ALTON – There’s a different place for a familiar prep basketball event next month.
The Alton Exchange Club will hold its 69th annual high school awards banquet on Wednesday, April 2. The new location is the Alton Holiday Inn and the fete has shifted from Sunday to Wednesday night. The festivities are scheduled to get doing with a dinner at 6:30.
Tickets are $15 apiece and can be secured by calling Dave Elson at 830-7786. Elson and Gary Buck are serving as co-chairman for the event, a River Bend staple since 1946.
“It ought to be a good evening,” Elson said.
Buck, associated with the banquet for more than 30 years, added: “We’re older than the NBA.” The National Basketball Association started in November 1946.
Male and female players from Alton High, Marquette Catholic, Civic Memorial, East Alton-Wood River and Roxana will be honored. The main awards include Players of the Year, 110 percent, free throw shooting, team sportsmanship and team MVPs.
Hunter Reine of Roxana and Megan Trost of CM were the recipients of the Player of the Year awards in 2013. Reine, one of only six male players to win the award twice, is a freshman at Southwestern Illinois Community College in Belleville. Trost is a senior at CM.
Edwardsville Superintendent Ed Hightower will serve as the featured speaker. Hightower, who considers Alton his home, retired from officiating basketball the past season after a long and illustrious career.
ALTON EXCHANGE CLUB PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
- 2013: Hunter Reine of Roxana and Megan Trost of CM
- 2012: Hunter Reine of Roxana and Megkinize Carter of Civic Memorial
- 2011: Tony Bradley of Alton and Cassie Endicott of Civic Memorial
- 2010: Tony Bradley of Alton and Kelsey Harrison of EA-WR
- 2009: Ryan Mathews of Alton and Michaela Herrod of Alton
- 2008: Ruben Cotto of Alton and Katie Broadway of Civic Memorial
- 2007: Kavon Lacey of Alton and Broadway of CM
- 2006: Lacey of Alton and Broadway of CM
- 2005: Lorenzo Taylor of Alton and Emily Best of East Alton-Wood River
- 2004: Nick Certa of Marquette Catholic and Emily Best of EA-WR
- 2003: Nick Certa of Marquette Catholic and Jordan Davis of Roxana
- 2002: Travis Williams of East Alton-Wood River and Casey Law of CM
- 2001: Michael Stockard of Alton and Ashley Russell of East Alton-Wood River
- 2000: Demarko “Book” Snipes of Alton and Michelle Beiermann of Marquette Catholic
- 1999: Snipes of Alton and Kendra Snyder of Marquette
- 1998: Tony Certa of Marquette and DoBee Oros-Moore of Alton
- 1997: Marlon Crawford of Alton and Jenni Combes of Civic Memorial
- 1996: Nic Stotler of CM and Angela Payne of Roxana
- 1995: Greg McDanel of Roxana and Erica Oge of Marquette
- 1994: Eric Frankford of CM and Amie Gernigan of Marquette
- 1993: Ty Laux of CM
- 1992: Brad Bohannon of Marquette
- 1991: Jonathan Denney of CM
- 1990: Kevin Caldwell of Alton
- 1989: Joe Vann of Alton
- 1988: Steve Mason of Marquette
- 1987: Jamie Humphries of CM
- 1986: Larry Smith of Alton
- 1985: Smith of Alton
- 1984: Dale Liley of EA-WR
- 1983: Rick Taylor of Alton
- 1982: Steve Wooley of EA-WR
- 1981: Dan Coddington of EA-WR
- 1980: Troy Washpun of Alton
- 1979: Jim “Buzz” Logan of EA-WR
- 1978: David Goins of Alton
- 1977: Brad Scheiter of Alton
- 1976: Leroy Stampley of Alton
- 1975: Chris Schroeder of Roxana
- 1974: Doug Nalley of Alton
- 1973: Lafayette Collins of Alton
- 1972: Dennis Olston of EA-WR
- 1971: Ron Caldwell of Alton
- 1970: Dave Taynor of CM
- 1969: Mike Jeffries of Alton
- 1968: Leon Huff of Alton
- 1967: Ricci Stotler of CM
- 1966: Jim Bailey of EA-WR
- 1965: Terry Brown of EA-WR
- 1964: Larry Jeffries of Alton
- 1963: Bob Hilgendorf of CM
- 1962: Larry Shoemaker of Alton
- 1961: Gary Lane of EA-WR
- 1960: Karl Doucleff of Western Military Academy
- 1959: Jerry Messick of EA-WR
- 1958: Mike Hunter of Alton
- 1957: Jim Lemon of EA-WR
- 1956: Cliff Talley of EA-WR
- 1955: Essic Robinson of Alton
- 1954: Richard Brown of Roxana
- 1953: Dick Harbke of Roxana
- 1952: Ron Fisher of EA-WR
- 1951: Bob Kuhn of Alton
- 1950: Lowell Pettit of EA-WR
- 1949: Ron Bedwell of Roxana
- 1948: Sam Vinyard of EA-WR
- 1947: Bob Caffery of EA-WR
- 1946: Dick Erzen of EA-WR