Orange County Hall of Fame
Regional hall of fame in California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Orange County Hall of Fame is a hall of fame recognizing significant and notable people with a connection to Orange County, California. The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to create the hall in 2023, inducting an inaugural 10-person class in the process. New inductees are selected annually.[1]
Inductees
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| Year | Name | Category | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Nick Berardino | Civics | Vietnam Veteran; President of Veterans Alliance of Orange County (VALOR) |
| 2024 | Clarence "Leo" Fender | Music, Arts & Entertainment | Native of Anaheim; Resident of Fullerton until his death in 1991; Founder of Fender |
| 2024 | Carl N. Karcher | Business | Founder of Carl's Jr |
| 2024 | Wing Lam and the Lee Family | Business | Founders of Wahoo's Fish Taco |
| 2024 | Sylvia Mendez | Civics | Native of Santa Ana; helped end forced segregation of Mexican American students in the state of California via Mendez v. Westminster |
| 2024 | Richard Nixon | Civics | Native of Yorba Linda; served as the 37th President from 1969 to 1974; served as the 36th Vice President from 1953 to 1961 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| 2024 | Civics | ||
| 2024 | Philanthropy | ||
| 2024 | Business | ||
| 2023 | Frank Jao | Business | Founder of the Asian Garden Mall in Westminster |
| 2023 | William Lyon | Civics | Chairman and CEO of OC-based AirCal |
| 2023 | Walt Disney | Music, Arts & Entertainment | Founder of Disneyland in Anaheim |
| 2023 | Bill Medley | Music, Arts & Entertainment | Native of Santa Ana |
| 2023 | Gwen Stefani | Music, Arts & Entertainment | Native of Fullerton |
| 2023 | Henry Segerstrom | Philanthropy | Native of Santa Ana; founded the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa |
| 2023 | Amanda Beard | Sports | Native of Newport Beach |
| 2023 | Kobe Bryant | Sports | Resident of Newport Beach from 2002 until his death in 2020 |
| 2023 | Greg Louganis | Sports | Attended Santa Ana High School, Mission Viejo High School, and UC Irvine |
| 2023 | Tiger Woods | Sports | Native of Cypress, graduate of Western High School |
Reception
An article published in The Orange County Register criticized the "wee bit two-dimensional" composure of the hall's inaugural class, arguing that it should include people who illustrate the "complex history" of the county. According to the author, notable omissions from the first class included civil rights activist Sylvia Mendez, pastor Rick Warren, Catholic priest Junípero Serra, U.S. president Richard Nixon, and actor John Wayne. The author also satirically suggested that former county officials involved in scandals, such as treasurer Robert Citron and sheriff Mike Carona, be inducted into the hall.[3]