A committee is preparing to add five names to the school district's Hall of Fame during a two-day

A committee is preparing to add five names to the school district's Hall of Fame during a two-day series of activities and events beginning Thursday. Those being inducted and some of their accomplishments:

Jim Chain: A software analyst for First Energy Corp. and a 1967 West Branch High School graduate, Chain received three varsity letters in football and baseball as well as two in basketball during high school. Was named "all area" in football in 1965 and 1966 and was a member of the school's National Honor Society.

Dick Runzo: Runzo was a two-year letterman in football and a 1967 West Branch graduate, as well as a member of one of the school's first golf teams. Joined the Marines and was killed in Vietnam in 1969. Runzo's sister, Helen Runzo Kovach, and brothers, Michael and John, will accept the award in his name.

Denny Lane: A 1968 West Branch graduate, Lane received two letters each in basketball and golf, was president of the Class of 1968 and a National Honor Society member. In the mid-1970s, he served two years in Germany in the Army. Lane and his wife, Darlene, own Westville Lakes Country Club; he also is an inspector for Howells and Baird Surveyors and Engineers in Salem.

Russ Kring: Kring lettered for three years in wrestling and football, where he was an All-Ohio linebacker. Was also West Branch's wrestling team captain as well as a AAA state qualifier, AAA sectional and district champion and Wrestler of the Year in the Salem and Alliance areas before graduating in 1983. At Mount Union College in Alliance, Kring was captain of the football team, was voted most valuable player in 1986 and '87 and held rushing and scoring records for 15 years after graduation. A knee injury in 1988 ended his tryouts with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Rodger Sharp: Sharp teaches industrial technology at West Branch, where he graduated in 1989. During high school, he got three varsity letters in football and wrestling and four in track, and was named Inland District Offensive Lineman of the Year in football in 1987. From 1997 to 2007, Sharp was a pilot and aircraft commander in the Air Force. He was deployed for three combat tours during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, and received three air medals in combat.

Source: West Branch Alumni Association