The long-awaited 2020 Sabine Hall of Fame has been re-scheduled for Tuesday, April 26, according to Chairman Pete Abington.
The annual event, which was canceled due to the pandemic, will be held at St. Joseph’s Hall in Zwolle. As in years past, a sit down will be served, prior to the event.
Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. with the program beginning at 7 p.m.
Tickets will be available at the following locations: Pete Abington’s Office, 1030 San Antonio Ave.; Nichols, 252 Elizabeth Street; and Robert Gentry’s Office, 605 San Antonio Ave., all in Many. Tickets are $50 each.
Sponsoring this year’s banquet are Curtis Family Pharmacy, Interstate Building Materials, Nichols, Walsh Timber Co., and Sabine Retirement and Rehabilitation. Louisiana State Senator Louie Bernard of Natchitoches has also made a donation for the purchase of a Sabine Hall of Fame banner.
The inductee into the prestigious Sabine Hall of Fame is Edith Palmer, who is active throughout Sabine Parish through the Sabine Parish Chamber of Commerce, Sabine Parish Tourist Commission, Sabine State Bank, Tamale Fiesta Board of Directors, Highway 171 Commission, and numerous other Boards. She served as a member of the Zwolle City Council, worked with the Sabine Parish Police Jury on a committee involving a 10-year plan on timber restoration, and the Sabine Foundation for Safe Families, which resulted in the purchase of Taylor House, a safe house for female victims of abuse.
She also served as project director of her town’s book, Zwolle, Louisiana, Our Story, published in 2000.
Mrs. Palmer is presently serving as chairman of fund-raising for the renovation and exhibit for the Friends of Toledo Bend/Zwolle Historical Museum.
She is a Master Gardener and New Orleans Saints fan who enjoys classical music, reading, quilting and traveling.
She will be the sixth woman and 22nd person to be inducted into the Sabine Hall of Fame, which was founded in 1998. She will join an elite group of ladies, including Catherine Vines Davis, Iva Lea Meshell, Dollie Knippers, Jan Crews Varnado and Linda Curtis-Sparks.
Also two top honors at the 22nd Sabine Hall of Fame are the following:
*Achievement Award—Otto O. Meyers III, a Zwolle native, who has enjoyed an incredible career with Shell Oil in Houston, Texas, from 1991-2013. From the basketball court of Zwolle High, Meyers has impacted the oil and gas industry. He is an attorney, and has served as Executive Dean of the College of Business at his alma mater, Grambling State University. He has also been a research chemist at Dow Chemicals in Michigan and has worked with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the International Trade Advisory Council.
* Accomplishment Award—Sisters Siarah and Savannah Hall are the adopted daughters of Marion and Shannon Hall of Many. The girls were placed in foster care following the break-up of their family, who battled addiction. The seven children were broken up and placed in homes, but the girls were able to keep contact with a younger brother, Solan, who was adopted by a north Louisiana family. He suffered from ADHD, PTSP and Oppositional Defiant Disorder. At age 13, Solan got in trouble at school and was sent to Ware Detention Center, where he took his own life after nine days. Devastated by the loss of their brother, they worked tirelessly for legislation for judges to follow involving juvenile cases. They addressed the Spring Legislation Session, gaining help from legislators, who wrote a it through the House and Senate. The bill bears Solon’s name and is now a Louisiana law. They continue to work toward other change regarding juvenile justice.
Other honorees include:
*Good Citizen Award—Frances Faust Hopkins, a longtime employee of Sabine Medical Center, has been active in the community through the Many Rotary Club, Easter Seals, 911 Board and Sabine Council on Aging. She is a member of Friendship Nazarene Church and is a talented pianist. She and her late husband, Rodney, organized the Ark-La-Tex Music Show.
*Posthumous Award—Two outstanding men in the community made an impact on Sabine Parish prior to their death. The first is Dr. Warren L. Founds Jr., a native of Pennsylvania, who earned his medical degree from Tulane University in New Orlean at the age of 40. He and his wife, Mary, were the parents of seven children, when they relocated in Sabine Parish at the invitation of Dr. Swepson Fraser. Dr. Fraser had a rural practice and needed help and the vision of Toledo Bend were two things that sealed the deal for the young doctor and his family. Dr. Founds built a healthy practice locally and was one of the first doctors to help teach medical students at the new LSU Medical School in Shreveport.
Dr. Founds was an avid woodworker and purchased land on the lake. He and three of his sons designed and restored the Old Many Market in downtown Many. In his spare time he loved to fish, fly his plane, play with his children and was instrumental in building Many Motocross.
He died at his lake home in July 2017 at the age of 97 years.
Coach Malvin Ogden is also being remembered posthumously.
A native of Oak Grove, Louisiana, he moved to Many in 1969 as the new Head Football coach at Many High School. He gained the nickname “Coach” by his team members and was called that by all. His widow, Jennie Anna, recalls that grown men still stop her and share stories about her husband.
Coach graduated from Oak Grove High in 1955 and earned his B.S. degree in Education from La. Tech and a master’s degree in Administration from Northwestern State University. He retired from teaching in 1986 and began a 16-year career at West Sabine High School in Pineland, Texas. He retired at the age of 65 after nearly 40 years in education.
During the summers he worked at his own business, Ogden’s Pool Services, installing swimming pools, building inground pools, replacing liners, serving pumps and motors and working with anything electrical and plumbing related. He employed former football players, giving them the opportunity to have a job and develop work ethic.
Back in the 1970s, he worked with the sports youth program and served as Recreational Director for the Town of Many.
His love of the youth and the great outdoors were very important to this gentle-spirited man.
He had four daughters by his first wife, Patricia Scott, and gained three sons when he married Jennie Nichols Malley in 1983. He dearly loved all of his grandchildren and great grandchildren.
In his spare time, he was a Gideon and taught a men’s Sunday School class at Calvary Baptist Church. He was also a member of the La. Baptist Disaster relief crew and was active in Operation Christmas Child. He also loved fishing, hunting and raising bird dogs.
He died at 80-years of age in the summer of 2018, after beating heart problems in 1987 and cancer in 2002.
*Special Recognition Awards
Two outstanding Sabine Parish natives, Dale Skinner of Belmont and Mary Bozeman, also of Belmont are being honored for their impact on the youth and citizens of the area.
Skinner is known throughout Louisiana as an outstanding basketball coach. He graduated from Belmont High in 1957, received his B.S. degree in Physical Education and Social Studies in 1963 and his Master’s degree in 1970 from Northwestern State University. He also earned a +30 with studies in Physical Education Administration and Driver’s Education. His teaching credentials are impressive and he has taught, coached and been principal at numerous schools. He was named principal of Pleasant Hill High in 1982 and served in that capacity until 1997, when he retired the first time. He then joined the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Department as Juvenile Officer. Three years later he returned to coaching and being principal at Holy Savior Menard Central High in Alexandria. He has taken teams to the finals, been honored at the Top 28 and made a name for himself on the court.
He served as principal of Natchitoches Central High from 2010-14 and in June 2014 was named Superintendent of Natchitoches Parish Schools. He served until 2020 and stepped down due to health issues.
He has the honor of being inducted into the La. High School Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2015.
The second Special Recognition Award will be presented to a lady who has distinguished herself in the arts. Mary Bozeman, a native of Belmont, has graced the stages of New York City and shared her talents with thousands.
She is best known for her one-person presentation of “Sim”, about a lady undertaker.
Over the years, when she and her husband, Bill, moved back to Sabine Parish, she formed the Sabine Parish Players, which presented numerous plays at Hodges Gardens, the Fisher Opera House and the Sabine Theatre.
She expected perfection onstage and was in her element as she directed plays, taught acting classes and introduced live theatre to young and old alike. For years, her Players presented Charles Dickens beloved play, “A Christmas Carol” onstage.
Mary Bozeman has been a welcome addition to her birthplace. Sabine Parish has been blessed with her talents and interest in the community as she has entertained audiences for years on local stages.
(A separate story about Mary’s vast accomplishments over the years will be featured in the Sabine Index soon.)
Make plans now to purchases tickets and mark your calendar for the 22nd Sabine Hall of Fame.