I've missed out a lot being away from Illinois for 15 years. When I first joined in '77, INBA was only 23 years old.

Now it's 50. Why don't we have a Hall of Fame? With enough history behind us, it's time for one.

Everyone else has one. Why? Because it's something everyone should strive for and that is being the best. A HOF is good for any organizaiton because people stop, watch, and pay attention.

Hmmm, don't they call that image and marketing.

It's not hard to do. Appoint a committee to recommend rules and standards. Compile a master list of people with at least 10 years of broadcast journalism work in Illinois in any capacity, news, weather, sports to qualify.

From the list, the committee narrows the list down to 15 people for a ballot given to each INBA member. They vote for five people, ranking them one to five.

To be named to the HOF, a recipient must get 75% of the first place vote. If a person fails to be inducted after being on a ballot for 10 years, they are referred to another committee called the veterans committee who makes one recommendation annually to the INBA board who can vote yes or no to give a "special" HOF induction to that person.

If there is concern about more votes for performers than those not on air, have a separate HOF entry for performance and non performance.

Whatever is decided, an INBA HOF will get a lot of interest and attention from members and non-members.

Sez

I like any idea that will annually remind members what INBA has stood for in the past and the present. And awarding outstanding examples would do that. Could there be a permanent display location with photos? Or would it be a traveling display set up at each convention?

Very cool idea. Wanna write about it for tuneIN?

(I'm always asking that aren't I?)

Scott's proposal is virtually identical to the selection process for the Baseball Hall of Fame. While this is certainly an interesting idea, there are a few things we need to remember.

* INBA does not have a headquarters building or office in which to house a Hall of Fame. If HoF items would be displayed at conventions, who be in charge of keeping that stuff through out the year?

* We currently honor our most respected members with Distinguished Service Awards and Life Memberships. We honor others - from both within and outside our business - with the Illinoisan of the Year Award.

* Given some members' lack of knowledge about markets other than their own, it would be virtually impossible for all candidates to receive fair consideration statewide. For instance, Chicago members may have never heard of the greatest and most respected news anchor in the history of Carbondale. A new INBA voting member - six months out of school - may have never heard of any of the nominees.

* Some Illinois universities have produced an abundance of INBA members. Could a group of old college buddies get together and - using their sheer numbers - vote in some one the rest of the organization has never heard of?

* Appointing a committee (and then a "veterans" committee on top of that) is much easier said than done. We often have trouble getting people to volunteer for convention committees!

I am not discounting Scott's idea. I'm just not sure it's practical for an organization like INBA that already has much on its plate. However, if a board member were to raise the issue in new business, I would welcome the discussion.

Steve Scott
INBA President

Steve, you bring up great issues that can be resolved.

A location for names would be great. My idea - The Broadcast Museum in Chicago. Or how about in the Press Room at the Capitol? A traveling plaque could be displayed at conventions.

It's true some members wouldn't know the history of someone....your point on a new member hits home about voting for board positions, some don't know them but vote anyway, so it's critical the HOF committee publish a good bio of a nominee.

As for "voting blocks," I don't see where a name would be so unrecognizable to most voters. A HOF committee would recommend names for voting that would avoid that. Example would be Bill Small - most members today never met him, but many know his impact. Or Ed Brown - most current members never met him but know of him.

Which reminds me - a good idea would be to have an Educator HOF. They need to be recognized.

I agree with Steve, there are a lot of issues but none that can't be overcome. I would hope a board member brings this up as new business at an upcoming meeting.

FTR, I am on a couple of Hall of Fame committees and am a member of one. A HOF does an organization a lot of good.

Sez

Sounds like an excellent tuneIN piece. Interesting in turning one? I'd like you to share the idea with the members.

I initially hestitated in joining this discussion, but allow for a moment of personal experience, if you please. I have been the only chair in the 15 year history of the Peoria Professional Hockey Hall of Fame Committee. It is a committee of nine to 14 members who review statistics and other information before voting on membership. It is a three step process ... nomination, preliminary vote and final vote. With that as background, may I suggest an INBA Hall of Fame will be difficult to manage. You first need a single person who is willing to undertake this project. Yes, one person to coordinate the nomination/voting process. It would be much like the head of the Honors & Awards Committee because in both cases, it is best to have one person as a central location for better coordination. Having served 20 years on the H & A committee, several of them as co-chair (with Ben Stone), it is a daunting and time consuming task. Ask Michelle if you have doubts. So who will step forward to handle such a duty?
How would voting be handled so as to assure it is beyond reproach?
What background information would be used as information for voting?
What minimum level of INBA members must vote to assure the vote is representative? If you don't reach that level, what is your recourse?
What amount of time would it take to keep the mail/e-mail addresses updated? And I agree with Steve on his points of concern.
While I personally am not casting aside the idea at this time, my experience with the Peoria Hockey Hall of Fame raises a lot of questions in my mind. We have many other important issues on the plate, and tackling a Hall of Fame at this time might detract from those projects.
For another point of view, ask any past INBA Past President if he/she had difficulties in getting nominations for Illinoisan of the Year. And if I have trouble handling a current committee membership of 13 people in one SMSA (and I do), imagine the difficulties in handling it statewide.
Worth discussing? Yes. But many hurdles must be overcome.

H