Greetings from theBerks County Aquatic Hall of Fame!

Happy 2017! The Berks County Aquatic Hall of Fame (BCAHoF) saw many improvements and changes in 2016: moving the location of our Hall of Famegallery, the Class of 2016 Induction Banquet at Building 24, our4thAnnual Blue Marsh Mile, and our 1st annual Master’s meet at Wilson. The following is an update on the progress of our initiatives:

#1 Increase awareness, donations, and presence primarily through website, mile swim, and banquet

Thanks to the tremendous effort and spirit of our newly appointed marketing chair,Beth Haas Barchas, our expectations have been exceeded for our BCAHoFwebsite. Our completegallery, ourevent pages, ournomination form, our list of amazingsponsors, our new memberspotlight series called "Freestyling", and more can now be found online! Thank you so much, Beth! Please check outberksaquaticshof.comand the BCAHoF page onFacebook to admire her amazing work!

#2 Increase scholarship

Through the generosity of Ann Deren Lewis and the generosity of many of our other members, we honored our former longtime BCAHoF president in 2016 by renaming our “Student-Athlete Award” to“TheEd Deren Honorary BCAHOF Scholarship.”We are pleased to announce that additionally our firstWater Polo Scholarshipswill be awarded this spring as well! Wow! Now more than ever, we need everyone’s continued support in order to honor four exceptional Berks County aquatics athletes and help them with the costs of higher education.

#3 Interact with current members and increase participation at events and banquets

Moving the Class of 2016 Induction Banquet to Building 24 greatly improved our ability to both honor our newest members and network with our current members. Plans are in the works for another amazing night when we welcome theClass of 2018next spring!

#4 Move plaques to a new larger location

If you have not had a chance to see the new home of our Hall of Fame gallery, please take some time to visit our new location at the Roy G. Snyder Natatorium at Wilson. The Wilson School District was gracious to allow us to permanently install the plaques and add lettering.BCAHoF Treasurer Don Molland his company,B & G Glass, did an amazing job organizing and constructing this transfer. We look forward to continued improvements.

#5 Finalize 501 c (3) status

Completed…which means that we are now an official non-profit organization and ALL donations are now tax deductible!

#6 Clear and distinct roles and descriptions of officers and committee members

We continue to diligently work on this effort!

#7 Engage all members for the three “T”s – time, talent, and treasure

Done!

#8 Name badges for banquet

On the “to do” list!

#9 Communicate our goals with all members

This newsletter is a step in this direction!

Our Mission

The Berks County Aquatic Hall of Fame was established in 1971 to record, honor, and preserveaquatic achievements by past or present Berks County residents.

How can you help?

*Nominate your favorite candidate for the Class of 2018

*Donate to our annual Scholarship Fund

*Sponsor the Mile Swim and Masters Meet

New and Improved Ways to Contribute in 2017:

*Elite Sponsor – $500 (our goal is obtain 20 Elite Sponsors!)

*Big Splash Sponsor – $100

*Scholarship Fund Sponsor

*Mile Swim Sponsor

*Masters Meet Sponsor

Remember…all donations are tax deductible, plus all Elite and Big Splash sponsors receive Website/Facebook recognition! Please see the attached BCAHOF Request for Contributions! Thanks in advance for your generosity and support!

Volunteer Contact info for Hall of Fame events:

Roy Snyder –

Julie Straub –

Denton Quick –

Respectfully,

Denton Quick and the BCAHoF Executive Committee

PS…We do not currently have email addresses on file for the following members…can you help us get in touch with them?

Barry Gilmore

Cindy Brown

Cindy Hiester Richards

George “Red” D. Ribble

Howard Lutz

James B. Ammon

John Andrews

John S. Farrington

June Farrell Light

Katie Bewley Slike

Kimm Miller Jamiel

Mark Ciabaton

Michael J. McCarthy

Pam Giles Bailey

Pam Hiester Lentz

Pat Giles

Phillip H. Mertz III

Raymond A. Morris

Robert (Bob) Rickenbach

Robert McKnight

Ruth Hawman Bortz

Susan Shipe Rugg

T. Farrell Devlin

Tim Sanocki