New Fitch HOF seeking nominations by May 1

By Robert Connelly

rconnelly@vindy.com

AUSTINTOWN

The reboot of the Fitch Hall of Fame seeks inductions for this year’s class.

Daniel J. Bokesch, the new committee chairman, said Friday there are 16 committee members, from past school superintendents such as himself to business leaders to current hall-of-famers.

“That sounds very large, but there are so many things we need to do,” he said.

The categories for nominations are: students who have excelled in Austintown Fitch athletics; teams; coaches; and members of the community who have contributed to Austintown Fitch athletics.

Nominations are due by May 1, and nomination forms can be downloaded at austintownschools.org.

The hall of fame weekend will begin Oct. 2, when the Fitch Falcons host Massillon Washington at home. The induction class will have a reception before kickoff and will be honored before the game. The dinner and ceremony will take place at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish Center on Oct. 3. Tickets for that will be on sale after May 1 in the main office of Fitch High School, 4560 Falcon Drive.

Austintown police still are investigating the lost funds and fraudulent checks of the previous incarnation of the Fitch Hall of Fame. The Austintown Board of Education voted to reboot the group in January with a new committee. At that meeting, superintendent Vincent Colaluca revealed the bank account tied to the group had gone into the negative and needed $150 so that police could access it for their investigation.

“The board definitely did not want this event to go away because this was such a great event,” Colaluca said Friday. “Great traditions of Fitch athletics will continue with the hall of fame.”

Bokesch said there has been an average of 12 inductions per year since the program began in 2008.