Smoky Hill — one of Aurora’s oldest high schools — is set to celebrate its 50th anniversary and use the occasion to set up a Hall of Fame to honor its history.
The school is asking for nominations for outstanding alums in athletics and activities that have been graduated for eight or more years to be considered and coaches/sponsors/administrators/teachers/contributors must be inactive currently at Smoky Hill.
Nominations will be taken online until May 15 and the inductees will then be selected by a panel of current and former coaches, teachers and students. The first class of inductees will be announced later in the month and the group will be honored in September during Smoky Hill’s annual Homecoming celebration.
The school’s criteria are: the nominee must have been involved with a Smoky Hill athletic/activities program in the category for which they are nominated and they must have “demonstrated outstanding abilities and contributions” in that category.
TO SUBMIT A NOMINATION FOR SMOKY HILL’S HALL OF FAME, CLICK here
Smoky Hill joins a growling list of local schools that have chosen to being Hall of Fames and will add one the same year as Grandview (see below), while they already exist locally in the Cherry Creek Schools at Cherry Creek, Eaglecrest (the original) and Overland. Rangeview and Aurora Central also have honored past standouts in a similar fashion.
— Sports Editor Courtney Oakes
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26: Grandview High School, which opened its doors 25 years ago and has won the most state championships of any Aurora high school, is set to begin to honor its past.
The school will start a Hall of Fame to recognize the best and brightest in athletics and activities since it opened back in 2008.
Grandview is asking the public to submit nominees that meet these criteria: graduated or concluded service at the school at least five years ago; demonstrated “high moral character, outstanding citizenship, and the ideals that support the mission of the Cherry Creek School District;” and “made valuable contributions and had outstanding accomplishments in their respective sport and/or activity during their time” at the school. The school also asks that rationale be included with nominations.
TO SUBMIT A NOMINATION FOR GRANDVIEW’S HALL OF FAME, CLICK here
Nominations for the first Hall of Fame class will be taken until June 1 and from that pool, a committee that is made up of current and former Grandview faculty, staff, coaches and community members will make the selections. Nomination that come in after June 1 will be added to the pool for the next year.
The number of inductees is variable from year to year.
Grandview is the latest member of Cherry Creek Schools to begin its Hall of Fame, joining Cherry Creek — which just recently had its first induction class — while Overland began its in 2018 and Eaglecrest started its in 2014, which also coincided with its 25th anniversary.
Elsewhere in Aurora, Rangeview has a Hall of Fame and Aurora Central started a Legends Club.
— Sports Editor Courtney Oakes