Woodland to boast Hall of Fame

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PROSPECT — Although Woodland Regional High School is only 10 years old, there’s no shortage of people who have made their mark on the Hawks’ nest. In an effort to honor those who have contributed to the school’s legacy, a grassroots effort is mounting towards the creation of a Woodland Hall of Fame.

The driving force behind forming the hall of fame is Woodland alum Kyle Brennan, a 2009 graduate.

Brennan, alongside Woodland Principal Arnold Frank, presented the vision for the hall of fame to the Region 16 Board of Education at its Feb. 9 meeting.

Brennan explained the hall of fame would encompass an eclectic range of contributors to the school’s history and not simply sports figures—an aspect he said was important to those forming the hall.

“This is not strictly or solely an athletic hall of fame,” Brennan said. “That’s not what we want.”

Brennan said the idea is to have four “wings” of the hall in the high school, one each for athletes and coaches, retired teachers, alumni, and community members. Every year, he said, a new class would be inducted into the hall.

Much of the details for how the hall will work, such as the qualifications for nominees and how they will be selected, still need to be ironed out, Brennan said.

The next step, he explained, would be to form a 15-member committee to oversee potential entrees and firm out the details.

Brennan said the plan is to have the committee composed of the Woodland principal and athletic director, teachers, two Board of Education members, members of the school’s PTO, alumni and community members at-large.

There is an aggressive timeline to have the hall up and running. Brennan said the hope is to have inductees announced by the end of April and inducted in June to coincide with the school’s tenth anniversary this school year.

Brennan said the committee plans to open nominations for potential inductees to residents of Beacon Falls and Prospect and others involved with the Woodland community, and that the plan is to open the nomination process in early March.

The hall didn’t need the school board’s approval to move forward. However, the board unanimously endorsed the idea.

Along with the push to form a hall of fame, this school year also saw the creation of a Woodland Alumni Association.

Region 16 Superintendent of Schools James Agostine said even though Woodland is still a young school, its community is beginning to come into its own.

“Woodland is now starting to show its maturity,” Agostine said.