Renowned surfers and industry stars to be inducted into Walk and Hall of Fame in Huntington Beach

A new crop of renowned surf industry stars and wave riders will be inducted into the Surfing Walk of Fame and the Surfers’ Hall of Fame in Huntington Beach next week.

Joining the Walk of Fame Thursday will be Derek Ho and Joel Tudor (as Surf Champions), Reynolds “Renny” Yater (Surf Pioneer), Jeff Divine and Art Brewer (Surf Culture), Courtney Conlogue (Woman of the Year), Sam Hawk (Local Hero) and Don MacAllister (Honor Roll).

The ceremony, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 10 a.m. in front of Jack’s Surfboards, 101 Main St. A special reception is scheduled Wednesday from 6 to 9 p.m. at Pacific City, 21010 Pacific Coast Hwy. Tickets are $50.

At 9 a.m. Friday, Hawk, Janice Aragon and Kai Lenny will be immortalized as part of the Hall of Fame when they cement their hand and footprints in front of Huntington Surf and Sport, 300 Pacific Coast Hwy.

Going into its 26th year, Walk of Fame board chairman John Etheridge said this year’s class is an “exceptional one.”

“To each and every one, we say, ‘mahalo,’” he said in a statement. “To each and every one, we tip our collective straw hats. To each and every one, we say, ‘Welcome to your new Ohana, a family of legends etched in stone.’”

MacAllister, a former Surf City mayor who was one of the founders of the Walk of Fame, said he can recall a time when surfers weren’t always as well-regarded as they are now. It’s one of the reasons why the organization came to be.

“There was a small group of us who thought we needed to help the surfing sport become the true romantic sport it is rather than just some guys hanging out back,” the 86-year-old said. “We’ve been successful at it with 160-odd people placed on a stone in five various categories and I feel very honored to be honored as the local person that has contributed to the surfing industry.”

Conlogue, 26, has similar sentiments about her pending induction. The Santa Ana native is regarded as one of the most decorated female professional surfers of the modern era. She’s netted 12 World Surf League victoriesand two at the Vans U.S. Open of Surfing.

“I feel like I’m very young, but I’m very thankful to be recognized for what I’ve done,” she said. “Growing up, I watched all Walk and Hall of Fame [ceremonies] and I thought, ‘I hope I can be one of those inductees one of these days.’ And now, it’s happening.”

Candidates for the Walk of Fame are nominated by museums, media organizations and people in the surf industry. A 200-member international panel then votes to select each year’s inductees.

Hawk — a Hawaii-based surfboard shaper who started riding waves at age 14 in Huntington Beach before moving to Oahu’s North Shore in 1967, where he made his mark — said he was surprised and happy when Surfers’ Hall of Fame founder Aaron Pai invited him to the ceremony.

“They finally caught up with me,” joked Hawk, who was described as the “perfect ‘70s surfer” by Surfer Magazine.

The rest of the 2019 Walk of Fame honorees are:

• Brewer: A famed photographer known for his portraits of surfers. His work has been published in magazines such as Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated and Esquire.

• Divine: Started his career taking photos of surfers in his hometown of La Jolla before taking the reins as photo editor for publications such as Surfer and The Surfer’s Journal for 35 years.

• Ho: A four-time Hawaiian Triple Crown winner.

• Tudor: An award-winning longboarder who started his own company, Joel Tudor Surfboards, and founded an international longboard competition called the Duct Tape Invitational.
• Yater: A surfboard shaper who created the Yater Spoon in Santa Barbara in 1964. His board is considered one of the lightest and most maneuverable boards of that era.

The rest of this year’s Surfers’ Hall of Fame inductees are:

• Aragon: Executive director of the National Scholastic Surfing Assn., a youth competitive surfing program that is currently on hiatus. She also won titles such as the International Surfing Assn.’s Women’s World Championship in 1984.
• Lenny: The all-around water sports enthusiast achieved recognition in 2012 when he placed first at the Hawaii Islands Finals SUP pro.