ESCANABA — Reservations for the 53rd Annual Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame Induction Banquet are now being taken. The induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 10th at the Island Resort and Casino in Harris, located 15 miles west of Escanaba. Banquet reservations are $40 per person. The evening begins with a social hour at 5 (all times Eastern) followed by a brief introduction and meal at 6 p.m. The induction ceremony follows dinner.

For more information or to reserve a seat, please call one of the following Council members: DeeJay Paquette at 906-387-4673, Dan Hinch at 906-458-8536, Don Gustafson at 906-298-0174, Cathy Shamion at 906-364-0961 or Anne Okonek at 906-280-2587. The deadline for making reservations for seats is April 23.

There are three inductees in the UPSHF Class of 2025 that hail from the Marquette County area:

≤ Jeff Olson was varsity football coach in Ishpeming for 27 years, winning five regional championships, 12 district championships and three state championships. He coached his teams to the state quarterfinals 12 of his 27 years at Ishpeming. He was state coach of the year four times, U.P. coach of the year four times, and regional coach of the year nine times. He was selected to coach the U.P. all-star game 12 times and the state all-star game in 2018. Jeff also coached Ishpeming basketball for 30 years, earning one district championship and coached track for 11 years.

≤ Dave St. Onge spent 53 years officiating high school and college basketball games, many seasons officiating around 70 games including girls and boys high school as well as college games. He also officiated state final games for both boys and girls basketball. He was selected to the Basketball Coaches Association Michigan Hall of Fame in 2010. He also officiated football games for 24 years, mentored young officials, and worked numerous U.P. all-star games.

≤ Jeannie Thoren was named among the 100 most influential skiers of the last century by SKI Magazine and is known and respected around the globe as the catalyst for women’s specific, ski related, anything. Before Jeannie, ski equipment was designed by men for men. Called a “crusader” for women’s skiing, Thoren had the courage to insert herself into an industry resistant to considering the differences in the female form. Her “Thoren Theory” simply states: “Women are not small men, they need different ski equipment.” From building the first women-specific ski with a forward binding location in Austria (Blizzard Skis 1986) or working with Dynastar in France to design their Exclusive Carve Ski (2007 Gear of the Year Award), Jeannie’s commitment to innovation for women specific gear on the slopes has never wavered. In 2009, Jeannie Thoren’s Women’s Ski Center opened in Vail, CO.

The remaining seven UPSHF Class of 2025 inductees are James “Jamie” Angeli (Iron River), Nick Baumgartner (Iron River), Rachel (Folcik) McClure (Carney-Nadeau), Lesley (Noel) Delvaux (Escanaba), Denise Porath (Escanaba), John Prokos (Escanaba) and Barb Sickler (Lake Linden-Hubbell).