The Kansas National Guard Hall of Fame
Housed in the Museum of the Kansas National Guard at the Main Entrance to Forbes Field, Topeka, Kansas.
The 2008 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held Sunday, 2 November 2008 at the Topeka Ramada Inn Hotel, Topeka, KS.
Inductees for 2008 are:COL Paul A. Cannady
COL Malen E. Dowse
CSM Alfred E. Link
Hall of Fame Photos and Biographies can be found at the Kansas National Guard Museuem
Hall of Fame Information
- Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony held on the 1st Sunday of November each year
- The 29th Induction Ceremony was held 4 November 2007
- The 30th Induction Ceremony will be held 2 November 2008
- All Kansas Guardsmen are eligible for nomination
- Nomination Deadline is 1 December each year
- No more than three nominees will be inducted each year unless there is a Medal of Honor Inductee, which does not count against the three.
- The Hall of Fame is governed by a Board of Governors, with screening and recommendations being done by a Nominating Committee (screening all files submitted for the year) and a Selection Committee which makes the final recommendation to the board for no more than three candidates.
Criteria For Nomination
The Method of Selection, Article III to the Kansas National Guard Hall of Fame By-Laws lists three elements to be considered when selecting individuals for induction. While these elements seem very general in nature and highly subjective, keep in mind that the primary and secondary considerations both pertain to military and community service associated with the Kansas Army or Air National Guard or its predecessor, The Kansas State Militia. Consideration should be given to wartime records and periods of Federal Active Duty only if they reflect credit to the Kansas National Guard.
Nowhere in the criteria will you find anything based on the military rank of the individual or how long they served. Many members of the Hall of Fame are senior, both enlisted and officer, and served many years, but that is common for any Hall of Fame.
PRIMARY CONSIDERATION WILL BE GIVEN TO SERVICE TO THE KANSAS NATIONAL GUARD, BEYOND THE REQUIREMENTS OF ROUTINE DUTY, THROUGH DEVOTION OF THE NOMINEE’S OWN TIME AND ENERGIES FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE KANSAS NATIONAL GUARD.
SECONDARY CONSIDERATION WILL BE GIVEN TO COMMUNITY SERVICE THAT BROUGHT INCREASED RESPECT FOR OR AN APPRECIATION OF THE KANSAS NATIONAL GUARD FROM CITIZENS OF THAT COMMUNITY.
CONSIDERATION WILL BE GIVEN TO WARTIME RECORDS AND PERFORMANCES DURING PERIODS OF FEDERAL SERVICE DISTINCTLY RESULTING IN CREDIT TO THE KANSAS NATIONAL GUARD.
Qualifications of Nominees
A. Any person, who has served as a member of the Kansas National Guard, Army or Air or predecessor “Kansas State Militia - 29 January 1861 to 31 March 1885” and during that service, has made a significant contribution to the Kansas National Guard achievement, tradition or history, is eligible for nomination.
B. A nominee must have been retired or departed from the Kansas National Guard or died at least three years prior to 31 December of the year in which nominated.
C. Nominees must not be members of the Hall of Fame Board of Governors, Nominating or Selection Committees.
Nominations
A. Nominations must be received by the Nominating Committee Chairman, through the Executive Director, National Guard Association of Kansas, no later than 1 December.
B. Nominations received after that date will be returned to the nominator, indicating the date of receipt and that it may be resubmitted the following year.
C. Nominations with substantiating materials will be forwarded to:
Kansas National Guard Hall of Fame
c/o Executive Director, NGAKS
PO Box 19031
Topeka, KS 66619-0031
Minimum Documentation Required:
Cover Letter from the nominator, which is signed and includes his/her name, address, telephone number.
Personal Fact Sheet on the nominee which includes; name, rank, date of birth, next of kin (with addresses) and telephone number if living.
An 8 X 10 inch photograph of the nominee. (Only required if candidate is selected for induction, age of nominee at time of photo is immaterial, may be a new or old photo, but will be displayed in the Hall of Fame)
No fewer than Three Letters of Endorsement from individuals whom have direct knowledge of the qualifications of the nominee.
A detailed biography of the nominee's life and service in narrative form. This biography should include educational background of the nominee, dates of service, dates of assignment, where performed, decorations, awards and service medals, effective dates of promotion. Community involvement should include all organizations, former and current, of which the nominee is a member to include any offices or positions held with dates and location. Other relevant community service should be included.
Nominations must be typed. Substantiating materials may be in any readable form. There is no prescribed format for a nominees packet, but must include all these elements and should be submitted in a logical, easy to read, sequential manner.
Thorough research of the nominee's background is critical and must be reflected in the documentation submitted. The documentation submitted must stand on it's own merit. (Voting is by secret ballot and no discussion is allowed within the Nominating and Selection Committees of the Nominees during the process.)
Selection Process:
The nomination packets will be evaluated by the Nominating Committee and Selection Committee with results being sent to the Board of Governors for final review and approval for induction. Nomination packets will be reviewed, evaluated and voted upon for a maximum of three (3) consecutive years. If the nominee has not been selected for nomination by the end of the third year, the packet will be returned to the nominator with instructions that if the nominee is submitted again, it will require entire new documentation including new letters of endorsement as outlined at left. A new photograph is not required.Nominating Committee reviews, evaluates and votes on all nominee packets each year and forwards the top six nominees to the Selection Committee who meets to review, evaluate and vote on those six nominees and forwards the top three nominees to the Board of Governors for final approval for induction. No more than three will be inducted in any given year unless there is a Medal of Honor recipient.
Method Of Recognition:
The Kansas National Guard Hall of Fame shall consist of a gallery of photographs of like dimensions. Each photograph will be displayed with an identification plate and biography (one page or less) of the member. Each new member or his or her next-of-kin will be presented a certificate of membership, lapel pin (started in 2001) and desk stand with minuteman statue (started in 2002). Announcement of the new members for each particular year will be made during the appropriate Annual conferences of each Association i.e., Officer new member at the Officers' conference of the National Guard Association of Kansas (NGAKS) and Enlisted new member at the Enlisted conference of the Enlisted Association National Guard of Kansas (EANGKS). Induction ceremonies will be conducted annually during November. If the nominee is deceased, his next of kin will be honored in the induction ceremony.
Board of Governors| Last Name | First Name | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Appenfeller | Jeff | MSgt |
| Bellin | Chris | MSG |
| Crosby | James | SGM |
| Jackson | Don | Col (Ret) |
| Jacobs | Doug | LTC (Ret) |
| Marlar | Tim | LTC |
| Putman | Dale | CSM |
| Rueger | John | LTC |
| Steanson | Howard | CMSgt |
| Wilson | Roger | CMSgt (Ret) |