LSHS Hall of Fame looking for new inductees

Nominations from the community sought

BY KEVIN HULTEN Canton, Ohio. Cooperstown, New York. Springfield, Massachusetts. Lake Stevens, Washington?

While the home of the Purple and Gold may not be the next logical choice in the sequence above featuring the National Football of Hall fame, the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, if the volunteers and administrators behind the Lake Stevens High School Hall of Fame achieve their goals, legendary Vikings past and present will be enshrined more often and more attention will be paid to the fledgling Viking Hall of Fame located in the foyer of Lake Stevens High School.

Dean of Students Gil McKinnie and Athletic Director Ed Bailey have been working hard to promote the history of LSHS, working lockstep with Purple and Gold President Harlan Roberson.

Bailey said that he hopes to induct several new members to the hall of fame as early as this spring.

“We’re looking for suggestions from the community. We’re ready to celebrate the successful alumni of Lake Stevens High School, we just need some community involvement in the selection process,” Bailey said, adding that people with potential suggestions for new Hall of Fame inductees can call the LSHS Athletic Department at 425-335-1527 or visit the Lake Stevens High School website.

The Hall of Fame opened its doors to Lake Stevens coaching legend Marv Harshman several years ago and has since swelled its ranks to a total of 15 members, representing alumni who excelled in athletics, academics, politics and charity work. Harshman was inducted at halftime of a home basketball game.

McKinnie said that there are many Viking alumni who have made their marks throughout the area and even throughout the world, but that it is difficult to track former students’ success without the help of friends or relatives who can keep the school abreast of the alumni’s achievements.
“We know there’s a long history of Viking grads making waves outside of Lake Stevens, and we want to honor them. Maybe it’s in athletics, academia, politics, whatever the case may be. We are ready to recognize Lake Stevens High Schools’ many stand-outs, but we need outside help with the nominations,” McKinnie said.

McKinnie and Bailey came up with the original notion of the Hall of Fame after considering the achievements of former Vikings.

Harshman, a former Men’s Basketball Head Coach at the University of Washington was an obvious choice for the initial inductee.

Harshman, a 1935 Viking grad, earned numerous coaching honors during his illustrious career at Pacific Lutheran University, Washington State University, and the University of Washington, including Pac 10 Conference Coach of the Year in 1982 and 1984, NCAA Coach of the Year in 1984, Seattle Man of the Year in Sports 1975, and Herald Man of the Year in Sports 1984.

He coached the United States to a Gold medal in the Pan American Games in 1975 and took his Huskies to five appearances in the NCAA basketball tournament, and is a member of the National College Basketball Hall of Fame.

The Viking Hall of Fame has also welcomed more recent Viking graduates, including Sarah Duncan and Chris Pratt, both part of the Class of 1997.

Duncan, currently an attorney in Everett, was an All-Area three sport star at LSHS who went on to the University of Washington on a basketball scholarship. She was twice the Huskies’ Most Inspirational Player and was also honored as an All-American in Strength and Conditioning.
Pratt starred on the WB hit “Everwood,” and also had a reoccurring role on the recently cancelled Fox drama “The O.C.”.

Other notable Hall of Fame members include former State Representative and Mitchell’s Pharmacy owner Jim Mitchell and Lake Stevens Historical Society Founder Gayle Whitsell.

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