ABOUT THE HALL

The Luzerne County Arts & Entertainment Hall of Fame was established in 2022, and was announced at a news conference at the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts on October 20 of that year. The criteria for induction were determined by the initial members of the steering committee.

Eligible candidates for induction include anyone who has made a mark in the arts or entertainment fields. Geographically, those who are Luzerne County natives, have lived in Luzerne County, or who have made their mark in Luzerne County, are to be placed under consideration.

Nominees — whose names are typically submitted by the public — are collected by two committees: one representing the Arts, and one representing Entertainment. The two committees spend months debating and voting on the merits of each nominee. After the votes are cast, the official list of inductees is announced in the spring.

Generally, the split between “Arts” and “Entertainment” inductees is as follows:

• Nominees for the “Arts” category should have excelled in the categories of stage, film, television, dance, painting, sculpture or artistic design.

• Nominees for the “Entertainment” category should have excelled in the areas of music or other forms of live entertainment.

Additionally, the “Impact” category honors individuals, groups, and organizations whose work, leadership, or business ventures have significantly shaped the regional arts and entertainment landscape.

Bill O’Boyle and Joe Nardone Sr. founded the Luzerne County Arts & Entertainment Hall of Fame, and the pair were joined on the first steering committee by Tony Brooks, Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown, Jody Busch, Lindsay Griffin-Boylan, Alan K. Stout, and Constance Wynn.

The first induction ceremony took place on Oct. 14, 2023, at Mohegan Pennsylvania in Plains Township. The 2024 and 2025 induction ceremonies were held at the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts in Wilkes-Barre, while the 2026 ceremony was held at the Kirby Center for Creative Arts on the campus of Wyoming Seminary in Kingston.

The current steering committee members are Brooks, Mayor Brown, Busch, Griffin-Boylan, Nardone, O’Boyle, Stout, Kathi Bankes, Kathy Bozinski, Gina Malsky, Joe Pacuska, Morris Walker, Joell Yarmel, and Sam Zavada.

The Arts committee includes Brooks, Zavada, Beverly Jean Johnston, Basil Kaczmarczyk, Jennifer McClinton-Temple, and Margaret Roarty.

The Entertainment committee includes Bozinski, Busch, Nardone, Pacuska, Stout, Walker, Zavada, Tony Callaio, Victor Guiliano, Marshall Kornblatt, Richie Kossuth.