Seven people will be inducted into Framingham Hall of Fame on April 28

FRAMINGHAM — Seven people will be installed into the Framingham Hall of Fame in a ceremony to be held next month.

Tickets are now on sale for the 2nd Annual Framingham Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which takes place April 28 at the Village Hall on the Common, 2 Oak St. The event is presented by the Framingham High Hall of Fame Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization.

The second class of inductees includes Tomica Adams, Dave Amato, Lt. Arthur Raymond Brooks, Dr. Arthur Caplan, Gary Natoli, Nicole Obi and Mike Reiss.

Tickets are $77 apiece and can be purchased by visiting https://ticketstripe.com/Framinghamhalloffame2023. If ordering on mobile, scroll to the right and then pull down the number of tickets desired.

Inaugural class: Group plans separate Hall of Fame for Framingham High grads who weren't athletes

The deadline to purchase a ticket is April 14, although the event could sell out before that time.

Last year, seven individuals were voted into the inaugural Hall of Fame class but due to scheduling conflicts, a few needed to defer their inductions until 2023. The first class of honorees included the late Royal Bolling, Lisa Bebchick, Corey Chang and Adam Siegel.

This year, six honorees will attend the ceremony with one being inducted posthumously.

The ceremony, which is separate from the Foundation's athletic hall of fame, is part of the Foundation's mission to honor past Framingham High graduates. Proceeds from the Framingham Hall of Fame will benefit Framingham High arts, drama, music and authorized clubs like robotics, the Black Student Union, Environmental Club, Model UN, etc.

This year's inductees include:

Tomica Carter-Adams, Framingham South High (1990)

While at Framingham South High, she swam, ran track and played football. But none of these activities proved to be Carter-Adams' true passion. After graduation, she attended Purdue University, where she was able to ride in a small airplane. At that point, she knew she wanted to fly. Upon graduating from Central Washington University with a bachelor of science degree in flight technology, she built her hours by flight instructing at Auburn flight school and flying for Raytheon Co. In 2006, she was hired as a pilot at Continental Airlines, and in 2022, she became a captain at United Airlines on the B737, making her the fourth Black female captain in United's history. She is currently vice chairwoman of the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Dave Amato, Framingham South High (1971)

Amato grew up on Fay Road, graduating from Framingham South High School on 1971. For the past 34 years, he has been with the rock band REO Speedwagon. He also has played for Ted Nugent, Cher and Richie Sambora. He has been touring and recording with various famous bands for the last 40 years.

Lt. Arthur Raymond Brooks, Framingham High (1913)

Brooks graduated as valedictorian from Framingham Academy and High School in 1913 and from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1917. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Signal Officer Reserve Corps and attended the School of Military Aeronautics with the Royal Flying Corps in Canada. An American World War I flying ace, he is credited with shooting down multiple enemy aircraft. He was a pioneer in the development of radio navigational aids (NAVAIDs) used by pilots for location and navigation, as well as air-to-ground communications. Brooks participated in early endeavors to commercialize aviation as a passenger-carrying business. He was also one of the earliest commercial pilots involved with carrying mail (air mail) for the Postal Service. He died July 17, 1991, at age 95.

Dr. Arthur Caplan, Framingham North High (1967)

Caplan is currently the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor and head of the Division of Medical Ethics at New York University's Grossman School of Medicine in New York City. He is a recipient of the Public Service Award from the National Science Foundation, which honors individuals and groups that have made substantial contributions to increasing public understanding of science and engineering in the United States. He has also been honored with the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) Rare Impact Award; the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Bioethics and the Humanities; the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Innovation Award; and, earlier this year, the NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing Humanitarian Award. Caplan holds seven honorary degrees from colleges and medical schools.

Gary Natoli, Framingham South High (1979)

Natoli is an accomplished event, theatrical and media professional in television, entertainment, Broadway and off-Broadway theater. He has stage-managed almost every major live television event in the past 30 years, including Olympic opening ceremonies, Super Bowl halftime shows and presidential inaugurals to the Academy Awards, Emmy Awards, Tony Awards, CMA Awards, MTV VMAs and "The Voice." He has done more than 1,000 productions in all. Natoli is a graduate of Boston University and Columbia University. He is a longstanding Directors Guild of America member and lives in Los Angeles.

Nicole Obi, Framingham North High (1987)

Obi is president and CEO of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA), whose mission is to advance the economic well-being of Black businesses, organizations and residents in Massachusetts through advocacy, business and leadership development strategic partnerships. She serves on several nonprofit boards and committees including GBH, the Environment League of Massachusetts, the Intensive Community program of the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, Browning the Greenspace and Women’s Foundation of Boston, as well as Longfellow Investment Management’s board of advisers. She is also a member of the Boston Chapter of the Links Inc. She lives in Chestnut Hill with her family.

Mike Reiss, Framingham High (1993)

Mike Reiss is in his 15th year working for ESPN. His primary role is to report on the New England Patriots. In 2019, he was named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Upon graduation from UMass Amherst in 1997 (BS, sports management), Reiss worked for Patriots Football Weekly (1997-99), the MetroWest Daily News (1999-2005) and Boston Globe (2005-2009) before joining ESPN, where he appears on television, radio and writes on ESPN.com. Last year, Reiss introduced Hall of Fame member Lisa Bebchick at the inaugural ceremony.

The Framingham High Hall of Fame Inc. is still accepting sponsors for this year's induction ceremony and program book. There are several sponsorship levels — $250, $500, $1,000, $2,500, $5,000 and $10,000. The deadline for sponsorship is April 5. Those interested in being a sponsor are asked to email flyershalloffame@gmail.com

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Second annual Framingham Hall of Fame induction ceremony is April 28