WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Local resident Jerry Hall and his late wife, Sue, charter members of the Grizzly Squad at Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP), have been given the Grizzly Track Award.
The award was presented to Jerry Hall Wednesday, Feb. 16, at the Grizzly Basketball team’s home game against State Fair Community College at the West Plains Civic Center. The award honors extraordinary support given by individuals or organizations on behalf of Grizzly Athletics.
Originally known as the Grizzly Booster Club, the Halls have been long-time supporters of Grizzly Athletics since its inception in 1993, officials said.
As a member of the Missouri State University Board of Regents (now known as the Board of Governors), Jerry Hall worked with then MSU-WP Chancellor Marvin Looney to establish the Grizzly Athletics program and secure funding for the Grizzly House residence hall to provide housing for student-athletes.
The Halls were charter members of the Grizzly Booster Club, and Jerry continues the membership today. Jerry also was a charter member of the organization’s executive board, serving in that capacity for 20-plus years.
The Halls’ dedication to student-athletes was further displayed through the establishment of two scholarships – the Noel & Berniece Garner Family Grizzly Basketball Scholarship in 2001 and the Jerry and Sue Hall Grizzly Endowed Scholarship in 2014. They’ve also sponsored the Mynde Tarter Volleyball Tournament, which benefits Grizzly Volleyball players through scholarships.
“When Grizzly Athletics began, there were names and families that emerged, but none more significant to the program than Jerry and Sue Hall and their business – Holiday Inn Express with Rhonda Blankenship at the helm,” said Carol Silvey, president of the MSU Board of Governors.
“Jerry and Sue led by example, supporting Grizzly Athletics at the highest level, attending every game, recruiting other folks to join them in support of athletics as a means of educating young men and women – practices they have continued for more than four decades,” she added.
“We need more folks like the recipients of this year’s Grizzly Track Award. It is the highest honor given to individuals by Grizzly Athletics, and no one deserves it more than our friend, Jerry Hall, his family and business,” Silvey said.
“Jerry and Sue’s contributions, from the beginning, made a huge impact and difference for Grizzly Athletics,” Grizzly Volleyball Head Coach Paula Wiedemann said. “They supported the program as devoted fans, and their commitment to support the program through the Holiday Inn Express made it possible for Grizzly Athletics to have some of the best teams in the country come to West Plains to compete in volleyball and basketball.
“Not only did they support the Grizzlies, their work with the university and through the Grizzly Squad was instrumental in bringing the NJCAA Division I Women’s National Volleyball Championship Tournament to West Plains, and it continues to be a key component in the tournament being hosted here 10 times since 2001,” Wiedemann added, noting the tournament is again coming to West Plains in fall 2022.
“I can’t think of many people more instrumental in the success of Grizzly Athletics than Jerry and Sue Hall,” said MSU-WP Chancellor Dennis Lancaster. “On behalf of Missouri State-West Plains and the many players, their families and our Grizzly fans over the past 29 years, I would like to thank them for their unwavering support.”
The Grizzly Track Award is presented periodically to members of the Grizzly Squad who have shown exceptional enthusiasm for and extraordinary support of Grizzly Athletics over an extended period of time. Actions by the recipient(s) must have enabled Grizzly Athletics to take a giant step forward. Honorees are selected by the executive board of directors of the Grizzly Squad.
The award for Jerry and Sue Hall is the 19th Grizzly Track Award given by the Grizzly Squad. Past recipients include Richard and Mary Sheid (1999), Jess and Betty Garnett and Bob Neathery (2000), Russ and Laura Gant (2001), Norma Hilburn and Herb and Mary Beth Lunday (2002), Dr. Robert Martin (2003), Allison Smith, her husband Bruce (in memoriam) and sons Travis and Chase and their extended families (2004), Paul Childers (2005), Ozark Radio Network and the West Plains Daily Quill (January 2006), Rick and Lois Frazier and Bo and Sunie Pace (November 2006), Dean Smith (April 2010), John and Dixie Williams (April 2011), Shawn and Allyson Bice (2013), and Bob and Donna Frey (September 2017), and Dale and Carolyn Smith (November 2017).
