February 18, 2006
Contact: Justine K. Mitchell, Public Relations Manager, (561) 233-3189, jmitchell@palmbeachsports.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Evert-Mills Heads List of 2006
Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame Inductees

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Chris Evert-Mills of Boca Raton, the premier player in women's tennis for nearly two decades, heads a list of seven persons in the Class of 2006 for the Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame.

Other inductees will be Hamid Faquire, Lake Worth, athletic director at Palm Beach Community College; Dave George, West Palm Beach, sports columnist for The Palm Beach Post; Pam Gerig-Bland, West Palm Beach, executive director of the Palm Beach County Sports Commission; E.R. "Buddy" Goodell, Lake Worth, former athlete, teacher and coach at Lake Worth High School; Pat Rooney, Palm Beach Gardens, president of Palm Beach Kennel Club; and Chuck Shaw, Greenacres, active for more than 40 years in high school, middle school and youth sports in Palm Beach County.

This brings to 193 the number of inductees since the Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame was founded in 1977.

The 30th annual induction and awards dinner is scheduled May 7 at the PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens. Several annual awards will also be presented for achievements in 2005: to the professional, amateur and high school athletes of the year, coach of the year, high school coach of the year, sports contributor, Special Olympics Athlete of the Year and to the Dick Morose Memorial Motorsports Award. The recipients of these honors will be announced later.

The 2006 Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame Inductees are:

Chris Evert-Mills:  Between 1972 and 1989, Evert-Mills won 18 Grand Slam titles; 125 straight matches on clay, 1973-79; and 55 straight matches on all surfaces in 1974. She was ranked No. 1 seven years in a row and won 157 singles titles and 1,309 matches for a winning percentage of .904 for her career. She was named one of the top 50 athletes of the 20th century, inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1995, named Mother of the Year in 2004 and over the years she has been honored by many other local, national and international organizations. She maintains an active role in the Evert Tennis Academy in Boca Raton and the Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic in Delray Beach and Boca Raton which bears her name and has raised millions of dollars for local charities.

Hamid Faquire:  Faquire joined the PBCC staff in 1972 as the tennis coach. He became athletic director in 1985. Since then, PBCC has won three national, 18 state and 54 conference championships. He started the women's basketball program and reinstated volleyball. Faquire lettered in tennis at Florida State University and is a member of the Florida Community College Athletic Association Hall of Fame.

Dave George:  George has been a sports writer and columnist for The Post since 1978 and has covered everything from youth sports to 11 Super Bowls. He moved to West Palm Beach with his family in 1959 at the age of 3. He was graduated from Twin Lakes High School in 1974 and the University of Florida in 1978, joining The Post a week later.

Pam Gerig-Bland:  Since 1992, Gerig-Bland has been the executive director of the Palm Beach County Sports Commission, recognized as one of the best of its kind in the U.S. She is also a member of the following committees: Orange Bowl, Super Bowl XXXIII Host, FAU Football, Honda Classic, 2007 Pan American Games, U.S. Olympic Festival, and was a founding member of the Lou Groza National Collegiate Football Awards Committee.

E.R. “Buddy” Goodell:  Goodell earned eight letters in football, basketball and baseball at Lake Worth High prior to graduation in 1925 and received 10 letters at Rollins College where he was named the outstanding athlete as a senior. He returned to LWHS in 1931 as a teacher of English and Psychology and as a football, basketball and baseball coach, serving through 1970. Among his players were future major leaguers Mayo Smith and Andy Hansen. Goodell was virtually a one-man coaching staff during World War II, helped develop top athletic facilities. The 1942 football team was the undefeated state champions, 1944-45 baseball teams were state runnersup, and the 1947 boys swimming and 1948 girls swimming teams won state championships.

Pat Rooney:  Rooney has been president of the family-owned Palm Beach Kennel Club since 1978 and is active in many local community organizations and charities. A year-around operation, the track, opened in 1932, draws 700,000-800,000 fans annually and has more than 550 employees with a $7.6 million annual payroll. The family was inducted into Palm Beach County Golf Association in 2001.

Chuck Shaw:  Shaw has given thousands of hours of his time to promote youth sports. In 1965, he was the youngest umpire to work junior high baseball. He also served on the following committees: Edwin Brown Branch of the YMCA, Palm Springs Athletic Association, Greenacres Kiwanis Club, PBC Youth Football League, PBC Administrators Staff Association and many other groups; he worked toward expansion of after school sports, recreation programs, summer camps and the reinstatement of middle school sports. Named an outstanding contributor to football by the National Football Foundation and the College Football Hall of Fame.

The Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame is presented by Toshiba Business Solutions, Florida and sponsored by ESPN Radio 760, The Palm Beach Post and Parallax Productions.

For tickets and other information, contact any member of the Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame committee or Dusty Ann Williams, 561-233-3122, or at dwilliams@palmbeachsports.com.

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