The Reno Tahoe Winter Games Coalition will honor premier sports figures and their endeavors at the third annual Reno Tahoe International Sports Hall of Fame dinner gala on Nov. 23 at the Atlantis in Reno.

The four inductees are:

· Pam Buckner: Born and raised in Northern California, Buckner moved to Reno in the early 1980s during the prime years of her career on the women’s pro bowling tour. By then her legend on tour had already been cemented.On Aug. 26, 1979, during a national tournament in suburban Detroit, Buckner became the first woman in competitive bowling history to roll back-to-back perfect 300 games. The lefthander captured numerous titles while also representing Ebonite as a national bowling equipment sales manager. She has coached hundreds of kids to bowl in Reno since moving here in 1981 and still does so at the High Sierra Lanes, which also hosts the annual Pam Buckner Open.

· Rusty Crook: Crook’s athletic endeavors started early. While attending Reno High School he became a state diving and pole vault champion. He was a member of the University of Denver NCAA championship ski team before returning to the University of Nevada where he competed in gymnastics and skiing. Crook is a retired Washoe County School District physical education teacher and also coached a variety of sports during his 30-year tenure. He is the founder and former director of the Mt. Rose Falcon Ski Team and former technical director of the junior ski program. Crook has earned several state and national distinctions for his skiing and track and field instruction.

· Frank Hawkins: Born and raised in Las Vegas, Hawkins earned a full football athletic scholarship to the University of Nevada in 1977 after his graduation from Western High School in Las Vegas. Hawkins became the first of a long line of “Nevada Backs” in Chris Ault’s high-octane offense. A four-year starter, “The Hawk” amassed 5,333 rushing yards, the fourth highest total in college football history. A three-time All-American, Hawkins was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in 1981 and played for the team during his entire seven-year football career, highlighted by his role as the starting fullback for the 1983 Super Bowl champion Raiders after their move to Los Angeles. Upon retirement, Hawkins returned to his native Las Vegas and was elected to the City Council. He owns a company that builds affordable housing in low-income neighborhoods and is the president of the Las Vegas NAACP.

· Bob Tallman: Born in Winnemucca, Tallman learned the cowboy way. Realizing his future wasn’t in athletics but rather in talking about them, Tallman found his way to becoming an announcer on the rodeo circuit. Tallman announced his first event, an amateur rodeo, in his native Winnemucca in 1970 and within five years was on the microphone at the National Finals Rodeo. He revolutionized rodeo announcing by painting a picture for fans rather than just blurting out a name and a result. Tallman has been enshrined in numerous regional and national rodeo Hall of Fames and has recently cut back his schedule to allow for other endeavors including spending time tending the family ranch in Poolville, Texas, his online meat seasonings business and The Bob Tallman Charities Foundation that raises funds for a Houston area pediatric hospital and a cowboy crisis fund.

· Scholastic Achievement Awards: This honor, created in 2012, is awarded to deserving athletes, teams or schools recognized for their accomplishments in the field of play and/or the classroom and the community. Receiving the honor this year is:

Jack Rovetti and Drew Rippingham: These two young athletes became fast friends as teammates on the Swope Middle School track and field team. Both eighth-graders during last school season, Rovetti, who has Down’s syndrome, was befriended by Rippingham at the beginning of the season but it was the final race of their season that cemented both in the hearts and minds of all those who love sport for its purest of reasons – camaraderie and sportsmanship.

· Special Recognition: Leland Hernandez: This longtime Reno resident has devoted decades of time, talent and “treasure” to promote and enhance sports in Reno-Tahoe. Hernandez was a longtime co-owner of the Class-A Reno Silver Sox minor league baseball team that called Moana Stadium home. Since the early 1990s he has been a staunch supporter of the region’s efforts to bring the Olympic Winter Games back to Reno-Tahoe. Hernandez remains an honorary member of the highest order to the Reno Tahoe Winter Games Coalition.

The event begins at 5:30pm. Reserve tickets by calling (775) 622.1889.