Cleveland International Hall of Fame
2024 Gold Sponsors
- Irish Garden Club
- Kent State University
- Minutemen Family of Companies
Cleveland International Hall of Fame 2024 Silver Sponsors
- Albert and Audrey Ratner
- Alex Machaskee
- Cleveland Asian Festival
- CCWA
- Crawford United
- Dr. Joy Jordan and Family
- Eddie Ni – Windfall Group
- Global Cleveland
- Lou and Ann Frangos – Greek Garden
- Margaret W. Wong & Associates.
- Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District
- Richard W. Pogue
- Superlative Group
Proclamations for the Inductees:
- State of Ohio – Governor Mike DeWine
- City of Cleveland – Mayor Justin Bibb
- Cleveland City Council and President Blaine Griffin
- US Senator JD Vance
- Ohio State House of Representatives -Tom Patton
- US Congressman David Joyce
Albert Ratner has always been interested in, and has become an expert in, population and immigration topics. He led the creation of Global Cleveland in 2011. He was inducted into the Cleveland International Hall of Fame in 2011 and has given several keynote addresses at their induction ceremony. Unable to attend the 2024 induction ceremony in person he created this short video with his perspective and advice on population and immigration. It’s worth a watch.
Past Inductees attending the 2024 Ceremony
- Anda Cook
- Anthony Yen
- August Pust
- Carl Robson
- Carolyn Balogh
- Dick Pogue
- Dr. Wael Khoury
- Georgine Welo
- Gerry Quinn
- Gia Hoa Ryan
- Ingrida Bublys
- Irene Morrow
- James Foster
- Jenny Brown
- Jim Craciun
- Joe Meissner
- Jose Feliciano
- Ken Kovach
- Margaret Lynch
- Margaret Wong
- Maria Pujana
- Mary Rose Oakar
- Mike Polensek
- Paul Burik
- Pierre Bejjani
- Ralph Perk Jr.
- Rev Otis Moss Jr.
- Sheila Murphy Crawford
- Sudarshan Sathe
- Valarie McCall
Libation Ceremony
We honored and remembered those past inductees and board members who have passed on. The libation ceremony consists of a ritual pouring of a liquid in memory of the dead. It was common in many religions of antiquity and continues to be offered in many cultures today. But I first experienced it, and learned about it, from Dr. Jordan and Khalid Samad and Carl Ewing and others in our African American community where the ancestors are greatly respected. The term “Ashe” is from the Yoruba people, a West African ethnic group mainly from Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. It is kind of like saying Amen – it gives the general affirmation of hopeful wishes. Let’s remember and honor those who have gone before us – inductees and board members.
Watch the Video at the 29:42 mark for The Libation Ceremony.
- Sister Alicia Alvarado – Puerto Rican
- Dr. Mohan Bafna – Indian
- Margaret Callander – Scottish
- Bill Carney – Founding Board member
- Arnie de la Porte – Dutch
- Dr. Dieu Thuc Do – Vietnamese
- Vijaya L. Emani – Indian
- Richard Fleischman – Hungarian
- Richard A. Gamin – Lebanese
- Robert Haas – German
- Patricia Hanson – CIHF Co-founder
- Joseph Holzer – German
- Donna Hom – Chinese
- Jack Kahl – Irish
- Helen Karpinski – Polish
- Lonnie McCauley – Irish
- Ernie Mihaly – Hungarian
- Sam Miller – Jewish
- William Miller – Slovenian
- Steve Mulloy – Irish
- Nacy Panzica – Italian
- Mayor Ralph Perk – Czech
- Tony Petkovsek – Slovenian
- Bishop Edward Pevec – Slovenian
- Judge Ray Pianka – Polish
- Bishop Anthony Pilla – Italian
- Vladimir Rus – Slovenian
- Thomas Scanlon – Irish
- Paul Sciria – Italian
- Bert Seymour – Founding Board member
- Paramjit Singh – Sikh
- Lucretia Stoica – Romanian
- Taras Szmagala – Ukrainian
- Senator George Voinovich – Slovenian/Serbian
- Leo Weidenthal – Jewish
We will never forget them. Please stay healthy – we don’t want to add to this list for a long time.
See pictures of some of the attendees
See Libation Ceremony, Sponsors and more
See the Induction Ceremony with MC Russ Mitchell and the speakers