Witten to be featured speaker at NET Hall of Fame event

By Ivan Sanders
STAR Staff
isanders@starhq.com

   The Elizabethton/Carter County Boys and Girls Club will once again be the benefactor of the annual Northeast Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame dinner, which is set for June 18, 2004 at the Best Western in Johnson City.
   Highlighting the event will be the keynote speaker, former Elizabethton High School and UT graduate and now Dallas Cowboy tight end Jason Witten.
   Witten was selected on the NFL's all-rookie team last season after a banner opening season under the tutelage of Coach Bill Parcell.
   The evening will also see the recognition of a male and female high school Athlete of the Year award that is weighted equally between scholastic and athletic achievements of each individual.
   Nomination forms were sent out to local high schools from Mountain City to Morristown for solicitation of nominees. There were a total of eight different high school nominees mailed back to committee chairman Danny Smith.
   A total of 10-12 names were also submitted back to Smith and his committee for consideration to be inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame. These were submitted by media representatives from the television, radio, and newspaper fields.
   Local colleges and universities also were mailed nomination forms.
   Bill Meade will be emceeing the event once again this year. Meade is a familiar voice in the Tri-Cities as he host Sports Talk on WJCW as well as the voice of the Arby's Classic basketball tournament in Bristol.
   Tickets for the event are available at the Elizabethton Boys and Girls Club at a cost of $25. The enshrinement dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call club director John Malone at 543-2946.