'Prime time': Weekend celebration to honor Northwest alumni Hall of Famers

Amy L. Knapp, The Independent
·4 min read

CANAL FULTON ‒ Northwest High School and the city are going all out this weekend to honor 10 alumni who will be inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame.

"We're going prime time," Canal Fulton Mayor Joe Schultz said. "There is a huge collaboration between the district, the city and other organizations to celebrate."

The events kick off with a meet-and-greet at 6 p.m. Friday for Northwest alumni, teachers and HOF inductees before the football team takes on Fairless at 7 p.m. at Dr. Martin Smilek Stadium, 8590 Erie Ave. NW.

This is the football team's first home PAC conference game, Northwest Athletic Director Jason Hathaway said.

The party continues Saturday with day-long events that culminate in the induction ceremony at 7 p.m. at the intersection of Canal and Market streets.

"The whole community is fired up (for this)," Hathaway said. "We want to turn this into a yearly event and we see a lot of alumni events spinning off from this. We are putting it on the map this year. It might not be that big this year but there are a lot of people that know about it and it is going to explode."

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Weekend celebration aims to honor Hall of Fame inductees

The Athletic Hall of Fame got its start a few years ago, when the first induction ceremony was held honoring 50 outstanding alumni who excelled in sports at the high school and/or college level.

When COVID hit, it put a damper on the upcoming ceremonies, Hathaway said and only one person - the late Marvin Hardgrove - was inducted into the hall of fame last year.

This year's class includes an array of outstanding athletes and coaches including:

  • Vince Baiera, Class of 2004, football,

  • Susan (Bolyard) Phillips, 1982, multi-sport

  • Mark Filicky, 1972, multi-sport

  • Aly Lindic, 2012, track

  • Mickey Podnar, 1974, wrestling

  • Terry Podnar, 1975, wrestling

  • Debbie (Wells) Savula, 1976, track

  • Brian Armstrong, coach - basketball, cross country and track - He is in his 44th year as cross-country coach and assistant track coach.

  • Alpha Mayfield, wrestling coach

  • Brian Ries, 1975, multi-sport and coach.

Hathaway said Ries spent his entire life at Northwest with the exception of his time in college. He returned to his hometown after college and taught at Northwest while coaching.

"He literally spent 55 of his 62 years he has lived at Northwest," he said. "He's one of the most interesting inductees."

Hathaway has always dreamed of beefing up the celebration to honor the hall of famers.

In the past, a dinner was held in the winter for the induction but it didn't involve the entire Northwest community.

This year's event will be fun for all ages.

Schultz is excited to be a part of the event. The city has shut down Canal Street to hold the celebration and will host concerts Saturday evening in St. Helena Park.

"This is just our way to honor people," the mayor said. "It's nothing to introduce them at halftime of the football games but this is going to be an opportunity to interact with them and bring your family down to be a part of it."

"Jason had a vision of a party like the (Pro Football) Hall of Fame. We are just trying help any way we can."

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Saturday's events include the Canal Life Market, which welcomes a variety of vendors as well as the return of the Canal Fulton Rotary Club chicken dinner.

The club will offer 250 half chicken dinners for $12 from noon to 4:30 p.m. near Worden's.

There will also be free inflatables for kids, facepainting, children's games, a DJ and a performance by the Northwest High School marching band all leading up to the induction ceremony on Canal Street.

At St. Helena Park, music begins at 5:30 with Mark Leach taking the stages followed by Ohio Rock Legends and Guitary Academy from 6:30 to 8 and ZYGRT finishing out the show beginning at 8:15 p.m. ZYGRT features Gary Markasky, a guitarist for Micheal Stanley and drummer Joe Vitale who worked with Joe Walsh.

All of the events and parking is free, Schultz said.

Other events include a golf outing at Lyons Den and a cornhole tournament.

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The Hall of Fame Alumni Weekend will take place in coming years on the first home game of PAC conference play, Hathaway said.

He anticipates the event will continue to grow and additional alumni events will be added. He believes future class reunions also will be held in conjunction with the celebration.

"Our big goal is to build our Alumni Association into one of the best in Stark County," Hathaway said. "Other communities are going to see this and want to do something like this too."

Reach Amy at 330-775-1135 or amy.knapp@indeonline.com.

On Twitter: @aknappINDE

This article originally appeared on The Independent: Northwest plans weekend celebration to honor Athletic Hall of Famers