The inaugural Frankfort Hot Dog Alumni Hall of Fame ceremony took place Saturday afternoon in the auditorium at Frankfort High School. And, from all indications, the event was an incredible success.
“I think it went very, very well,” said Hall of Fame Chairman Don Stock. “It’s been a good weekend. I know most of the Hall of Fame inductees have been very, very excited and feel very honored about being in. That was kind of our goal for this program. We wanted this to be a program for those who have done well outside the school of Frankfort, but in as well.”
The weekend began Friday night with the Mayor’s reception at The Farmers Bank. That was followed by the induction ceremony Saturday afternoon and then a public introduction before the varsity boys’ basketball game Saturday night against Tipton.
The following is a list of the 15 individuals who were inducted in the inaugural Hall of Fame class which spanned 75 years:
- Everett Norris Case — honoree, basketball coach for 17 season, won four state championships.
- David Kyle Cook — alumni, Class of 1994, lead guitarist for Matchbox 20.
- Janice Koertge Davidson, alumni, Class of 1962, founder of Davidson & Associate.
- Andrew J. Detherage, alumni, Class of 1986, partner of Barnes & Thornburg LLP, 2017 Lawyer of the Year.
- Rana Dogar Foroohar, alumni, Class of 1988, CNN Global Economics and publisher of ‘Makers and Takers’.
- William Aughe Ghere (Will Geer), alumni, Class of 1919, actor in The Waltons.
- Gary Good, alumni, Class of 1985, all-state in basketball, ranks third all time leading scorer in basketball.
- William James Goodwin, alumni, Class of 1922, entrepreneur.
- Larry Allen Gosewher, Class of 1979, won state golf championship in 1978, 1981 Purdue Big 10 champions.
- Vance J. Hinton, alumni, Class of 1975, entrepreneur.
- Karen Mundell Kowalski, PhD RN, alumni, Class of 1961, CEO of Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence.
- Lawrence J. “Jay: McCreary, alumni, Class of 1936, all-state basketball, led team to state title in 1936, basketball coach at LSU.
- Douglas F. Reid, alumni, Class of 1961, first team all-state football, Indiana all-star basketball.
- Raymond “Buck” Rohrabaugh, honoree, head football coach for 17 seasons. Restarted program in 1929.
- Dr. D. Kevin Schied, alumni, Class of 1975, orthopedic surgeon.
Frankfort Mayor Chris McBarnes was the Master of Ceremonies for the event.
“I’m stunned by the number of people that have come through the Frankfort School Corporation, are Hot Dogs and are out doing great things whether it be in the business world or the medical field. We have a rock star in Kyle Cook and all these people that have traveled all over the world touching millions of lives. I think it speaks to our community.”
Community was the theme in all of the inductees’ speeches and it is something that has made them what they are today.
“Every one of the inductees said it was because of this community that lifted them to the place in their lives that they are now,” said McBarnes. “That’s such an inspiration for everyone in our community.”
Stock concurred.
“The common theme was community and how everybody kind of took care of themselves,” said Stock. “It’s a missing link now. But, it’s not something you can’t get back to. I think the Hall of Famers kind of challenged us to move in that direction to try and be a community and look after each other rather than fighting against each other.”
Cook echoed those thoughts in his acceptance speech.
“Frankfort offers a strength of community,” said Cook. “We know each others strengths and we know each others dreams. We know how important this environment is to everyone. Dreams can become a reality”
To wrap up the presentation, Cook and McBarnes did a duet to the John Mellencamp hit song “Small Town.”
Stock said they will induct up to 15 individuals for next year’s Hall of Fame. After that, the event will be held every two years. The deadline to nominate individuals for the Hall in 2019 is July 31. Stock said they will make their selections in August and announce it later that month or in September.