On Friday evening, November 29, the annual BCA Hall of Fame dinner kicked off what will be a five-day weekend here in Orlando. Kudos to Emily Frazer for allowing this event to kick off Mosconi week. I was pleased to be in attendance.
Rookie emcee Freddie Agnir, Cornerman in these AZB parts, did a great job of framing the evening, giving context to the occasion and introducing the many members of pool royalty in attendance. BCA Hall of Famers on the podium included Mika Immonen, Thorsten Hohmann, Mike Sigel, Nick Varner, Terry Bell, Jeanette Lee, Belinda Calhoun, Tom Rossman and Mike Massey. I knew all of them except Terry Bell, and was pleased when Jeanette Lee introduced me to Terry, who was very congenial as we chatted.
After dinner, it was time for the inductions, which kicked off with CSI President Ozzy Reynolds accepting in place of the late Mark Griffin. Ozzy spoke well, and gave a sense of just how many ways Mark had left his footprint on today’s game. I never knew that Mark was SVB’s first sponsor. Remarkably, Mark had started out as a table mechanic in Alaska, but he soon found his way to owning nine pool rooms. He had done a lot financially to bolster Diamond Billiards in its formative years, produced a lot of great events and, by buying them, may have saved the BCA pool leagues. Mark was a giant in the industry.
Next came Mike Panozzo’s turn, and Mike focused on how he had taken a job after graduating college in 1980 with Luby Publishing and how Billiards Digest was just small potatoes when he joined the operation, not yet even a monthly magazine. He reflected on how he fell in love with the pool industry, and especially on the many friendships he made over the years, sharing that Nick Varner, whom he met in 1981, was his first friend in pro pool. He spoke with humility and a keen sense of family and was as effective as one would expect of a professional journalist. Mike’s legacy is the way that he has brought pool journalism to an unprecedently high level.
Most of the evening, however, belonged to Shane Van Boening. Perhaps half of his speech focused on how he got into pool, and he spent a lot of time thanking countless people present, but stressing that his late grandfather, more than anyone, had gotten him into pool and was his most important influence. While many of us wondered how much he would have to say, Shane shared story after story about his days as both a road and tournament player. He spoke with passion and conviction and warmed the hearts of all in attendance with his visible joy.
Congratulations to these very deserving inductees.
Rookie emcee Freddie Agnir, Cornerman in these AZB parts, did a great job of framing the evening, giving context to the occasion and introducing the many members of pool royalty in attendance. BCA Hall of Famers on the podium included Mika Immonen, Thorsten Hohmann, Mike Sigel, Nick Varner, Terry Bell, Jeanette Lee, Belinda Calhoun, Tom Rossman and Mike Massey. I knew all of them except Terry Bell, and was pleased when Jeanette Lee introduced me to Terry, who was very congenial as we chatted.
After dinner, it was time for the inductions, which kicked off with CSI President Ozzy Reynolds accepting in place of the late Mark Griffin. Ozzy spoke well, and gave a sense of just how many ways Mark had left his footprint on today’s game. I never knew that Mark was SVB’s first sponsor. Remarkably, Mark had started out as a table mechanic in Alaska, but he soon found his way to owning nine pool rooms. He had done a lot financially to bolster Diamond Billiards in its formative years, produced a lot of great events and, by buying them, may have saved the BCA pool leagues. Mark was a giant in the industry.
Next came Mike Panozzo’s turn, and Mike focused on how he had taken a job after graduating college in 1980 with Luby Publishing and how Billiards Digest was just small potatoes when he joined the operation, not yet even a monthly magazine. He reflected on how he fell in love with the pool industry, and especially on the many friendships he made over the years, sharing that Nick Varner, whom he met in 1981, was his first friend in pro pool. He spoke with humility and a keen sense of family and was as effective as one would expect of a professional journalist. Mike’s legacy is the way that he has brought pool journalism to an unprecedently high level.
Most of the evening, however, belonged to Shane Van Boening. Perhaps half of his speech focused on how he got into pool, and he spent a lot of time thanking countless people present, but stressing that his late grandfather, more than anyone, had gotten him into pool and was his most important influence. While many of us wondered how much he would have to say, Shane shared story after story about his days as both a road and tournament player. He spoke with passion and conviction and warmed the hearts of all in attendance with his visible joy.
Congratulations to these very deserving inductees.
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