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Creator of R-6 Hall of Fame/Honor Wall, to step down from committee
SIKESTON — Twenty-six years after he and a team of peers made his idea for the Sikeston R-6 Hall of Fame/Honor Wall come to fruition, Roger Sherman has decided to step down as steering committee chairman after this year.
Sherman was honored with a special recognition at Friday’s Hall of Fame/Honor Wall induction ceremony during the Sikeston-Jackson football game at Sikeston Public Schools Stadium.
Since 1996, the Hall of Fame/Honor Wall induction has been an integral part of the Bulldogs’ football season, according retired R-6 educator Sally M. Lape who serves on the Hall of Fame/Honor Wall committee. Because of Sherman’s vision and dedication, one Friday is set aside to honor individuals and teams for their outstanding achievements, meritorious service and athletic honors, Lape said.
“Thank you, Roger Sherman, for your service to Sikeston and this school district,” Lape told Sherman Friday night. “You represent the heart and soul of Bulldog Nation.”
Hired in 1960 as a history and physical education teacher and assistant football and track coach, Sherman became the high school assistant principal in 1964 and head principal in 1965. In his last five years as Sikeston High School principal, Sherman was also the director of secondary education. He eventually retired from the district in 1996, which is the same year the Hall of Fame/Honor Wall launched.
Sherman said the Hall of Fame/Honor wall was something he first thought of doing long before his retirement.
“We planned it for about a year before I retired and had talked about it by some people long gone by that time,” Sherman said. I really wanted to do it years ago and we were building on and adding on and to programs, and I knew we I was getting ready to retire so we did it
Sherman was determined to create the Hall of Fame/Honor Wall for Sikeston Public Schools. He began his quest by talking to parent groups, Sikeston business leaders and organizations and the Ministerial Alliance.
“I am a strong believer in student activities. Being a part of school activities is just as important as the academic part of high school. There were men and women in this town who wanted the very best for our students, and they wanted to know how they could help. It was important for high school students and contributors to Sikeston Public Schools to be honored.”
Sherman said it’s also been an honor to be a part of the Hall of Fame/Honor Wall.
“I enjoyed it,” he said. “It was good, and I am very proud of it.
Sherman said his decision to step down from the committee was to make room for other young people to get involved.
“I know a lot of the people there (in the district) and knew them well, and we had a good committee and it’s been a pleasure for me and an honor for me to be a part of it,” Sherman said.
Feedback regarding the Hall of Fame/Honor Wall has always positive, Sherman said.
“I’ve always received good compliments — not just for me — but the committee helped the school system and the city in a lot of ways,” Sherman said. “We’ve recognized people in a lot of ways active and progression – doing well in the community and world.”
Even though he’s stepping down from his duties on the steering committee, Sherman said he will always be a supporter of Sikeston schools.
“I grew up in Southeast Missouri,” the Catron, Missouri, native said. “We’d come to Sikeston. Mother and Dad would bring us kids up here. I always liked Sikeston, and when I went to college, I had some friends from Siketon and got the opportunity to come here and I’m very proud here.”
Sherman and his wife, Laura, who is from New Madrid, Missouri, had seven children, and they all attended and graduated from Sikeston R-6 schools and went on to college.
“They all received a good, quality education,” he said of his children. “The opportunities were there. There were good teachers and good community support, and PTA meetings where people were coming and helping and doing what we needed to do.”
Sherman said he’s always liked the atmosphere in the R-6 district.
“I’m proud of the community and proud of the school system and the people in it,” Sherman said. “It’s just – to me – a good community and a good place to live and associate and do everything that you do as a human being.”