The deadline is fast approaching to get your nominations in for the Escalon Unified School District Hall of Fame.

Officials are asking for the nominees by Feb. 22; they plan to induct new members later this year. Eight people have been inducted in two previous ceremonies. The first group went in at the inaugural event in 1997, followed up by a 2006 ceremony.

Now, they want to add more people to list of luminaries who have made an impact in the district and on its students.

“The last induction was on May 13, 2006 and it’s something that the (school) board wants to bring back,” Escalon Unified School District Superintendent Ricardo Chavez noted previously when announcing the opening of the nomination period.

Induction into the Hall of Fame, added officials, is “intended to memorialize in a permanent way the notable contributions” made to the school district by the inductees.

Those already inducted into the Hall of Fame are Lloyd C. Engel, Jacob C. Klessens, James L. Pritchard, Gerald (Jerry) L. Barton, Patricia Coslet, Audrey M. Gillispie, Ed Mulvihill and Seward Smith.

Honorees can be nominated in four different categories: an alumnus of Escalon Unified Schools; a member of the community; a district employee or school board member; or a parent of a student who has attended Escalon schools. The nomination forms are available at the District Office; there is certain criteria that must be met.

For more information, stop by the District Office for a nomination form, call 209-838-3591 or go to the website at www.escalonusd.org.

Nominations are being accepted through Feb. 22 from the community at large as well as district employees, former students and retirees. Chavez said the goal is to induct anywhere from one to five individuals and they are currently planning for a special recognition dinner for the Hall of Fame ceremony on May 24.