The Geneva Community High School Athletic Hall of Fame begins its second decade by welcoming in three veteran coaches—each of whom spent more than 30 years helping develop excellence in Geneva’s young athletes—during Class of 2011 induction ceremonies Saturday night, Jan. 22.

They are John Barton, Julie Koivula and Jerry Vitton, all of whom have indicated they’ll be present to receive their plaques at the 11^th annual induction ceremonies for the Vikings’ Athletic Hall of Fame, scheduled for Saturday evening, Jan. 22, in the school’s main contest gymnasium, during halftime of the Geneva-vs.-Elgin varsity basketball game (set to tip off at 6 p.m.).

Each of this year’s Hall of Fame inductees, chosen by a committee of former Geneva sports journalists, Viking athletic alumni and coaches, will be spotlighted over the next couple days on Geneva Patch.

The Geneva Community High School Athletic Hall of Fame selection committee, chaired by Athletic Director Jim Kafer, consists of Jerry Auchstetter, retired Geneva High head football coach who compiled an .801 record over 20 seasons from the 1960s into the 1990s, Allen F. Mead, GHS Class of 1933, retired publisher of The Geneva Republican, who covered Geneva High sports for that newspaper from 1939 until his retirement in 1986; Rick Nagel, Class of 1975, editor of GenevaPatch.com and former editor-publisher of The Beacon-News, who began covering Viking sports professionally in 1985; Dr. Peter Temple, Class of 1981, a local clinical psychologist and GHS Athletic Hall of Famer in his own right, who quarterbacked Viking football teams to 17 victories over 2½ seasons; and Kurt Wehrmeister, Class of 1975, a veteran local journalist and communications professional who served more than 30 years as Geneva High’s varsity football and basketball public-address announcer.

After the Jan. 22 induction ceremony and basketball game—to which all previously inducted Hall of Fame members are extended invitations—friends and fans will have the opportunity to visit with the 2011 inductees at a coffee-and-cake reception in their honor in the north balcony of Geneva High’s contest gymnasium.

Editor's note: This is a press release issued to all media and is not exclusive to Geneva Patch. It carries Kurt Wehrmeister's byline because he wrote the release. As indicated in the release, Wehrmeister and Geneva Patch Editor Rick Nagel are members of the Hall of Fame Committee.