I.L.Y.A. Bilge Pullers Hall of Fame

The ILYA Hall of Fame was organized in 2002, the brainchild of Bilge Puller’s past Admiral Dick Casper.  To date, thirty ILYA competitors and contributors have been honored in the Hall of Fame.

The process of electing an honoree is an elegant one and begins with nominations from any ILYA member.  These nominations are forwarded to any ILYA Past Commodore, or any Bilge Puller’s Past Admiral.  From there, nominations go to a screening committee and, if qualified, are placed on the ballot as either an outstanding contributor or an outstanding competitor.  The ballot is then sent to all Bilge Puller Past Admirals and ILYA Past Commodores who are then asked to vote.

In addition, qualified nominees from the first half-century of the ILYA’s existence can be placed into the Hall of Fame by a unanimous vote of the Historian Committee.  This committee, made up (no surprise here) of Past Admirals and Past Commodores, seeks to fill the void where the memories of our current electors leave off.

2004 Inductees:
Art Best, Cedar Lake (Wis.) Yacht Club
John Buckstaff, Oshkosh Yacht Club
John O. Johnson, White Bear Yacht Club
Ed Malone, Oshkosh Yacht Club
 Harry “Buddy” Melges, Jr., Lake Geneva Yacht Club
Maynard Meyer, Pewaukee Yacht Club
Jack Ordway, White Bear Yacht Club
William “Curley” Perrigo, Pewaukee Yacht Club
John Pillsbury, Jr., Minnetonka Yacht Club
 Ernst Schmidt, Lake Geneva Yacht Club
 Dr. Otto L. Schmidt, Lake Geneva Yacht Club
John W. Taylor, White Bear Yacht Club

2006 Inductees:
Peter Barrett. Pewaukee Y. C. and Mendota Y. C.
Harold Koch, Pewaukee Yacht Club
Edmund Pillsbury, Minnetonka Yacht Club
Nat Robbins, Minnetonka Yacht Club
Walter Sprinkman, Cedar Lake (Wis.) Yacht Club

2008 Inductees:
William Bentsen, Lake Geneva Yacht Club
Gordon Bowers Jr., Minnetonka Yacht Club
Jule Hannaford III, White Bear Yacht Club
Dr. Tom Hodgson, White Bear Yacht Club
Gordon Lindemann, Pine Lake Yacht Club
Jerry Huse, Okoboji Yacht Club
Jane Pegel, Lake Geneva Yacht Club

2009 Inductees:
John Hunt, Minnetonka Yacht Club
Arnold Meyer, Pewaukee Yacht Club

2010 Inductees:
Wally Schmidt, Okauchee Lake Yacht Club
Jack (Snake) Schneider, Nagawicka Lake Yacht Club
Charles (Snuffy) Schneider, Nagawicka Lake Yacht Club
Dick Casper, Pine Lake Yacht Club

2012 Inductees:

William (Smiles) Freytag, Jr., Lake Geneva Yacht Club
Bob (Boober) Schneider, Okoboji, Yacht Club