New Hall of Fame seeks nominations

A group of local citizens have recently come together to form the Grady County Sports Hall of Fame. The purpose of the group is to recognize outstanding local athletes, officials and citizens who have made a major contribution to the sports tradition of Cairo and Grady County.
”There are a number of athletes in our county who have excelled in many sports and taken their abilities as far as a worldwide stage. But not only that, we have many citizens and former citizens that helped on the local level to build, improve and support our local athletic teams and individual athletes,” said board Chairman Richard VanLandingham.
In forming the board, the chairman went on to say, “We wanted to put together a group of local citizens who have a special interest in Grady County and our athletic programs, who could properly honor these athletes and other citizens who have contributed so much to our community and represented our schools, athletic programs and our way of life not only here, but through the nation and even the world.”
Nominations for the Grady County Sports Hall of Fame will be accepted from Oct. 7, 2008, until Dec. 8, 2008. According to VanLandingham, it will be the primary responsibility of the citizens of Grady County to nominate possible inductees. To be eligible for recognition, inductees must be at least 40 years of age, a current or past participant in sports in Grady County, including athletes, coaches, referees, trainers, or citizens who have made exceptional contributions to sports in Grady County, and have been shown to be a positive role model for our community.
Also, a possible inductee should have met one or more of the following qualifications to considered; be a native of Grady County or attended and participated in athletics in high school in Grady County, or made their home in Grady County for a sufficient length of time to be considered a resident of Grady County.
The committee will induct a maximum of 10 inductees in 2009 and a maximum of 8 in 2010. One board member said,”These numbers were chosen based on meetings with other area hall of fame organizations and to be sure we were able to properly recognize each inductee.”
Nomination forms may be picked up at the front office at Cairo High School or at the Cairo-Grady County Chamber of Commerce, and should be returned to the Chamber of Commerce by Dec. 8. Preliminary plans are to hold the first hall of fame induction on Saturday Mar. 7, 2009.
<$>”It is the committee’s hope that our community will be willing to take the time to nominate those people that truly deserve to be recognized,” added VanLandingham.
<$>The current Hall of Fame board consists of Wayne Tootle, Jet Cox, Larry Rawlins, Ernest Cloud, Todd Jones, Dan Jones, Clifton Rich, R.B. Gainous, Karen Rowland, Oshie Williford, Carlton Gainous, Tom Fallaw, Harold Walker, Joe Ward, Lisa Oliver, Sidney Gainey, Richard VanLandingham, Arthur Anderson and Michael Best.