The stage of the 2024 Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame induction banquet Saturday, June 8.

Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame held its 20th annual induction banquet at the Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives on Saturday, June 8, recognizing the athletic achievements of nine local sports legends:

— Heidi Barnes.

— Hubert Chittam.

— Garner Ezell.

— Harlow Fikes.

— Richard Hendrix.

— Shae Moore.

— Jackie Moran.

— Trevor Washington.

— Chris Whitt.

According to Jeff Hodges, president of the Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame, this year’s class of inductees are known for more than just the impact they made in their respective sports, but also for the greater influence they made outside of their sports.

“Obviously this is a really good group of athletes, but they are also a really good group of people,” Hodges said. “All of them deserved to be recognized for the excellent job they did and continue to do.”

Before the inductions and the speeches started, the Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame announced that it would hand out a total of $20,000 in scholarships to five student athletes who recently graduated from nearby high schools.

— Thea Hamlin, Elkmont High School.

— Tailan Hall, Tanner High School.

— Sydney Perkins, Lindsay Lane Christian Academy.

— Sienna Perkins, Lindsay Lane Christian Academy.

— Avery Dunn, Ardmore High School.

“What a lot of people don’t realize is the money that we raise all goes to scholarships for our student-athletes,” Hodges said. “Since our inception we have awarded over $100,000 in scholarships. We are really trying to make a difference in the lives of these young people in our community.”

That sentiment was on full display on Saturday night as dozens of local high schoolers helped serve the food to the hundreds of people who attended this year’s induction banquet.

According to Hodges, the headline name for this year’s class is former Athens High School basketball player Richard Hendrix.

“Richard Hendrix is probably the marquee name of the group,” Hodges said. “Not only because of his success playing at Athens, Alabama and professionally in the European league, but also because of his work with ESPN and SEC Network.”

Hendrix talked to The News Courier after his induction into the Limestone County Hall of Fame on Saturday night, expressing how special it is for him to receive this prestigious honor.

“This is huge for me, because Athens has been and always will be a huge part of me,” Hendrix said. “To be recognized and inducted into this hall of fame is really special, and I’m going to cherish this for the rest of my life.”