the new inductees will be purchased by the Central Booster Club during the summer. New members will be recognized at halftime of a football game in the fall, with a formal ceremony to be conducted the following night.

The committee will be accepting nominations from the public, and Kitchen stressed accompanying information needs to be thorough and correct.

"I've had people say, 'I would like to see Joe Smith put in the hall of fame,' and that's all I get," Kitchen said with a laugh. "And I'll be thinking, 'Wait a second, who's Joe Smith?' So I just want to be sure the information is complete."

Kitchen said he still has some background information on past nominees, which will be useful.

"I don't have a problem with somebody contacting me and saying, 'Hey coach, can you find this person, or can you find this person. Because I'm going to do my best to make sure I still have that information with me," Kitchen said.

Central's hall of fame was started by former Central AD Gary Lynch around 1990, and plaques are displayed in the high school's trophy case. Kitchen is hoping an individual or individuals will step forward to provide the HOF members with their own display case.

Individuals can submit nominations to kitchent@cape.k12.mo.us or tollison@capetigers.com. Kitchen also can be reached during school hours at 651-6246.

Kitchen is hopeful the revitalization effort will result in a robust induction class.

"They're going to have to get a certain number of votes from us on this committee, we're just not going to take them, but I'm also looking at probably this first year of trying to induct quite a few to try to make up for all the years we've missed," Kitchen said.