By Kevin Sjoberg
Special to Pioneer Times
BANGOR — The Maine Basketball Hall of Fame, an organization created to honor the history of basketball and its players, coaches, officials and other leading contributors in Maine, announced last week that it will have a permanent home and exhibit inside Bangor’s Cross Insurance Center.
The newly-formed board of directors also announced a formal ceremony set for Thursday, Aug. 21, 2014 when Maine basketball standouts will be honored as the hall of fame’s inaugural inductees. The names of those inaugural inductees will be announced later this year.
Located on the second floor of arena and conference center, the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame is located in what is referred to as the “Hall of Fame Concourse” just inside the facility’s southwest entrance.
“This has been a long time coming,” said Steve Pound of Cianbro and chair of the board of directors and a star player during his time at Stearns High School. “Basketball is so important in Maine. We want to remember to celebrate our past and to share it with those who are making history now. The Maine Basketball Hall of Fame will do that.”
The idea for the hall of fame began on Mount Desert Island a number of years ago when Jim Carroll, Wayne Smith and Andy Shea had an idea. They then invited Thomas “Skip” Chappelle and Peter Webb to join their group. From there, the ideas began flowing. In early 2013, another group, including Chappelle and Webb, officially incorporated, the first step in formalizing the organization.
“I’m honored to be a part of helping their idea become reality,” Pound said. “This really has been a team effort and I’m excited about the future.”
The hall of fame’s permanent display inside the Cross Insurance Center will house memorabilia spanning decades of Maine basketball history—a portion of which will be available for viewing when the 2014 Maine basketball tourney begins.
More information about the hall of fame is available by visiting www.mainebasketballhalloffame.com.
