The Ames Convention and Visitors Bureau will be honoring its 1998 Hall of Fame and Service Superstar inductees Thursday at its annual meeting.

David Topel, dean of the College of Agriculture; Joseph Cordray, associate professor in animal science; and Liz Kurt, program coordinator for University Conference Services, will be among those recognized from Iowa State.

Also being recognized from ISU are Arden Schoep for the ISU Men’s Bowling Championship; Hank Harris, professor of veterinary medicine; and Herman Quirmbach, associate professor of economics.

The women’s basketball team will also be inducted into the ACVB Hall of Fame.

Mark Gannon, manager of ISU agriculture land, and Facilities Planning and Management will be named Service Superstars.

“The Hall of Fame was created to recognize people in Ames and the ISU community who have stepped up to the plate,” said Rich Harter, executive director of the ACVB. “They went to other organizations and businesses and said ‘I have been to your state, and I want you to come see Ames.'”

Harter said because of the inductees’ efforts, Ames has seen an increase in the number of programs and conventions hosted here.

“There is a stigma in Iowa. It is sometimes critical to have local people with a passion for their community who can bridge the gap for us,” he said. “They also have to have enough faith in the community to go to bat for us.”

Although typical Hall of Fame inductees are people who have helped bring conventions to Ames, this year, the women’s basketball team is being inducted as well.

“They brought a lot of notoriety and excitement to the community. They also put the good name of ISU out there,” Harter said.

However, he said this is not the first time an ISU athletic team has been recognized. The men’s basketball team was honored a few years ago.

The 100 people who attend the meeting Thursday will be given free tickets to the women’s basketball game at Hilton Coliseum later that night.

ISU women’s basketball head coach Bill Fennelly said he is happy his team is being recognized, although his appearance at the meeting will be somewhat rushed.

“I think that obviously ISU is a huge part of what Ames is all about,” Fennelly said. “ISU brings lots of national attention to the community, and the city recognizes this.”

The ACVB usually inducts 10 people into its Hall of Fame each year during its annual meeting.

Harter said the Hall of Fame has been inducting members for the past five years. Unlike some programs started by other bureaus, he said the Hall of Fame has persisted because they have “been focused about it.”

Harter credits this to the ACVB Board of Directors.

“They have forced the bureau to stay focused. A lot of times a bureau will jump into the fad of the month program and spread themselves too thin for instant gratification,” he said.

“Bringing conventions to town is a slow, arduous task,” Harter said. “We are seeing a great success because our members are consistent in their effort.”

Harter said the Service Superstars were started two years ago to recognize local people who go above and beyond the call of duty.

“They commit extra time and step out of their regular business area to help people,” he said.

Gannon said that he suspects he was chosen to be inducted because of the help he gave at a motorcoach convention.

“Many people from ISU are recognized because [ISU] dominates the town and to pull off a big convention, like the motorcoach convention, ISU has the most people and land to help pull it off,” Gannon said.

Topel said he was probably chosen for the Hall of Fame because he was involved in a promotion that encouraged companies in the seed industry to have their meetings in Ames.

“The promotions were put in trade journals,” Topel said. “It was kind of built up as ‘Ames is the capital of the world for this area of expertise.'”

He also said a lot of the people at the university are “very sincere about helping the ACVB.”

“The university benefits too because people learn about us,” he said. “It fosters cooperation. And this is a long-term cooperation because some of these conventions are held here year after year, which opens up opportunities for both faculty and students who want to deal with these businesses.”

Harter said the reason so many of the inductees are from ISU is that the city and university are connected at the hip.

“[The people from ISU] are world leaders in their fields. They are extremely influential and the best of the best,” he said. “When they go to their peers and say they want to have a convention here, they say it from a position of strength.”