I am always excited to share our Spring Journal as it means we are getting closer to enshrining our Class of 2024 during Honors Weekend on May 31 and June 1 in Stillwater. We encourage you to join us for this special event. CLICK for more information. 

Having recently completed exciting high school and college seasons and championships, we are also gearing up for the United States Olympic Team Wrestling Trials in State College, Pennsylvania on April 19 and 20. The trials will determine the men’s and women’s freestyle and men’s Greco-Roman teams that will represent America at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, where wrestling competition will be contested from August 5-11. 

As wrestling advocates, you know full well that this is a time not only to come together as a wrestling community and as a country to root for our favorite sport, team and competitors, but also to celebrate the culture of a sport that has meant so much to our lives. 

In addition to Honors Weekend, there are many other opportunities to celebrate the best of our sports culture at events hosted by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa, and by our state chapters across the country during the spring, summer and fall. 

As you witness these events you will most certainly be able to discover wrestling’s growing commitment to the inclusion of women, who are being recognized for their past, present and future role in helping to grow our sport. 

Hopefully you had an opportunity to see our new Women’s Wrestling Memorable Moments, an impressive 10-feet by 10-feet vibrant full-color mobile exhibit at either the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships or at the NCAA Division I Men’s Wrestling Championships. If not, it will continue to be displayed at wresting events, including the Olympic Trials in Pennsylvania. 

The traveling exhibit was inspired by the Hall of Fame’s newest exhibit Women In Wrestling - A Legacy Inspiring Generations, which was unveiled as part of last year’s Honors Weekend. The permanent exhibit features women's wrestling memorabilia and a digital kiosk where visitors can access a timeline of great moments in U.S. women’s wrestling history, females honored by the Hall of Fame, and the names of the generous donors who made the exhibit possible. 

Olympic silver medalist and Hall of Fame Distinguished Member Andy Rein, who recently celebrated his 66th birthday, is retiring after 25 years working for SKF USA, but he won’t be taking it easy. Andy is undertaking his next big challenge and will begin his thru hike of the entire Appalachian Trail in April. He will walk roughly five million steps through 14 stages, from Georgia to Maine, and estimates the 2,197-mile journey will take him five months to complete as he backpacks and camps trailside in a tent. CLICK to read more about Andy's next big challenge.

Andy is dedicating his hike to our Power Beyond endowment campaign to help secure the Hall of Fame’s future. If you are interested in helping Andy raise money for our endowment fund, please CLICK here. We will post regular updates on Andy’s progress on our social media. 

You will be encouraged to know that our Board of Governors and staff have been assessing our organization’s long-term viability by quantifying what it will take to sustain our mission for the decades ahead. To achieve this, we have been focused on building an endowment fund with a goal of $6 million by 2026, the 50th anniversary of the Hall of Fame. To date, we have relied on the charitable contributions from members of our board and a few major benefactors to make our Power Beyond endowment campaign a reality. I am extremely grateful to those who have helped us successfully launch this campaign while again showing their tremendous leadership, commitment and service to our organization and wrestling.

We are also working diligently to elevate our current programs and services to generate even greater impact. In the past year, we welcomed a new staff member, office manager Lara Horinek; outside consultant Susy Rein, president of Strategically Engaged; and board members Melody Domanico, Ron Domanico and Audrey Pang. Each of them bring an uplifting spirit and level of expertise that contributes to the overall advancement of our mission. 

I have always considered it a privilege to represent our board and staff along with a huge network of volunteers who take our sport’s heritage and inspiration to fans at every level across the country. 

Hopefully this update from your Hall of Fame will make you think about how best you can help us continue our mission by Paying It Forward. 

All together such advocacy and action are the very reason why wrestling is one of the world’s oldest and most common of sports, and why it will continue to be!