The East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame has announced it’s 2004 inductees. Billy Curry Lewis Graves Wes Laine Phil Salick Isabel McLaughlin Lynn Vignetti Thomas Kathy Phillips Larry Pope Pete Dooley Congrats to all. A very deserving group. Induction ceremonies will be at Surf Expo, Orlando Civic Aud. Sunday Jan. 11 at 6 PM.
Greg, Who are presently in the Hall of Fame?
Kathy Philips?
If you do not know who Kathy Phillips is, she is and has been the driving force behind the ESA (Eastern Surfing Assoc.) ever since Colin Couture passed away. Kathy has given huge amounts of time and effort in supporting East Coast surfing, and if you ask guys like CJ Hobgood and Kelly Slater, they would probably have many words of thanks to Kathy. A well deserved appointee, Kathy has kept the stoke going on the East Coast for years. Say what you will about contest surfing, but anyone who has put so much effort into such a relativelt thankless job whilst keeping legions of surfers, grommets to Grand Master stoked for so long decerves this and much more. I say Congrats to Kathy.
I know who Kathy is. Kathy? $100,000 lawsuit with the NSSA.
And the point is? Did’nt realize that the NSSA was such a sacred institution that anyone who opposed them should be booted out of the ECLHOF despite their efforts on behalf of the community in general. Besides, a “100,000 lawsuit” is nothing, everyone sues for $1million these days, and that is just what they ask for, not what they wind up with when it’s all over. Ask any attorney, if they are claiming $100,000 this will probably settle for $1,000. I doubt that Kathy herself instituted the suit anyway, it’s probably some insignificant legal mumbo jumbo.
I worked with Kathy for almost Ten years in the ESA. If your in her in group your fine. If not the support you get for your district is less than par and the director of the ESA should not be influenced by outside sources like Surf Shop owners who want their way. Kathy gets paid for her troubles unlike the other directors who do an equal amount of hard work to keep their districts going. I have always loved the grass roots side of the ESA, but lawsuits and some of the other things that have gone on since Doc has died, I simply disagree with and the judging at many of the ESA regionals is bias and generally sucks. I respect that Kathy hangs in there, and anyone who takes that abuse as I myself have. My problem really is with the east coast hall of fame in general and how they choose who goes in. There is a girl here in my area who got in last year. She has done absolutly nothing to be put in a hall of fame of any type. Her claim is that she has been surfing for 30 years. The other two US champion Girls we have here have not been put in because they have not played the politics to get in. If the only criterea for getting in is time, money or recognition then thousands should be in. There are many people in it who deserve it, there are many who make the whole thing a laughing stock.
With all due respect to what has been written, Kathy took over the ESA when Doc died. His passing was a terrible shock for all of us and his influence went far beyond his years. He was one of the most brilliant minds I have ever known. The problem with Doc was that he never wrote anything down. Nothing. He didn’t feel he needed to. A mind as brilliant as this. When he died everything went with him. Kathy picked up the pieces and put the worlds largest surfing association back together and has remained at that post ever since. It is doubtful that there would even be an ESA if she hadn’t. As anyone who has ever surfed in an amatuer competition knows, there is nothing harder than running this kind of organization. There are always going to be desentors no matter how gratious your intentions are. I, for one, will welcome Kathy and the others. Each has distiguished themselves in this sport.
As for future selectees of the ECHOF, we have initiated new methods of compiling criteria which should make this more professional and fair in the future. This thing is not even 10 years old and any organization of it is much more recent than that. There have been oversites and we are hoping better organization in the future will eliminate this. This group certainly fills many oversites of the more recent past.
Greg, I don’t really disagree with everything you said. However Kathy has clung to the ESA and no one else gets an opportuniy to take her place. If they do it will be someone of her choosing thats part of her little group. AS for the Hall of fame. Who needs it. Sounds like another ego hype trip to me.
As for the hall of fame, I agree. Totally unnessesary in many respects. But then again so are Emmy’s, Oscar’s, Tony’s, Football, Baseball and Basketball HOF’s. It’s nice on the other hand to recognize some of the people who got us here. The list above features some VERY important people who contributed a lot. I’d like to point out that none have gotten rich out of this and all gave their time and effort for the advancment of what we do.
I agree on the list as a whole, but I still am not wild about the concept of East Coast hall of fame. Why not just one hall of fame or none. I agree with George C Scotts reasons for turning down the oscar.
What does the rest of the surfing world know of the history and forefathers of the East Coast. Many never became what could be described as good surfers, but nevertheless contributed greatly to the advances and popularity of the sport. I would have been overlooked by the rest of the surfing world, still unknow in my little hole in Cocoa, Fla. Until Charlie Kuhn, Todd Holland, Pat Mulhern, Beaver Massafeller, Kelly Slater, Greg Loehr, Bruce Valluzi, Mike Tabeling and a host of others, any thing positive that happened on the East Coast was just a fluke. If Cecil Lear hadn’t helped it off the ground, it still would not even be a concept. The Hall of Fame in California is barely showing a pulse, how would they ever include another coast
Jim, I respect you and many others who are part of the hall of fame, but I simply think the thing started off politics and that is where it is now. I wish there was another way to honor those who made contributions. Who cares about recognition anyway. Go surf have fun and let the ego dogs soak up the limelight. I think each surfer inducted should put a picture of themselves on a van and drive around the country saying they are Hall of famers. Yee Har!