L&C Inducting Athlete and Administrator into Hall of Fame

GODFREY – Lewis and Clark Community College will welcome two new members into the Athletic Hall of Fame next week during the 40th Annual Athletic Banquet.

This year’s inductees, selected by a committee of college officials and local media, are George Terry, current Vice President of Student Life at Lewis and Clark who served as Athletic Adminis­trator at the college from 1985-2012, and Bob Sirtak, who played Trailblazers baseball from 1987-1988.

Terry started his basketball career at Alton High School, where he was All-Conference and All-Downstate. He went on to Illinois State University, where he has the honor of being “Honorable Mention College All-Amer­ican” in basketball and is a member of the ISU Athletic Hall of Fame as well as the 1967 Illinois State University Basketball Team Hall of Fame. He ended his basketball career with a 22.6 per game average his last season and is now the No.9 All-Time Scorer at his alma mater. Terry also coached two years at Illinois State University, and is in the Illinois Coaches Basketball Association Hall of Fame.

He received his Specialist in Educa­tional Administration degree from Southern Illinois University in 1976. He also holds a master’s degree in Education and an undergraduate degree from Illinois State University. His back­ground includes ex­tensive work in minor­ity affairs and student
services.

Terry has served on the board for Alton Com­munity Unit School District 11 for more than 20 years and is a past President of the Board. He has served with the Alton branch of the NAACP for more than 25 years and has been a member of 100 Black Men of Alton since its early years. He has served more than 20 years with the Madison County Urban League and was a member of the
executive board of the Madison County Equal Opportunity Commission. Additionally, Terry is a member of the Illinois Committee on Black Con­cerns in Higher Education, is past President of the Alton Park and Recreation Commission and has served on the boards of the Salvation Army, the Alton Boys and Girls Club, and the Gateway Council, which is an Illinois and Missouri alliance of student organizations. He has received numerous honors over the years, including the Illinois State Board of Educa­tion’s Award of Excellence, the Illinois Committee on Black Concerns in Higher Education Service Award, the 100 Black Men Service Award, and the NAACP Service Award.

“We are honored to have had George Terry’s service to student life and our athletic programs on this campus for nearly four decades,” Lewis and Clark President Dale Chapman said. “George has been a mentor to numerous students, athletes and coaches, and has worked diligently for the past four years to support Lewis and Clark athletics. His work and his dedication to Lewis and Clark has not gone unnoticed, and the college is pleased that he has been selected for this honor.”

Sirtak played baseball for Lewis and Clark Community College in 1987-1988. He was named First Team All-Con­ference both years, and broke school records for batting average (.459), hits (81), runs batted in (61) and home runs (16) while being named All-American his sophomore year. As a freshman, he hit 12 hr and 58 RBIs, with a .343 aver­age batting cleanup.

Born and raised in Holiday Shores, Ill. Sirtak attended Edwardsville High School, where he was cut from the team as a freshman but then went on to make Chicago Tribune All State First Team as a senior. He also made First Team Illinois-Missouri All Star, was All Conference for two years and All
Metro for two years, and held batting average and home run records at the school long after his graduation in 1986.

After L&C, Sirtak accepted a scholarship to Southern Illi­nois University Edwardsville, where he was All Conference 1989-1990, hitting .348 and .356, respectively. Over the course of his career, he played minor league ball, and has coached high school, Legion and Pony baseball teams.
He currently lives in Harrisburg, Ill. with his wife of 11 years, Kristi Ragan Sirtak, and their daughter Lexi, 11. Sirtak has owned and operated the Southern Illinois Baseball/Softball Academy for nearly a decade, helping student athletes earn more than 50 college scholarships.

“Lewis and Clark has a long and distinguished tradition of excellence in athletics,” Chapman said. “The selection of these inductees tonight pays tribute to their contributions to Lewis and Clark athletics and to our tradition of excellence. Part of the pride we feel in recognizing these individuals as hall of famers is because they are outstanding representatives of the college and Lewis and Clark Athletics.”

This year’s Athletic Banquet will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 2, 2012 in The Commons.

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