Nominations are now open for induction into the 2024 class of the Warren County Sports Hall of Fame, according to WCSHOF Director Nate Sandberg.

“We are anticipating a late-summer 2024 ceremony,” he said. “We have a very solid precedent to work off of from the previous ceremony in 2022. Anyone may nominate a worthy athlete, coach, official, or anyone who has made contributions to the betterment of Warren County sports.”

In 2021, the organization received 65 nominees from all five high schools — Warren, Tidioute, Eisenhower, Sheffield, and Youngsville — as well as receiving votes from 450 members from 20 states.

“We, the board, are greatly humbled to recognize these Warren County athletes and athletic contributors and are excited for the next induction class” said Sandberg.

The nominators do not have to be from the board or past inductees of the Hall of Fame. Nominations are welcome from anyone and will be accepted immediately, he said.

The closing date for nominations is Friday, March 8.

How does one become eligible for the Hall of Fame?

“The nominee must be at least 30 years old and have been an outstanding athlete in either high school, college, amateur or professional sports,” according to Sandberg. “Coaches, managers, officials and administrators who have made a significant contribution to sports are also encouraged to be nominated. No age requirement is needed for deceased nominees. The nominees need not live in Warren County, but their roots should be here. This means that the individual either lived in Warren County or participated in sports in Warren County. Their contributions to sports may be outside of Warren, but the individual should have a connection to Warren County.

“We are unsure of the actual number of nominees we will be inducting,” added Sandberg. “We will analyze the quality of the nominees and work from there.”

Not every nomination will make the ballot or be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The board of directors will gather the nominations and take roughly 20 to 25 for the main ballot.

“We do not induct teams into the Hall of Fame, however, teams, or outstanding programs which contributed to the betterment of sports, may be honored at the induction ceremony and banquet,” said Sandberg. “Past contributors included organizers of athletic events, businesses who supported athletic programs, and special goal-oriented sports programs.”

Previous Warren County Sports Hall of Fame inductees include:

¯ Class of 1993: Nick Creola Sr., Steve Eisenhauer, Joe Kulbacki, J.B. Leidig, Pat Madden, Joe Massa Sr., Ed O’Neil, Toby Shea and Tom Tellmann

Organization: Betts Foundation

¯ Class of 1994: Greg Beardsley, Nick Creola Jr., George “Ace” Hesch, Peter J. Juliano, Carl “Perry” Linborg, Bill Meade, Bill Moniak, Gail Nelson, G. Reid Pierce and Reuben “Rabbit” Swanson

Organization: Blair Corporation

¯ Class of 1995: John Bowen, Chuck Daly, Joe Frisina, Jim Gibson, Kim Mong Main, Sally O’Leary, Dan O’Neil, Marry “Rosey” Rosequist, Tony Ross and Dick Thompson.

Organization: National Forge Company

¯ Class of 1996: Pam Bonadio Dore, R. Mark Evans, Myron Jewell, Arthur Johnson, Rick Johnson, Robert H. Lind, Norge Luvison, Ralph Santo and Dave Walters.

Organization: Sheffield Sports Boosters

¯ Class of 1997: Robert Benson, Tom Creola, Anne Fitzgerald, Dan Petchel, Ted Shattuck, Dave Steffan, Paul Steinkamp and Tony Tomassoni.

Organization: The Jones Chevrolet Family

¯ Class of 1998: Michael Cashmere, Jeff Erickson, Homer Fleming, Bob Hammerbeck, Harold Kiser Jr., Kurt von Kleist Jr., John W. (Jack) Swanson Charity Weissinger and Willard Zerbe.

Organization: Blueberry Hill Golf Club

¯ Class of 2000: Ronnie Blackmer, Carl Falvo, Tommy Gerarde, Lee Goldwaite, Gerg Latimer, Robert “Red” Lytle, Bud Matthews, Richard Pascuzzi, Carl Seeker, Raymond Sorenson and Joe Wozneak.

Organization: Warren Sports Boosters

¯ Class of 2001: Jeff Bartsch, Wayne “Lefty” Check. Joe Fazio, Randy Graves, Joe Kelly, Mike Phillips and Keith Vesling.

Organization: PA State Fishing Tournament

¯ Class of 2003: Ed Benedict, J. Dennis Engstrom, David Fehlman, Tim Latimer, Lucille Leathers, Emory Mahan, Steve Massa Sr., Monte Scott and Julie (Firth) Torbett

¯ Class of 2006: John “Nonny” Castagnino, Tony Ferra, Buster Godden, Travis Godden, Jim Hoffner, Seth Meyers, Don Mohney, Larry Persing, Paul Pollack, Roy Swanson and Father Rick Tomasone

Organization: 1964 Athletic Field Lighting Group

¯ Class of 2008: George Becker, Dr. Ross Bryan, Mary Conarro, Conrad Danielson, Pete Fanaritis, Joe Farr, Walt Fredericks, John Imperial, Matt Kiser, Jennifer Lopus Madril, Jim Miller, Steve Norris, Tim & Todd Nyquist and Jim Scott.

Organization: Allegheny Outdoor Club

¯ Class of 2010: Adam Bartsch, Nikki Bailas Harrison, Cliff Betts, Thomas (Tim) Creal II, Tom Firth, Nancy Hillard, Dean Johnson, Jake Kingston, Sue Martin, Wayne Schmader, Tony Scordo, Julie McChesney Stiles, Jonathan Myler, Tim Sabella and Steve Witte.

Organization: Warren/ Forest County Chapter of PASR

¯ Class of 2021: James Curren, Hallie (Bunk) Dubia, Andy Randas, Fran Troyan, Kelly Allen, Kelly Fredericks, Aaron Lanzel, Ed “Wink” Rickerson, Jeff Zaffino and Ben Maljovec.

Organization: Cornerstone Lounge and Family Restaurant

“Any suggestions on worthy teams or programs may be sent to the committee as well,” said Sandberg. “Any questions may be directed to anyone on the WCSHOF board of directors to include Director Nate Sandberg, Jeff Bartsch, Amy Sandberg, Andy Close, Amy Willsie, Rick Johnson, Jon Sitler, Dave Sherman and Bruce Williams.”

Nominations may be submitted by either filling out the provided nomination form or printing out the form on the Facebook page: Warren County Sports Hall of Fame.

Mail to: Warren County Sports Hall of Fame, P.O. Box 61, Warren, Pennsylvania, 16365. For other questions regarding nominations, email natesandy31@gmail.com, contact any board member, or message the aforementioned Facebook page.