2023
Cleveland International Hall of Fame
What a Night!
Seated: Georgine Welo, Mike Polensek and Pat Dowd
Not pictured: Joyce Mariani
Over 450 people (with a waiting list) attended the 2023 induction ceremony. Both the 60 page collector’s edition book and room SOLD OUT!
Photos and Videos of the Induction Ceremony
Photos of some of the people in attendance
The 2023 Class of the Cleveland International Hall of Fame was selected from 84 worthy nominations. The list of nominees was sent to previous inductees of the CIHF for their input. The 2023 Class consists of:
- Pierre Bejjani (Lebanese heritage)
- Pat Dowd (Irish)
- Joyce Mariani (Italian)
- Councilman Mike Polensek (Slovenian)
- Sudarshan Sathe (Indian)
- Mayor Georgine Welo (Serbian)
Click on their name (above) for a photo, bio and pictures and videos of their induction.
The Induction Dinner ceremony was held on Tuesday April 18, 2023 at Windows on the River. TV3 News Anchor Carmen Blackwell was the MC and Cleveland Bishop Edward Malesic gave the invocation. There were remarks from Albert Ratner, Cleveland City Council President Blaine Griffin and Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne.
Save the Date! The 2024 Inductions will be Tuesday April 23, 2024 at Windows on the River.
Submit your nominations for the 2024 Class now! To be considered for induction the person must have made a significant and lasting contribution to a particular ethnic group or the broader ethnic communities of Cleveland and NE Ohio. Self-nominations are acceptable. The list of nominees will be sent to previous inductees of the CIHF for their input. The 2024 Class will be announced this Fall.
2022 Cleveland International Hall of Fame
Since 2010, the Cleveland International Hall of Fame (CIHF) has inducted people who have made significant and lasting contributions to our multicultural society. Cleveland is home to people representing about 120 different ethnic groups. The CIHF exists not only to honor those special people but also to inspire a new generation of leaders to follow in their footsteps.
Over 150 worthy candidates were nominated for both the 2020 and 2022 Classes of the Cleveland International Hall of Fame. The selection committee was advised by previously inducted members of the Cleveland International Hall of Fame.
Covid-19 forced the always sold out induction ceremonies to be cancelled in 2020 and 2021. We tried to induct the 2020 class virtually but it was not the same. So once we were able to gather together again, we included the 2020 class in the induction ceremony along with the 2022 class on June 7, 2022. The event at Windows on the River was a sell out and the 2020 class finally got their moment in the spotlight.
Seated (l-r) Anda Cook, Taras Szmagala
Standing – Victor Ruiz, Carl Robson MD
The 2022 honorees are:
• Anda Cook, (Latvian)
• Carl Robson, (Ethiopian community)
• Victor Ruiz, (Puerto Rican)
• Taras Szmagala, (Ukrainian)
In addition, we recognized the 2020 inductees who missed out on their ceremony due to Covid.
Seated (l-r) Margaret Lynch, May Chen, Valarie McCall
Standing Berj Shakarian, Joe Valencic, Ramesh Shah
• May Chen (Chinese)
• Margaret Lynch (Irish)
• Valarie McCall (African-American)
• Ramesh Shah (Indian)
• Berj Shakarian (Armenian)
• Joe Valencic (Slovenian)
Click on the name of the person above to view their photo, bio and see their induction into the Cleveland International Hall of Fame.
See photos and videos from the Induction Ceremony
See photos of some of the attendees – who do you recognize?
in Estonian and Vietnamese grab
Save the Date – April 18, 2023 for the next induction ceremony!
Celebrating Cleveland’s Diversity
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