Special to the Surveyor

The annual Berthoud Sports Hall of Fame Induction Dinner and Awards Ceremony is scheduled for May 23 at the Brookside Gardens Events Center. The Class of 2019 includes Anne Ballard, Melvin Beede, John Hall, Bailie Holst, Zach Ruebesam and two teams, the 1935 girls basketball team and the 2011 state champion girls track-and-field team.

Ballard and Beede were primarily stars on the basketball court for Berthoud High School (BHS), while Ruebesam excelled as both a basketball and football player and is currently a rising star in the college basketball coaching ranks. Holst was a superstar gymnast during her years at BHS and later at the University of Minnesota; and Hall, the former sports editor of the Berthoud Weekly Surveyor and founder and former chairman of the Berthoud Sports Hall of Fame, will be inducted as a contributor.

The Berthoud Sports Hall of Fame committee has a new look this year with Aaron Rath, president of Overtime Sports Net (OTSN) and an original committee member, serving as chairman and Surveyor Sports Editor Dan Karpiel serving as vice-chairman. Brad Pickert serves as treasurer and former BHS coach, teacher, athletic director; and 2014 Hall of Fame inductee Rusty Mathena serves as committee secretary. Long-time Berthoud residents Jerry Ward and John Beck also serve on the committee and Angie Purdy, long a champion of Berthoud athletics, this year became the first woman to serve on the seven-member selection committee.  

The Berthoud Sports Hall of Fame evening includes the induction of the Hall of Fame class of 2019, the Berthoud Weekly Surveyor male and female Athlete of the Year awards presented by OTSN, the Heart of a Spartan Awards, the Angelo Dabbiero Courage Award, the Max Marr Coach of the Year Award, and there are always additional awards and special recognition of people who make a difference in the world of Berthoud athletics.

In addition to all of the awards presented at this community-focused event, the Berthoud Sports Hall of Fame every year recognizes the Berthoud Surveyor Athlete of the Week recipients from that respective school year. After the 2019 Berthoud Sports Hall of Fame Induction Dinner and Awards Ceremony is completed, over 250 BHS student athletes will have been highlighted in the past six years.

“Each year, inducting our Hall of Fame class is such a unique and special event of which to be part,” said Karpiel. “In addition, a highlight for me each year is presenting the multiple scholarship awards we give to Berthoud seniors who I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know over the course of their high school sports careers.”

Net proceeds from the Berthoud Sports Hall of Fame banquet benefit the BHS Booster Club.

For more information, including ticketing, please visit www.berthoudsportshof.com or email Dan Karpiel at [email protected].