The Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame’s 30th anniversary celebration will be delayed by a year.
President Dave Cassard has announced the Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame induction banquet will not be held in 2020 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. This marks the first time since the organization was founded in 1991 the annual banquet has been canceled.
Cassard said the decision to postpone the 30th anniversary banquet for a year was made during the June monthly meeting that was held virtually. It was determined by unanimous vote of those members of the Board of Directors that participated in the meeting.
By far the biggest issue involves Maryland’s guidelines for large gatherings. Under the current mandate issued by Governor Larry Hogan, no more than 50 people can congregate inside a building.
Since its inception, the Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame induction banquet has been held in October at the Michael’s Eighth Avenue banquet facility in Glen Burnie. For the past 29 years, the event has drawn a crowd ranging between 300 and 500.
This year’s banquet had been scheduled for October 21 at Michael’s.
“At present, we have no idea how many people would be allowed to attend our banquet,” said Cassard, in his second year as president. “It would not be fair to our inductees to limit the number of their supporters that could purchase tickets.”
Cassard said the Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame had to cancel its April board meeting due to the coronavirus. He conducted the May meeting online and that is when questions surrounding this year’s induction banquet were initially raised.
“We decided to table the issue for a month and take a wait-and-see approach. We wanted to give ourselves time to gauge the overall climate as it relates to the pandemic,” Cassard said.
Cassard noted the Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame nomination committee normally meets in early June to begin the process of selecting each year’s inductees. That committee reviews all the nominations and formulates a short list that is brought forward to the entire Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame board.
Typically, the Board of Directors meets in late June to vote on the inductees for that year’s banquet.
“We had come to a point, midway through June, that we had to make a decision,” Cassard said. “None of the board members that took part in Monday’s meeting felt confident we could conduct a 2020 induction banquet that met the standards set the previous 29 years. As it stands today, there are just too many variables and too much uncertainty.”
Cassard noted it was possible Hall of Fame candidates selected for induction might decline to attend the banquet themselves. Also, the inductees may have close friends or family members who are at higher risk of contracting the coronavirus if put into a banquet hall with a large amount of people.
“Again, we did not want to hold a banquet that was compromised in any way. This is a crowning achievement in the lives of the Hall of Famers we enshrine and it is our responsibility to put on a first-class event,” said Cassard, a two-sport athlete at Southern High who went on to play baseball at Towson State University. “Above all else, we did not want to be irresponsible and put anyone at risk. Safety must come first and there is no way at this time we can guarantee a safe banquet.”
Cassard said the Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame will devote the next year to planning a special 2021 banquet that will celebrate its 30th anniversary. Additionally, the organization hopes to hold some sort of fundraiser between now and next October to help raise awareness of the Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame and its mission.
The Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame was the brainchild of the late Michael J. Wagner, former state senator and longtime owner-operator of Michael’s Eighth Avenue. Up until a few years ago, the plaques of every Hall of Famer inducted since 1991 hung on the walls along the main corridor of the banquet facility.
Since its establishment in 1991, the Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame has inducted 131 individuals representing the entire spectrum of athletics. Inductees range from athletes and coaches representing such major sports as football, soccer, basketball, wrestling, baseball and lacrosse to those that achieved greatness in lesser known sports such as duckpin bowling, horse racing and sailing.
Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame bylaws also allow for induction of persons that contributed to sports such as officials, administrators and members of the media such as writers or broadcasters.
Since 2000, the Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame has also presented the County Executive’s Award. That honor is bestowed upon individuals for longtime, dedicated and exemplary service to Anne Arundel athletics.
Anyone wishing to nominate a candidate for the Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame should visit the official website at aacshof.org/nominate/. Cassard said the nomination committee would convene in early June 2021 and the 30th anniversary induction banquet will be scheduled for mid-October as usual.
Editors note: Bill Wagner is on the Board of Directors for the Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame.
