Our History
Celebrating our 26th Anniversary
1996 - Board of Education formally adopts the resolution to recognize Dover High School Hall of Fame of Distinguished Alumni.
2023 - We celebrate our 27th Anniversary.
In the Spring of 1993, the concept of creating a Dover High School Hall of Fame to honor outstanding graduates was conceived by Dover High School Principal Don Alperti (DHS Class of 1959), and Assistant to the Superintendent of Schools Stan Schoonmaker (DHS Class of 1949).1996 - Board of Education formally adopts the resolution to recognize Dover High School Hall of Fame of Distinguished Alumni.
2023 - We celebrate our 27th Anniversary.
The idea was shared with other alumni as well as school staff, administration, the Board of Education, other citizens of the Town of Dover, and the Mayor and Board of Alderman. There was incredibly positive support for the concept, thus guidelines were developed.
By the Fall of 1993, a campaign to solicit nominees was initiated. Coinciding with the nominating campaign was the search for local alumni who would be willing to serve on the Selection Committee. The Selection Committee was named and met for the first time in the Spring of 1994. The members of the original Committee represented alumni from the decades of the 1920s through the 1970s. Nominations arrived slowly at first and timelines for return were extended. The committee also decided to submit names for nomination.
The first Dover High School graduation dates back to 1885. More than 14,000 diplomas had been issued between the first graduation and the first induction ceremony. Thus, a large pool of potential candidates existed. By the Spring of 1995, nearly one hundred nominations had been received by the Committee. The list was scanned for eligibility by the committee and consequently narrowed to fifty-seven persons. The committee developed a weighted voting system. The committee members reviewed brief biographical sketches of all nominees before they cast their votes. Tabulations were completed in the Fall and the committee met after Thanksgiving to make the final selections.
All nominees were placed in rank order from highest to lowest according to the weighted vote tally. After considerable discussion, it was unanimously agreed to name the top eleven names on the list as the first Dover High School Hall of Fame members. It was also agreed by the committee that those nominees not selected at the time would be retained on the list for future consideration, anticipating that another group might be added within a few years. It was also decided by the committee to maintain an ongoing acceptance of nominations and anyone desiring to place a graduate in nomination should address an appropriate letter to the committee at the high school.
The induction ceremony for the initial eleven candidates to the Hall of Fame was held on May 26, 1996 in the High School Cafeteria. The process of selecting Dover High School Hall of Fame candidates was repeated and additional induction ceremonies were held on October 24, 1999, October 12, 2003, April 26, 2009, October 25, 2014, October 13, 2019 we conducted our seventh Hall of Fame induction ceremony on September 18, 2022. Eighty-four Dover High School graduates have been introduced into the Hall of Fame. The names of all the inductees are engraved on a new plaque adorning to the halls at the entrance of our beloved Dover High School.
