Sarasota High inducts inaugural Hall of Fame class

Sarasota High School held its inaugural Hall of Fame ceremony at Michael's on East Sept. 27. 

Organized by former Sailors Matt Drews and Jeana Schmidt, the event honored six members of the Sarasota High community for both on-field and off-field accomplishments. There were two male athlete inductees, football player Tim Johnson and baseball player Wayne Garrett, and a female athlete inductee, golfer Page Dunlap Halpin. There was also a coach inductee in wrestling coach Ron Jones. 

Drews, a former first-round pick of the New York Yankees who still works with Sarasota High as a mentor, said he wants his students to "learn what it means to be a Sailor," the same way he learned to be a member of the Yankees. It's easier to do this if they have clear examples of what being a Sailor means, and all of the inductees exemplify Sailor qualities, he said. He also said he hopes to make this an annual event, but there's still a lot of work to be done to make that happen.

Johnson was a defensive lineman at Penn State University, winning a consensus national championship in 1986, and played for multiple NFL teams over a 10-year career. Johnson won Super Bowl XXVI with the Washington Redskins in 1992 and was named the 1993 Redskin of the Year. 

Garrett, an infielder, started his 10-year MLB career with the New York Mets, winning a World Series with the club in 1969. He hit for a .239 average for his career, with 61 home runs and 340 RBI. 

Dunlap Halpin was a state high school runner-up twice, in 1982 as a junior and in 1983 as a senior. She attended the University of Florida, where she was a member of the Gators' 1985 and 1986 national championship teams. That second year, Dunlap Halpin also won the individual NCAA Division I championship. She played on the LPGA Tour from 1991-1997, and coached the Vanderbilt University women's golf team from 1998-2000. 

Jones coached wrestling for four decades at multiple schools, but joined Sarasota High in 1982 and stayed for 29 years. In 1989, Jones and Co. won the state wrestling championship. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2008, but said in his speech that this induction means more to him because "this is my home."

There were two other awards handed out at the ceremony as well.

The Community Steward Award, "honoring an individual who has contributed his or her professional expertise and significantly impacted the community through their philanthropic efforts," was given to Michael's on East owner and former Sailors tennis player Michael Klauber. Klauber, a 1973 graduate, said he only agreed to accept the award so he could honor the legacy of the night's final award recipient. 

That recipient was the late Eddie Howell, who received an Award of Excellence that will be named after him in the future. The award will honor or remember someone who has had a large impact on the students of Sarasota High and the surrounding community. Howell was an administrator and coach at Sarasota High for 39 years, serving as a baseball, softball and football coach during that tenure. He died in October 2015. The award was accepted by his daughter, Shannon Howell Rosier.

"I miss him more than anything in the world," she said, "but I know he's made his impact here."