8 named to R.I. Heritage Hall of Fame

PROVIDENCE – Eight Rhode Islanders have been selected for inclusion in the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame, according to Dr. Patrick T. Conley, president of the nonprofit’s board of directors.

Named to the Hall of Fame were:
• Sherwin J. Kapstein, a former teacher and coach in Warwick and Providence; past Providence School Committee member; founding president of the Providence Public Education Council and the Rhode Island Association of School Committees of the R.I. Association of School Committes; and past executive director of the National Education Association, Rhode Island (NEA-RI), who served for two terms in the R.I. House of Representatives.
• Eugene Lee, a Trinity Repertory Company set designer since 1967, who also designs “Saturday Night Live” and is a visiting professor at Brown University. He has received three Tony Awards and four Emmy nominations.
• Dr. John O. Pastore Jr., a cardiologist, medical researcher, anti-nuclear-war activist and international advocate of the moral responsibilities of physicians.
• Walter K. Schroder, an author, researcher and lecturer on Rhode Island history.
• Merrill W. Sherman, the president and CEO of Bank Rhode Island, who is also a former corporate lawyer, a civic leader and a humanitarian.

Also named were the late Andrew J. Bell Jr., a civil rights advocate who helped found the Urban League of Rhode Island and the Opportunities Industrialization Center; the late Harvey Bennett, a goalie for the former Providence Reds and a coach and promoter of youth hockey; and the late Dr. Charles E. Millard, a family physician, professor of medicine, Rhode Island Medical Society president and Roman Catholic deacon.

The Heritage Hall of Fame – established in 1965 to honor “any individual who has brought credit to Rhode Island, brought Rhode Island into prominence, and contributed to the history and heritage of the state” – showcases 541 people who were born in the state, lived or worked here for a significant time, or made their reputations in Rhode Island.

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It is slated to move to the Rhode Island Heritage Harbor Museum, in the Jewelry District – from its current home at the Rhode Island Historical Society – once the new museum is complete.

The new members will be honored at the Heritage Hall of Fame’s 43rd induction ceremony, to be held at Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet, 60 Rhodes Place, Cranston, on Saturday, April 28, beginning with a social hour at 6 p.m.

For more information about the event or the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame, call Dr. Patrick T. Conley at 272-1776 or visit www.riheritagehalloffame.org . For tickets and reservations, call ArtTix at 621-6123 or visit www.arttixri.com.

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