MISSION
The New Jersey Hall of Fame will honor our citizens who have made invaluable contributions to society and the world beyond. The Hall of Fame will send a message to children that they can and should strive for excellence in any endeavor of their choosing. By presenting such significant role models, we believe that the Hall of Fame will become a source of learning, inspiration and hope for all New Jersey children.

LEGISLATION
The New Jersey Hall of Fame was statutorily authorized through Public Law 2005, Chapter 232. This bi-partisan legislation was passed unanimously in the Senate on May 15, 2005, in the Assembly on June 30, 2005, and signed into law by the Governor on September 22, 2005. Governor Jon S. Corzine and all former governors of the state have expressed their support for the creation of this museum.

OVERSIGHT
The Hall of Fame is a designated 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, overseen by a Board of Commissioners.

MUSEUM
A state of the art interactive, educational museum is being planned that will immortalize our legends. The museum will be an educational destination for families and school trips. There is considerable interest on the part of several possible sites for the museum and the board is considering all options. No decision has been made.

WEBSITE
The New Jersey Hall of Fame website (www.njhalloffame.com) received thousands of visitors during the first year of voting and has links from more than 100 quality websites.

SUCCESSFUL MODELS
The New Jersey Hall of Fame is one of a small, but growing number of state Halls of Fame. The South Carolina and South Dakota Halls of Fame are two examples that have succeeded exceedingly well for more than 30 years. This past year, the South Dakota Hall of Fame raised more than $350,000 and 15 years ago millions to have a museum built in Chamberlain, S.D. California recently announced the creation of their own Hall of Fame and has raised a considerable amount of money thanks to a celebrity Governor.

VOTING FORMAT
The New Jersey Hall of Fame Academy is comprised of 100 of New Jersey’s most prominent organizations, ethnic groups and media outlets who review lists of potential nominees provided by panels of experts in each of the following categories. Sports/Arts & Entertainment/Historical/General/Enterprise. The Voting Academy then narrows the field to five nominees, after which the public is invited to visit our web site or email us and vote for their top choice in each category. The New Jersey Hall of Fame Board of Commissioners reserves the right to induct additional top vote getters in each category.

INDUCTION CEREMONY
The first class of inductees will be celebrated at a major red carpet ceremony which will feature entertainment from prominent New Jersey artists. The ceremony will be held at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the state’s premiere performing arts center, on Sunday, May 4, 2008.

PRESS COVERAGE
Virtually every major newspaper and in the state has given editorial coverage to the Hall of Fame and both New Jersey Monthly and South Jersey Magazine have written feature stories. The Associated Press picked up the story twice and ran it over their wire services. In addition, the Hall of Fame has been the subject of radio stories and call-in talk shows.

SUPPORT
The Hall of Fame has received strong financial support from several sources, including J.H. Cohn LLP, sanofi-aventis, NJEA, the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority, and many generous individuals. In addition, thousands of dollars worth of in-kind support has been received from the Star-Ledger, Clear Channel, Comcast, Cablevision, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, the New Jersey Highway Authority, and many of our Academy members.