Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association

For the 25th year, the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association is pleased to announce its incoming Hall of Fame Class, set to be inducted at its annual awards banquet to be held on Sunday, April 5th at Valle Vista Country Club in Greenwood.

This year’s Class of 2020 includes the following people who have graced Hoosier newspapers, radio stations, and television airwaves during the past several decades:

Greg Bell, WIOU Kokomo _ After graduating from Butler in 1975, the New York native became an adopted Hoosier, launching his radio career in Shelbyville. He joined the staff of WIOU in 1983, and served as the voice of the Kokomo Wildkats for 27 years. Additionally, Greg spent time serving as the voice of IU-Kokomo athletics, as well as calling games for WXVW in Jeffersonville. Greg is a member of the Howard County Sports Hall of Fame and was named as the ISSA’s Marv Bates Sportscaster of the Year in 1998.

Larry Goffinet, Perry County News _ The Tell City native returned home to Perry County upon graduation from the University of Evansville and never left town, spending 40 years as a full-time contributor to his home-county newspaper. These days, Larry still writes for the publication on a part-time basis. Larry has won awards for his coverage from both the IHSAA and the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association over the years, as well as helping the News win the award for Best Sports Section on three occasions from the Hoosier State Press Association.

Mike Hutton, Gary Post-Tribune _ Mike has been telling the stories of sports in northwest Indiana for the past 27 years. Mike has covered numerous colleges, such as Valparaiso, Notre Dame, Purdue, and Indiana during his days as a sports scribe in the state, as well as covering numerous state championships for high school teams from ‘The Region.’ Mike also has shined a spotlight on coaches for the work they do away from the field and classroom, especially in urban settings. Mike was named as the top sports columnist in the state in 2007.

Ray Marquette, Indianapolis Star/News _ Ray was an award-winning journalist, three times receiving the Best Sports Reporting Award from the Indianapolis Press Club, and also receiving the Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Basketball Coaches for his contribution to the sport. In addition, Ray served as the Executive Director of the United States Basketball Writers Association. The USBWA continues to recognize his leadership by presenting the Ray Marquette Award each year to its outdoing president. Ray also was president of the American Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association and was inducted into their Hall of Fame. Ray was the Vice President of Public Affairs for the United States Auto Club until his untimely death in 1978.

Paul Page, WIBC/NBC/ABC/ESPN _ Paul’s voice is synonymous with open wheel auto racing and all things Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Paul first joined the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network in 1974, and by 1978 joined NBC as the host of the network’s ‘SportsWorld’ program. In 1987, Paul joined ABC, where his motorsports talents were once again linked to the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. He hosted the television coverage of the 500 on 25 occasions. Paul has broadcasted events across the globe, including every continent with the exception of Antarctica.

Myron Rainey, WBIW Bedford _ Myron has been the voice of Lawrence County high school sports for 45 years. After serving as the voice of the Mitchell Blue Jackets for four years, Myron became the voice of the Bedford North Lawrence Stars in 1979. During that span, Myron served as the soundtrack for the legendary high school career of Damon Bailey, including the state championship game at the then-Hoosier Dome in 1990. In addition, Myron has served terms as both the recorder and clerk of Lawrence County.

In addition to these new Hall of Famers, the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association will recognize winners of annual honors such as the Marv Bates Sportscaster of the Year and the Corky Lamm Sportswriter of the Year. This year, the Ron Lemasters Lifetime Achievement Award also will be presented. Those winners are as follows:

Marv Bates Sportscaster of the Year: Greg Rakestraw, ISC Sports Network _ This is the second time Greg has won this award, also claiming the prize back in 2015. Greg serves as the Vice-President of the ISC Sports Network, which is seen on nine cable systems across the state of Indiana. Greg also is the voice of the Indy Eleven, serves as the pre-season television voice of the Indianapolis Colts, hosts the Colts Radio Network’s post-game show, and is one of the lead announcers for the IHSAA Champions Network.

Corky Lamm Sportswriter of the Year: Justin Cohn, Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette _ Justin has served a variety of roles since joining the Journal-Gazette staff in 1997. Since 2014, Justin has been a senior sportswriter for the paper, focusing on two of Fort Wayne’s pro sports staples, the Fort Wayne Komets and Fort Wayne Mad Ants. His respective blogs about the two teams, ‘Ice Chips’ and ‘Mad Antics,’ combine the written word about those teams with relevant social media. Justin also previously served as the paper’s Indianapolis Colts beat writer.

Ron Lemasters Lifetime Achievement Award: Charlie Jenkins, WXVW Jeffersonville _ Inducted into the ISSA Hall of Fame in 1999, Charlie passed away on December 30th at the age of 84. Charlie spent 54 years broadcasting Southern Indiana high school sports, primarily for WXVW in Jeffersonville. Charlie also spent time broadcasting for WKJK-AM and legendary radio station WHAS-AM in Louisville. Charlie was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.

These nine honorees will be recognized at the association’s annual banquet on April 5th, which begins at 2 p.m. at Valle Vista Country Club in Greenwood. Tickets are available with meal included for $30. To order tickets, send a check for $30 to Fred Inniger, ISSA Treasurer, 3011 Noble Hawk Drive, Kendallville, IN 46755.

Also, those wanting to renew their memberships to the ISSA, or to become new members, send $20 to Fred for your annual dues.

Please order your banquet tickets before March 20.

In accordance with this year being the 25th class inducted into the Hall of Fame, native Hoosier Angelo Pizzo, famed screenwriter and producer, who teamed with Indiana’s own David Anspaugh, to give us the movies “Hoosiers” and “Rudy” will be a featured guest speaker at our banquet.

Also, there will be special recognition of previous Hall of Famers as part of this year’s event.

The Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscaster s Association was founded in 1946. The ISSA created its Hall of Fame 50 years later in 1996. The Hall of Fame currently has 123 members.