NJ Hall of Fame Inductee Ceremony returns
Convention Hall closes 4 p.m. Thursday for red carpet ceremony
Convention Hall on Asbury Park’s boardwalk will host The New Jersey Hall of Fame 2015 Induction Ceremony Thursday.
The events begin with the 5:30 p.m. Red Carpet procession, immediately followed by 6 p.m. reception, and 7 p.m. Induction Ceremony in the Paramount Theatre, organizers said.
Madison Marquette officials will close the Grand Arcade to the public starting at 4 p.m. Prior to that public access will be available at the South Grand Arcade doors only.
The Hall of Fame Mobile Museum [at right] will be on hand, setting up during the day next to Paramount Theatre.
Originally slated for October, organizers have said the ceremony’s move was based on the Board of Commissioners’ intention to permanently move the induction to the spring and to accommodate inductee schedules.
The 2015 Inductees include:
ARTS & LETTERS: authors James Fenimore Cooper and Anna Quindlen
ENTERPRISE: Fox Studio founder William Fox, and philanthropists Lewis Katz and Bernard Marcus
PERFORMANCE ARTS: legendary R&B band Kool & The Gang, and comedian Jon Stewart
PUBLIC SERVICE: Medal of Honor recipient Jack H. Jacobs, and U.S. Senator, the Hon. Frank R. Lautenberg
SPORTS: baseball great Derek Jeter, U.S. Women’s national soccer team captain Christie Rampone, and ESPN college basketball commentator Dick Vitale
UNSUNG HERO: Morgan Stanley executive Carla Harris
Thursday’s ceremony marks the 8th Annual celebration to honor the Garden State’s most invaluable contributors to society and world. Since 2008, close to 100 individuals and groups have been awarded the state’s top accolade.
“Their achievement and the impact they have made in their respective field are undeniable,” said Hall of Fame Board of Commissioners Chairman Bart Oates in a written statement. “Their achievements and the impact they have made in their respective fields are undeniable.”
The 13 inductees were chosen in part from a pool of 50 candidates via a public online voting campaign.
Past inductees include:
Class of 2014 – Maud Dahme, Patrick Ewing, Governor James Florio, James Gandolfini, Dizzy Gillespie, Howard Katz, Peter J. McGuire, Dorothy Parker, The Shirelles, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Waters, and Brian Williams
Class of 2013 – Alice Guy Blache, Bobbi Brown, Raymond G. Chambers, Grover Cleveland, Celia Cruz, Joetta Clark Diggs, Whitney Houston, J. Seward Johnson, Governor Tom Kean, Thomas Paine, Joe Piscopo, David Sarnoff, “Jersey Joe” Wolcott, Dionne Warwick, and Kathleen DiChiara
Class of 2012 – Milt Campbell, John Dorrance, Michael Douglas, E Street Band, Bob Hurley, Wellington Mara, Samuel Newhouse, Annie Oakley, Joyce Carol Oates, Christopher Reeve, Sarah Vaughan, and Eric LeGrand
Class of 2011 – John Basilone, Tony Bennett, Governor Brendan Byrne, Mary Higgins Clark, Admiral William “Bull” Halsey, Franco Harris, Leon Hess, Queen Latifah, John “Bucky” Pizzarelli, Martha Stewart, Joe Theismann. John Travolta, Bruce Willis, and Victims of 9/11
Class of 2010 – Count Basie, Judy Blume, Justice William J. Brennan, Danny DeVito, Larry Doby, Michael Graves, Carl Lewis, Jack Nicholson, Alice Paul, Les Paul, Phillip Roth, Susan Sarandon, Wally Schirra, Frankie Valli, Woodrow Wilson, James D’heron, and Detective Marc DiNard
Class of 2009 – Bud Abbott & Lou Costello, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Althea Gibson, Jon Bon Jovi, Jerry Lewis, Guglielmo Marconi, Shaquille O’Neal, Phil Rizzuto, Paul Robeson, Carl Sagan, Walt Whitman, William Carlos Williams, and Lt. Brian Brennan
Class of 2008 – Buzz Aldrin, Clara Barton, Yogi Berra, Bill Bradley, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Malcolm Forbes, General Robert Wood Johnson II, Vince Lombardi, Toni Morrison, General Norman Schwarzkopf, Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen, Meryl Streep, and Harriet Tubman
For more information, visit www.njhalloffame.org.
