No matter what your views may be, and they certainly vary greatly depending upon who is doing the talking, the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted many lives, businesses and events. The North Dakota Fishing Hall of Fame is no exception.

Every year the board of directors for the hall reviews nominations of candidates for induction into the elite group. The successful inductees are recognized during the rules meeting prior to the Governor’s Cup Walleye Tournament. That event is held annually at a packed Garrison City Auditorium. Not this year though.

Like many other fishing tournaments, the Governor’s Cup, originally scheduled for July 17-18, has been canceled because of coronavirus and social distancing issues. That means no large gathering for a rules meeting the evening prior to the tournament either. And, you are getting ahead of me here, no recognition on stage in front of a room full of fishermen for inductees into the Fishing Hall Of Fame.

This past Wednesday the Hall Of Fame board, of which I am a member, was faced with a decision of whether or not to vote on possible inductees without having the normal means to publicly recognize their achievements. The decision was made to proceed with the review of nominations and to vote on whether or not to enshrine them into the hall.

The board normally meets in person and reviews and discusses each nomination before deciding whether or not the nomination should be accepted and put to a vote. This past Wednesday the board did not meet across the table from one another, but rather by Zoom, a popular virtual meeting application used on computers, laptops or mobile phones. Such meetings have become common due to coronavirus and its accompanying social distancing issues.

For those of you who have engaged in Zoom meetings, and many of you have as of late, you know the positives and negatives of doing so. No doubt virtual meetings achieve the goals of social distancing and reduce travel, but there’s something very cold and emotionless about them too. I hope such meetings are not the wave of the

future, but fear that they might be. If so, I think much more will be lost than gained.

The board went ahead as usual with the selection process for nominees. Complete applications for all nominees had been emailed to board members several weeks ago for their perusal, so all board members were well acquainted with the candidates. The results of Wednesday’s ballot will be revealed at a later date.

It was decided by the board to provide successful candidates with a plaque and Hall Of Fame jacket. Unfortunately, public recognition in front of Governor’s Cup fishermen will not take place this year. It is hoped that this year’s selections to the hall will attend a formal induction at the 2021 Governor’s Cup rules meeting.

North Dakota’s Fishing Hall Of Fame is located inside North Country Marine in Garrison. There you will find many displays of fishing memorabilia and photographs and biographies of all Hall Of Fame inductees. To date there are 39 people honored in the hall dating back to its beginnings in 1981.

Twice the Hall Of Fame ceased operation, only to be resurrected several years later. Those times were 1992-2003 and 2005-2012. On the “wish list” of the hall’s board of directors is an expansion project that will further enhance recognition for all inductees and allow for additional displays of vintage fishing equipment and other interesting items. Keith Witt of Garrison has served as president of the organization for the past seven years.