Due to a COVID Omicron surge in Silver-Bow County, the Butte Sports Hall of Fame will not be holding its public forum at the McQueen Club as scheduled this Wednesday.

Instead, the Hall of Fame will hold a virtual forum to provide the public the opportunity to show support for nominees in front of the selection committee.

Supporters who are interested in making a pitch on behalf of a nominee can text or email a short video (no longer than 5 minutes) of themselves speaking to Butte Sports Hall of Fame Executive Director Bill Foley at (406) 491-3022 or foley@buttesports.com.

While making a video, the speaker should state his or her name and the name of the nominee. The speaker should then offer any information or inspiration to the committee that could help the candidate. The committee already has a list of statistics and accomplishments for each nominee.

The deadline for video submission is 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 19.

“We want to err on the side of caution when it comes to COVID-19,” Foley said. “While we are disappointed to not hold the forum in person, the good news is that going virtual will allow more people the opportunity to contribute. People will be able to participate in the Butte Sports Hall of Fame selection from around the world.”

The Hall of Fame will announce its Class of 2022 during a live press conference from the Butte Civic Center at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 9. The conference will be broadcast live on the KBOW show Partyline.

Contact Foley with questions or for more information. Videos can be submitted for the following nominees. The deadline for new nominations has passed.

Colt Anderson, Tony Banovich, Terry Barkell, Bobby Bentley, Tom Berg, Jodi (Hogart) Blixt, Matt Buckley, Brian Bolton, Corey Bolton, Bernie Brophie, Mike Carle, Barbara Cockhill, John Connole, Jim Coyne, Matthew Crowe, Rick Dessing, Don Douglas, Deanna Dugdale, Michelle Durkin, Neil Egan, Jay Fagan, Scott Ferguson, Jim George, John Gibson, Jamie Harris, James “J.W.” Hodges, Jeni Hope, Jim Hope, Jami (Hope) Humphrey, Pete Hristou;

Ray Jay Johnson, Rob Johnson, Lori (Bruin) Jurenic, Andrew Kalarchik, Susan Kaluza, Gary Kane, Kelley Kingston, Henry Klobucar, John Kovacich, Jake Larson, Julie Leary, Chad Lembke, Jay LeProwse, Paul LeProwse, Martha (Apostel) Lonner, Fawn Lyons, Linda Lyons-Paull, Lori Markovich, Tom McIntyre, Marc Murphy, Rick Nadeau, Wanda (Matteson) Olson, John O’Neill, Rich Paull, Todd Paffhausen, Kevin Parvinen, Matt Pelletier;

Charlie Peterson, Mark Peterson, Pat Prendergast, Chris Rasmussen, Tom Reopelle, John Ries, Ted Richards, John Rickman, Tom Roberts, Greg Salo, Kelvin Sampson, Steve Schulte, Debbie Silk, Curtis Smith, Kyle Smith, Jon Smitham, Rob Spear, Steve Stanisich, Dennis “Butch” Starin, Mark Struznik, John Sullivan, Melissa (Ritter) Swanson;

Justin Thatcher, Bryl Thompson, Mike Thompson, Si Timberman, Craig Tippett, Chris Cuchine Vidrich, Jay Vogelsang, Sean Walsh, Leena Worrell, Bryon Wilson, Ernie Wilson, Mary Yakawich and Ed Yeo.