RECOGNIZED NATIONALLY

      Here's another snippet of the talk, BOONE-My Kind of Town, that I, the Kornerman, gave at the Boone County Historical Society in October.

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     In the 1980's, I received national exposure. So, that would have to be one of the prime highlights of my working career.

     For 30 years, 1970-2000, I was the spokesperson for the Iowa High School Athletic Association.

     The IHSAA, of course, sets rules and regulations in the various sports programs for Iowa's high school student-athletes. A major job also is determining state tournament formats and, at the completion of the championship events, honoring those teams, players and coaches who have been declared the state's best.

     Every state has a similar organization as the IHSAA and all belong to the National Federation of State High School Associations. Each summer, the Federation hosts a week-long conference in a major U.S. city. It gives an opportunity for an exchange of ideas about high school sports activities and how each state governs various challenges in their particular state.

    A highlight of the week is the closing banquet and that is the time when new members are selected for the National High School Sports Hall of Fame.

    Eight of those years in the 1980's, I, the Kornerman, was selected as the Master of Ceremonies for this prestigious Hall of Fame event.

    Normally, there are about 20 new inductees and, traditionally, half of them may be outstanding performers who are well known for their achievements in their home state but, perhaps, are not that well known nationally or internationally.

    The other half are new inductees who have succeeded, not only at their state level, but have added honors as collegiate or, perhaps, even as professional performers.

     It was my duty to guide the Hall of Fame banquet and do the actual inducting of these athletes, which, of course, required verbally outlining all of their magnificent feats to a crowd of 1,000 or more in attendance.

     I'm going to list a few of those that were more "famous." But, you must keep in mind that this was fifty years ago and today's younger people may not have a clue as to who these people were/are and what they accomplished on the national scene.

     Inductees during the eight years included golfer Arnold Palmer,  Dallas Cowboy coach Tom Landry, Coach John Wooden who guided numerous UCLA basketball teams to NCAA titles, baseball Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench, NFL quarterbacks Bart Starr of Green Bay and Len Dawson of Kansas City, well known TV sports announcer Pat Summerall, Paul Hornung, Notre Dame Heisman winner and Packer running back, basketball players Lynette Woodard and Cheryl Miller and numerous former Olympic champions in several different events.

     This gave me an opportunity to spend time "up close and personal" with these great athletes who favored me with having our picture taken, signing my program and writing some very nice comments about my performance.

     A couple side notes......an inductee I didn't mention earlier is one that may be more recognizable today. That would be a very young Kim Mulkey, who is the current LSU women's basketball coach and was Iowa's opponent in the most recent NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four.

    Then too, after my eighth year, the officials in charge informed me that, "although we really would like to continue with you as the M.C., some pressure has been applied, after eight years, to give a lady an opportunity to be the M.C." The final result was that the next year, a black lady from Indiana became the M.C. for the banquet.

    I must confess, for my very first assignment as M.C., Las Vegas and the Riveria Hotel was the site and I must have been in "shock mode" as I realized that this guy from Boone Iowa  was at a podium and standing on the stage at the famous Rivera.....just a few feet away from the same stage that hosted Sinatra, Dean Martin and the famous "Rat Pack," as well as numerous other musical and dance stars.

    As I look back, needless to say, my eight-year run as the host of this national banquet was a "dream come true" for a Boone Iowa guy who has, always and proudly, called Boone Iowa home and has been proud to tell the world about its goodness.

K-----K

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