The East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame is proud to announce the Class of 2020 has been Inducted during a ceremony held Wednesday evening, January 8, 2020, in front of a packed auditorium at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida following a day of business at the Surf Expo Trade Show held in the same location.
The Class of 2020 were inducted in five categories through a rigorous four-step process, and included:
Culture—Will Lucas, Maryland
Industry–Tyler Callaway, New York
Media—- Pete Hodgson, Florida
Legends–Tony Caramanico, New York; Richard “Dickie” Munson, Florida;
Jesse Fernandez, North Carolina
Surfers—Bobby Owens, Florida; Bill Hartley, Florida; Adele Faba Berenda,
Florida; Damien Hobgood, Florida
Included in the biennial induction ceremony for the first time, the Cecil Lear President’s Award, named for the co-founder and first President (1996-2016) of the ECSHOF, was created to honor an individual who made a lasting contribution in leadership to East Coast Surfing. The Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors selected Lewis Earl “Hoppy” Swarts.
As the founding president of the United States Surfing Association in 1961. Swarts mentored Cecil Lear and Rudy Huber to launch the Eastern Surfing Association (ESA), which has since become the strongest surfing organization on the East Coast, and one of the most respected in the surfing world, having produced professional world surfing champions Frieda Zamba, Lisa Andersen, CJ Hobgood and Kelly Slater.
“The Class of 2020 are an incredible addition to the 159 members of the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame, who have been inducted over the past 24 years. The East Coast has produced amazingly talented surfers and, as president of the Hall of Fame, I am honored to welcome the newest members into our tribe. A special thank you goes to Surf Expo, which has supported the Hall of Fame for all of its 24 years.”
About the ECSHOF
The East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame is dedicated to the preservation of the history and heritage of East Coast Surfing by enshrining forever the people who have been responsible for surfing’s development and growth on the US East Coast. The ECSHOF was founded in 1996 by one of surfing’s truly great watermen, Greg Noll, along with East Coast legend, Cecil Lear. Every two years, the ECSHOF conducts a public candidate submission process, followed by a thorough nomination and selection process to determine the next ECSHOF Inductees.
For more information, please visit EastCoastSurfingHallofFamenominate.com.
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