The pandemic of 2020 took a toll on plenty of things in our life.

Thankfully, many of those things that took a hit have returned. Add one more to the list: The Shippensburg Athletic Hall of Fame will induct another set of outstanding athletes this fall, resuming a tradition that began in 2007.

The pandemic shut down the process in 2020, and since then most of the people who had worked so hard to get the Hall of Fame started had chosen to step aside.

“Some of the charter members were no longer interested in doing it, or had passed away,” current Hall of Fame committee chairperson Megan (Gephart) Carr said. “So it was time for some new people to get involved. We didn’t want it to fall by the wayside and want to have something to be proud of.”

Carr is a previous inductee, and three other Hall of Fame members are on the committee — Steve Dolbin, Leanne (Kling) Piscotti and Alison (Pittman) Van Scyoc. Also on the board are Levi Cressler (alumni and school board member), Tammy Butler (at-large and one of the original board members), former softball coach Mike Peters, and current athletic director Sarah Fanus.

A ninth member will join this group after being voted in.

Carr said, “Some of the people who worked on this before, like John Barthalow, Lloyd Heller and Mick McNaughton, deserve a lot of credit for all the work they did. It’s like they passed the torch and now we want to keep it going.”

The Shippensburg Athletic Hall of Fame inducted its first class in 2007 and the last group that went in was in 2019. There are currently 30 inductees, plus the 1982 state champion softball team.

The class of 2024 will be decided sometime this spring and will be inducted on Sept. 27 when the Greyhound football team plays Lower Dauphin. The Hall of Fame has a banquet before the game, and inductees receive an award, a poster with some of their accomplishments listed on it and a lifetime pass to all Greyhound home games.

“We wanted to get people (on the committee) who care about athletics and care about the community,” Carr said. “and who don’t have an agenda. We want to be objective. And we are glad that our school board and superintendent  are very supportive of this.”

The committee has a working list of former Ship athletes to consider. It has also reached out to coaches and former coaches for possibilities. The public may also nominate athletes by contacting the athletic department. A nomination form will be available on the athletic website in the near future.