The Snowmobile Hall of Fame in St. Germain, Wis., will celebrate its 20th annual induction February 22, 2006 at the Eagle River Inn, in Eagle River, Wis. Four people are being inducted from the sport and the industry.
The banquet will be the crowning event of the annual Ride with the Champs presented by Modine Hot Dawg Heaters. The daylong ride starts with registration at 7:30 a.m. Info is available on at
www.snowmobilehalloffame.com.
The 2007 inductees are:
Kirk Hibbert - One of snowmobile racing's most successful and versatile competitors, Hibbert's multifaceted career stretches from the 1970s when he emerged as a top competitor in the Rocky Mountain circuits and the Winnipeg 500 through the 1980s and 1990s when he captured championships and set
records in Cross-Country, Snocross and Hillclimb, including 2 wins at the Jeep 500 in the early 90s, a series of championships and high-point honors in ISOC and MRP competition, plus King of the Hill honors at the fabled
Jackson Hole Hillclimb. One of the handful that created the legendary Arctic Cat ZR, Hibbert is unique as a snowmobile racer, champion and designer.
Robert J. Carlson - One of the industry's great innovators and visionaries, Robert J. "Bob" Carlson introduced the snowmobile product at Deere & Company in 1970 as the head of Deere's Consumer Products Dealer organization and he spearheaded the Deere racing effort begun in 1971 that produced such notable
sleds as the 295/S of 1974, the 340S of 1975 and the Liquidator of 1976 that rocketed the Deere brand into prominence with a win at the Winnipeg 500 in its first attempt. His leadership led to design features like liquid-cooling, and his approach to racing nurtured a group of competitors who exerted tremendous influence in the sport for many years.
Mark Maki - A pioneer in the interesting summer variant of snowmobile competition known as waterskipping, Maki was an innovator who began his career just as this summertime sport was emerging, racing at the very first event held in Grantsburg, Wis., in 1977 and becoming a major figure in the sport as the years went on. Maki developed many of the early chassis set-up and clutching techniques that enabled snowmobiles to make turns on the water and his 12 high-point championships scored between 1977 and
1999 as well as his world record 61 mile run in 1986, place him in a singular category in the history of snowmobile competition.
Dick Gokey - Tracing an involvement in snowmobiling back to 1968 when he first worked as a volunteer mechanic in the pits of a snowmobile race, Dick Gokey has exerted a profound effect on the development and progress of snowmobile competition for nearly 40 years. A technical official in the United States Snowmobile Association (USSA) during the 1970s, Gokey was part of the reorganization that created WSRF in 1978, where he served as president, and he was a member of the group that worked to create present day International Snowmobile Racing, where he served as president and untiring snowmobile racing safety advocate for the past 26 years.
Congratulations to all the inductees!