Morgan County pride: 12 names added to county hall of fame

Tyler Haughn, The Reporter Times
·2 min read

MARTINSVILLE - The Morgan County Hall of Fame now features 12 new names as the county celebrates 200 years of existence.

A public induction ceremony was held at the Morgan County Public Library in Martinsville last week to celebrate the achievements of current and past Morgan County residents who rose to prominence in their respective fields.

The newly chosen recipients include: Gary Bettenhausen, Richard Bray, Sally Butler, Eliza Callis-Scott, Christie Loren (Habig) Dunham, Marshall H. Goss, Dave Keister, Nina Mason Pulliam, Ruth Rusie, William Shields, Jerry Sichting and John Vawter.

The celebratory evening began with remarks from David Reddick, who served on the committee responsible for deciding which nominations should be inducted. Nearly 30 nominations were reviewed by Morgan County Public Library Director Krista Ledbetter, David Reddick, Janice Bolinger, Chip Keller and Ellen Wilson-Pruitt, all members of the selection committee.

"I can tell you from being on the committee and reading all the nominations we received, it was a very tough job selecting the 12 people that we did because all two dozen were certainly worthy of this honor," Reddick said.

Ledbetter shared her pride in having so many talented and driven individuals connected to the county.

"We have business people, we have educators, philanthropists, journalists and athletes. It is amazing to me what a far reach our local county has throughout the state and the world," Ledbetter said. "That was one of our main criteria when we do the hall of fame is that the nominee must have reached beyond the borders of Morgan County and let the rest of the world know what a wonderful place Morgan County is."

Hall of Fame History

The Morgan County Hall of Fame was first established in 1976 to pay tribute to America's Bicentennial celebrations at the time. 31 inductees were awarded a place in the hall of fame that year. An additional three honorees were included in 1986. The hall of fame wall in the library was last updated in 2012 when eight more names were added.

After the latest indication ceremony, the hall of fame now features 54 individuals who have been recognized for their contributions within Morgan County, across Indiana and nationally.

This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Morgan County pride: 12 names added to county hall of fame