The pantheon is swelling. And that’s a good thing for anyone who appreciates East Coast culture, the sport of surfing, or history in general. On Wednesday evening, January 8th, 2020, at a post-Surf Expo ceremony in a packed-out auditorium inside the Orange County Convention Center, in Orlando, FL, the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame inducted ten more surfing icons into their illustrious ranks. After a rigorous, four-step process that took several years to finalize, the Class of 2020 were inducted into five categories — Culture; Industry; Media; Legends; Surfers.
ECSHOF Class of 2020: (L-R, back row) ECSHOF President Gary Germain; Jesse Fernandez; Buzz Swarts (Hoppy’s son); Bill Hartley; Tyler Callaway; Rich Munson. (L-R, front row) Matt Kechele accepting for Pete Hodgson; Damien Hobgood; Tony Caramanico; Karen Lucas accepting for Will Lucas; Bobby Owens; Adele Faba Berenda. Photo: Tom Dugan/ESM
Culture: Will Lucas (Maryland)
Industry: Tyler Callaway (New York)
Media: Pete Hodgson (Florida)
Legends: Tony Caramanico (New York); Richard “Dickie” Munson (Florida); and Jesse Fernandez (North Carolina)
Surfers: Bobby Owens (Florida); Bill Hartley (Florida); Adele Faba Berenda (Florida); and Damien Hobgood (Florida)
Pro surfer, boardbuilder, musician, cancer survivor and ECSHOF Class of 2020, Jesse Fernandez. Photo: 2M
“The Class of 2020 are an incredible addition to the 159 members of the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame, who have been inducted over the past 24 years,” said ECSHOF President, Gary Germain. “The East Coast has produced amazingly talented surfers and, as President of the Hall of Fame, I am honored to welcome the newest members into our tribe. A special thank you goes to Surf Expo, which has supported the Hall of Fame for all of its 24 years.”
ECSHOF co-founder and former president, Cecil Lear, delivering the first ever Cecil Lear President’s Award to Lewis Earl “Hoppy” Swarts. Photo: Tom Dugan/ESM
Also, for the first time in the biennial induction ceremony’s history, the Cecil Lear President’s Award, named for the co-founder and first President (1996-2016) of the ECSHOF, was created to honor an individual who made a lasting contribution in leadership for the development of East Coast surfing. After intense deliberation, the ECSHOF Board of Directors selected Lewis Earl “Hoppy” Swarts as the first recipient. As the founding president of the United States Surfing Association in 1961, Swarts mentored Cecil Lear and Rudy Huber, which led those two to launch the Eastern Surfing Association (ESA), which has since become the most emblematic surfing organization on the East Coast, and one of the largest and oldest competitive surfing organizations in the world, having produced several World Champions like Frieda Zamba, Lisa Andersen, CJ Hobgood and Kelly Slater.
The East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame is dedicated to the preservation of the history and heritage of East Coast surfing by enshrining those individuals who’ve been responsible for surfing’s development and growth on the East Coast. The ECSHOF was founded in 1996 by legendary waterman Greg Noll, along with Cecil Lear. Every two years, the ECSHOF conducts a public candidate submission process, followed by a thorough nomination and selection process to determine the next inductees.
Congratulations to all those honored in 2020. For more information, click here.
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