The 2018 Induction Ceremony for the Cleveland International Hall of Fame was held on April 17, 2018 in the Grand Ballroom of the Marriott at key Center in front of 500 attendees.
Channel 19 news anchor Chris Tanaka served as MC for the induction of the 2018 class of the Cleveland International Hall of Fame.
He welcomed the crow and introduced the Horizon Science Academy JROTC
Color Guard and William Clarence Marshall who led the national anthem.
Chris then told some of his own story.
He then introduced the 2018 inductees: Sister Alicia Alvarado, Sheila Murphy Crawford, Dr. Ahtul Mehta, Abdullah (Abby) Mina, Judge Ralph Perk Jr. and Judge Ray Pianka (posthumously).
Click on the white arrow in the images below to watch videos. Then, click the icon in the lower right to make it full screen.
Chris then introduced Dan Hanson, co-founder of the Cleveland International Hall of Fame. He first took the obligatory selfie.
Dan Hanson thanked the volunteers and sponsors and introduced the board of directors.
Dan thanked volunteers Pat Hanson, Ruth and Rich Crepage, Rania Abbadi , Yulu Li, Monica Ceja and Olivia Ortega. Also photographers Ed O’Shaben, Anjan Ghose, Tim Ryan and Harry Weller.
He then gave a few words or memory about 2018 inductees: Sister Alicia Alvarado, Sheila Murphy Crawford, Dr. Ahtul Mehta, Abdullah (Abby) Mina, Judge Ralph Perk Jr. and Judge Ray Pianka (posthumously).
Pastor Grady Stevenson who serves as Director of the City of Cleveland’s Community Relations Board gave a brief blessing and invocation before dinner.
After dinner, Chris Tanaka served told the procedure for nominating people for the Cleveland International Hall of Fame.
Then the honorees were inducted (alphabetically)
Click on the name to see photos and videos from the induction ceremony
and read a brief bio of the inductees
- Sister Alicia Alvarado (Puerto Rican heritage)
- Sheila Murphy Crawford (Irish heritage)
- Dr. Atul Mehta (Indian heritage)
- Abdullah (Abby) Mina (Lebanese heritage)
- Ralph Perk Jr. (Czech and Italian Heritage)
- Judge Ray Pianka (posthumously) (Polish heritage)
After the inductions of the members of the 2018 class of the Cleveland International Hall of Fame, co-founder Dan Hanson led the sold out crowd in a toast to the inductees: Sister Alicia Alvarado, Sheila Murphy Crawford, Dr. Ahtul Mehta, Abdullah (Abby) Mina, Judge Ralph Perk Jr. and Judge Ray Pianka (posthumously).
See photos of some of the honorees and attendees from the event.
Save the Date – The 10th class of the Cleveland International Hall of Fame will be inducted on Tuesday April 16, 2019.