On July 1 the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks announced its five new members of the 2016 Hall of Fame class.
Carolyn Jones, Jeffery Loveless, Dave Procida, Bill Shook and Allan Waschak will be honored in a ceremony on Tuesday, October 25 for their gained prominence and/or substantial contribution to community sports in Howard County.
The induction ceremony will take place at the 14th annual Celebration of Sports and is set to begin at 5 p.m. at the Turf Valley Resort and Conference Center.
Jones was an original board member of the Soccer Association of Columbia (SAC), serving as a volunteer with the organization from 1971 until her passing in 2001. Many still refer to Jones as the "Mom" of girls soccer in Columbia. Along with facilitating the first all-girls SAC soccer team, she also helped build the Wilde Lake High School girls soccer program and Columbia Women's Soccer League. Jones coached at all levels, sometimes helping her players get to and from practices and games in her white station wagon. Her actions aided the growth of girls soccer in Howard County.
Through 27 years of volunteering, Loveless has virtually served in every role for the Howard County Youth Program (HCYP). Even dating back before computers were commonly used, Loveless would stay late nights completing baseball and basketball drafts to make sure teams were put together correctly and fairly. Although his children are now adults, Loveless continues to be a dedicated volunteer for HYCP. No matter what role he is serving, Loveless is the model of what it means to be apart of youth sports.
After beginning as a SAC coach in 1998, Procida has made an impact in a variety of different ways within the community. Including serving as SAC's board of Directors from 1999-2007, Procida has helped build a partnership with disparate sports programs in the county, which helped earn mutually beneficial goals. He advocated for financial assistance in order to help disadvantaged children the opportunity to play organized soccer, and also helped earn better soccer fields at Covenant Park. Most importantly, Procida endlessly promoted good sportsmanship and a love for the game.
Prior to Shook starting the Columbia Volleyball Club (CVC) in 1985 there were very few club volleyball programs in the area, but since then the CVC has grown from three coaches to 14 teams, including more than 100 players and 25 coaches. While also serving as a feeder program to Howard County's high school state championship teams, the club has helped improve volleyball skills to a multitude of athletes at various levels, while also instilling values of team play, individual discipline and good work habits. Shook left CVC for a short time to coach collegiately but returned to the club in 2015 and coached its 17's Eclipse team.
For more than 20 years Waschak has served in a variety of roles with the Special Olympics of Howard County, but his most prominent responsibility has been overseeing the financial status of the organization, making sure it continues providing athletic opportunities for both kids and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Since taking on the role as fundraising director in 1998, the group has raised around $2.8 million. Waschak also helped grow the aquatics program from eight athletes in 1995 to now sporting more than 95 athletes, eight coaches and 25 student volunteers.
Tickets for the ceremony are $40 each or $400 for a table of 10. Tickets may also be purchased at Recreation and Parks Headquarters, 7120 Oakland Mills Road in Columbia. For more information, call 410 313 1691.
The county's Community of Sports Hall of Fame is located at Recreation and Park headquarters and is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. To learn more about the Hall of Fame, visit www.howardcountymd.gov/halloffame.