More than 150 attended our Illinois Chapter banquet on Oct. 16, 2016, at the Holiday Inn Conference Center in Bloomington, Illinois. Sandy Stevens, who received the Order of Merit award from the Hall of Fame in 1998 and is a member of the Hall of Fame’s Board of Governors, was the emcee for the event.

Pictured are Front Row (L to R): Wayne Mammen, Bob Jones, Sharron Jones and Jacob Pourchot. Back Row (L to R): Hall of Fame State Chapter Director Krista Graff, Dave Gannaway, John Penn, Khris Whelan and Bob Dane (for Bob Schnarr).

Gannaway, Bob Jones, Sharon Jones, Mammen and Whelan were presented with the Lifetime Service to Wrestling award while Penn and Schnarr were honored as Outstanding Americans and Pourchot received the Medal of Courage award.