Orlando, FL October 1, 2020:  The 2020 Wakeboarding Hall of Fame Inductees are pioneering athletes, Shannon Best, Mike Weddington, Zane Schwenk, Greg Nelson, Kristin (Buster) Lutgert Cartwright and early innovators Brannon Meek and Rich Goforth.  The group also includes Lifetime Achievement recognition for pioneering wakeboarder and waterman Scott Harwood and much-deserved recognition for lifelong boat manufacturer Walter N. Meloon. Images can be downloaded here.

The 2020 induction class includes some of the sport’s most influential and notable visionaries from wakeboarding’s earliest years before it was accepted as the popular action sport it is today.  Each year the Wakeboarding Hall of Fame fields nominations and through a panel of veteran industry leaders confirms the prestigious class of inductees that will be bestowed the eternal honor of becoming a Wakeboarding Hall of Fame member.

The Wakeboarding Hall of Fame will permanently enshrine these new members into its hallowed halls with well-known current members such as Scott Byerly, Herb O’Brien, Shaun Murray, Tony Finn, Parks Bonifay and Darin Shapiro just to name a few (view the complete list here).

Travel restrictions due to COVID-19 have postponed in-person gatherings. The induction ceremony will be held at a later time. 

The Wakeboarding Hall of Fame, a 501(c)3 non-profit, is managed by its Board of Directors that currently includes wakeboarding veterans Jeff Barton, Shaun Moore, Tommy Phillips, Jim Emmons, Jason Buffalo, Chris Hawkins, Joe Pearson, Pat McElhinney, and Steven Fisher among others who have all pledged to honor wake sport’s iconic history including its most influential participants and contributors and to honor and preserve the legacy of wakeboarding for generations to come. 

Anyone interested is encouraged to visit WakeboardingHallofFame.com where they’ll get more information about the Wakeboarding Hall of Fame mission, its current members, entertaining archived content and how philanthropic contributors can make an annual tax-deductible donation that will one day lead to a museum enshrining inductees and housing wake sport’s most historical memorabilia and artifacts. For more information, contact Tommy Phillips at 720-253-2213 or Jim Emmons at (407) 719-8062 or info@WakeboardingHallofFame.com. 

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About the Wakeboarding Hall of Fame:  The Wakeboarding Hall of Fame’s mission is to honor and preserve the history of wakeboarding sports and to celebrate its pioneers and innovators while displaying significant artifacts for admirers to view and commemorate, both digitally and in physical locations.  The Wakeboarding Hall of Fame was established in 2014 by industry visionaries that saw a need for honoring and preserving the history wake sports.  In 2017, the Wakeboarding Hall of Fame received IRS non-profit 501(c)3 status as an educational institution with a tax-deductible designation.  Donations are encouraged.