Big ups to the Manatee High Athletic Hall of Honor’s 2026 inductees to be celebrated Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Bradenton Country Club.
They are Wayne Dimond (Class of 1965), football; Van O’Quinn (’65), football; Mike Wortman (’79), football, baseball; Beth McIntosh (’83), softball); Hunter West (’02), soccer; Coach George Strouse Sr., track; and Bob Bowling
(’66), Lifetime Achievement, football, baseball.Manatee’s 1989 state championship football team, who beat Miami Carol City 21-8 for the program’s third state title of the ‘80s, will also be recognized.
Those Hurricanes included Antwonne Newsome, Tyrone Williams, Jesse Curtis, John Brennan, Prather Crisp, Brad Meek, Kevin Freeman, Leroy Anderson, Doug Schofield, Troy Snyder, Tommie Frazier,
Earnest Davis, Kevin Myers, Chris Bilkie, Thomas Ervin, Ed Brown, Doug Loudermilk, Jason Woodland, Scott Rogers, Jeb Mulock, Robert Dubose, JoJo Kinnan, David Brown, Chris Smith, Mike Bell, Scott Albritton, Phil Labedzki, Greg Sander, Keil Duquette, Matt Hesselbart, Lee Adams, Chris Hatfield, Matt Widener, Greg Shingle, Jimmy Stratton, Don Carpenter, Joey Dunlap, Kelvin Stuckey, Raynard Brydson, Demetrius Fields, Dwayne Jefferson, Robert Coker, Chuck Brown, Chris Conway, Henry Smalls, Wayne Droesser and Charles Jackson.
Retired head football coach Joe Kinnan’s assistants were Bruce Blanton, John Carlock, Mike Horne, Chuck Sandberg, Gary Theiler, Frank Turner and Burt Belcher.
There will also be a silent auction to benefit the Eddie Shannon Legacy Football Scholarship.
· Connie Chaltis is 75 years young.
· Speaking of MHS greats, Happy 75th to Hurricane Hall of Famer Henry Lawrence (’70), recently inducted into the FHSAA’s 2026 Hall of Fame. Lawrence played his first three seasons at Lincoln Memorial High, then came to Manatee his senior year during integration. After an All-America career at FAMU, Lawrence became a force at right offensive tackle for those legendary three-time Super Bowl champion Raiders of yore.
· Uh, oh! Dan Gibbs hit the Big 7-0!
· Well done to Bayshore High’s Paw Print staff, International Second Place Award winners from Quill and Scroll, which recognizes high school students for excellence in journalism and school media.
The honorees included Thomas Blackwell, Jose Castaneda, Alani Castillo, Autumn Faasse, Jennifer Gould, Angel Ochoa-Iniestra, Oscar Silva and Naytalie Redondet.
They are mentored by the respected Jean Faulk, former Florida Scholastic Press Association Teacher of the Year.
· Speaking of Bayshore, head football coach Ace Sanders was recently named Tampa Bay Bucs Coach of the Week.
· Ruth Lawler is 39. Again.
· Good luck to State College of Florida students Abigail Bunyak, Charles Knisley, Marissa Krone, Samantha McQuillan, Edwynne Maree Miano, Parmely Suriel Pena and Yingzi Ren. They’re participating in the Universal Health Services Nursing Scholars Program at Manatee Memorial Hospital.
· That’s 37 years of wedded bliss for Kimlyn and birthday boy (67) Terry Wilson.
· Salutes to newly promoted Sergeants Anthony Williams Jr. and Donell DeLeon Thompson with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
· And Don French is 63. Sheesh, a kid.
Vin’s People runs Sundays. Email Vin Mannix at vinspeople@gmail.com. Or call 941-962-5944.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Manatee High to celebrate 2026 hall of fame class
