Next Packers FAN Hall of Fame selection will be tough choice, includes nominees from Green Bay, Sheboygan, Wausau

Green Bay Press-Gazette

GREEN BAY – An orphan whose life was given direction by Vince Lombardi, a fan who attended the Ice Bowl, two Super Bowls and chose where to live so he could remain in the Green Bay Packers television market, and a great-grandmother whose family was entwined with the Packers since Curly Lambeau was in high school, are among the 10 finalists for this year's Packers FAN Hall of Fame.

Voting will be open through Jan. 31 for the 24th member of the hall. Profiles of the nominees can be found at packers.com/fans/fan-hall-of-fame-voting.

The winner will be announced in February at Lambeau Field, although the event could be done virtually, depending on the status of the COVID pandemic. Last year's announcement was done virtually.

Kari Bernier, of Dyersburg, Tenn., reacts after being named the 2019 Packers FAN Hall of Fame inductee on Feb. 17, 2020, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis.

Steve Schumer of Gillette, N.J., who was voted into the hall in 2015 after being nominated by his son, Adam, said he was humbled by the honor.

"I thought about the incredible stories of the other nine finalists in my group, what great fellow Packers fans they all were, how deserving they were to be considered for induction," he said. "Every Packers game I’ve attended at Lambeau since, I look around at the almost 80,000 rabid fans and reflect on how fortunate I was to be chosen. It was easily one of the most surprising, positive and memorable things that’s ever happened to me."

Schumer said that having a fan hall of fame is reflective of the many things that make the Packers the most unique NFL franchise.

Nominations, accepted through Nov. 30, included an essay of 500 words or less describing the merits of the nominee. The Packers FAN Hall of Fame selection committee will chose 10 finalists in December. The winner is chosen by fans, previous winners and the selection committee.

Six of 10 nominees this year are from Wisconsin.

More than 71,800 votes from around the world were cast for the 10 finalists in 2021.

In addition to having their name added to the list of FAN Hall of Fame members in the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame museum, the winner will receive four club seats to a 2022 Packers home game, a $500 Packers Pro Shop gift certificate, a road trip for two to a 2022 Packers road game, including game tickets, air fare and hotel accommodations, and a one-year subscription to Packers Plus.

The nominees are:

William Bartlow of Charlottesville, Va.
Wayne Sargent of Kewaskum
Tom Malchow of Hudson
Rick Burgard of Sheboygan
John Kuziej of Burnsville, Minn.
Joanne Heney Swietlik of Green Bay
Jeff Yasick of Mazomanie
David Guld of Wausau
Carri Emmerich of Sturgeon Bay
Alyssa Scoda of Washington, Pa.

Packers FAN Hall of Fame members include:

2021 – George Oudhuis, Rolling Prairie, Indiana
2020 - Kari Bernier, Dyersburg, Tennessee
2019 - Amy Nelson, Fence
2018 - Marguerite "Mugs" Bachhuber, Green Bay
2017 - Frank Lamping, Union Grove
2016 - Patricia Nevala, Menomonie
2015 - Steve Schumer, Gillette, N.J.
2014 - Vivian Scherf-Laabs, Cedarburg
2013 - Edward Fritsch, Sheboygan
2012 - Rick Steele, Greensburg, Pa.
2011 - Tom Little, Mount Sterling, Ill.
2010 - Jim Becker, Racine
2009 - Allan Hale, Green Bay
2008 - Richard "Ike" Eisenhauer, Wauwatosa
2007 - Rich Barbera, River Vale, N.J.
2006 - Kathy Lazzaro, Milwaukee
2005 - Dorothy Hanke, Milwaukee
2004 - Sister Isaac Jogues Rousseau, Milwaukee
2003 - Wanda Boggs, Brookfield
2002 - Paul Mazzoleni, Green Bay
2001 - Ed Jablonski, Wausau
2000 - Louis Gardipee, Black River Falls
1999 - Mel Knoke, Appleton

Contact Richard Ryman at (920) 431-8342 or rryman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG/.