Mahomet-Seymour Hall of Fame Induction at Homecoming Game

Mahomet-Seymour is known for more than the athletes it produces.

Former Mahomet-Seymour Education Foundation board member Tom Porter thought that the community needs to see that. So, in 2015 he proposed a Mahomet-Seymour Schools Hall of Fame.

Now, more than two years in the making, the Foundation will host its first annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony during the September 22 Homecoming game. Inductees will participate in the Homecoming Parade, then be introduced to the Mahomet-Seymour crowd before the game at 6:30.

With 18 nominees, a voting committee selected the top eight candidates in the areas of Distinguished Lifetime Achievements, Athletics,  Fine Arts/Performing Arts and Service.

“This makes our Hall of Fame slightly unique,” Mahomet-Seymour School Hall of Fame Chair Jim Risley said. “It opens itself up to a huge influx of potential inductees.”

With a wide-variety of candidates, the voting committee chose eight first-time inductees: Brett Camden, Edward (Doc) Grogg, Brian Herriott, Eric (Mark) Johnson, Phil Knell, Melanie (Moore) Paxson, Maureen (Scott) Renaud and Marty Williams.

Risley said this group, and potentially the groups to come will give Mahomet-Seymour students something to look up to.

“When I was a teacher and I’d tell a kid he did a good job, he’d say, ‘What did I do?’ or ‘Why do you like me?’”

“This spells it out for the kids. Here are the kind of things that you do so that you can go through life doing it the ‘right way.’ This is the best of the best. If you want to be there best you can be, here is an example.”

After students have a chance to see the inductees before the football game, their information will also be located on a tab on the TouchPro that is located at the entrance of the commons/media area of Mahomet-Seymour High School.

Additionally, the information will be available to the public on the Mahomet-Seymour Education Foundation website where the group will have access to update inductee information as their careers progress.

Risley said this year’s inductees deserve the recognition. Seven of the eight inductees will be at the homecoming festivities, and Brett Camden, who cannot attend will be represented by his niece.

“Learning about these people and their stories has been kind of exciting,” Risley said. The more I look into it, I see the quality of character, the strength of character and really, people that have served the community or world around them and have made it a better place.”

“That’s simple, but in my mind, profound. That means you’ve lived a good life. That’s what we are trying to capture.”

The Foundation is accepting nominees for the 2018 Hall of Fame class. To nominate someone who has been a part of the Mahomet-Seymour schools, visit the Mahomet-Seymour Alumni Association site where you will find nominee guidelines and forms.

The Hall of Fame voting committee will select the 2018 class in October.