Duenkel Honored During ISHA Annual Conference

Bob Duenkel, the Executive Director/Curator of the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, was recently honored as the recipient of the most prestigious award presented by the International Sports Heritage Association (ISHA). Duenkel received the Schroeder Award for Distinguished Service during the Evening of Champions dinner at ISHA's 38th Annual Conference held in Cincinnati, Ohio in mid-November.

ISHA's conference titled "Celebrating Sports Heritage - Traditions We Embrace" was hosted by the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and attracted nearly 100 attendees from Canada, China, Puerto Rico, Scotland, Singapore and the continental United States. Among the sports heritage institutions represented at the conference were the College Football Hall of Fame, Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, The Hall at Patriot Place, Jack Nicklaus Museum, Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, National Wrestling Hall of Fame& Museum, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and Museum and Singapore Sports Museum. The three-day conference held on Nov. 11-13 included a multitude of presentations and a workshop as well as a welcome reception at the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal and tours of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and Great American Ball Park.

The Evening of Champions not only included the Schroeder Award presentation to Duenkel but also including the awarding of the annual communication awards. A full list of these winners can be found on the ISHA's website at
www.SportsHeritage.org. The dinner's keynote speaker was former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Tom Browning, who was the first pitcher in franchise history to throw a perfect game. Former Olympian gold medalist Lucinda Williams Adams delivered a keynote address at the beginning of the conference.

Duenkel has devoted his lifetime to the sport of swimming and has also played an integral role in the success of ISHA. His first association with swimming came during his childhood and by his teenage years, Duenkel illustrated great talent as a swimmer. He quickly grew from a champion of the New Jersey YMCA Swim League to a state record holder at Roosevelt High School in Orange, NJ. He continued his swimming career at Kansas State University in the mid-1960s where he established Big Eight and national records. He was named the Big Eight's Swimmer of the Year multiple times.

Bob became a physical education teacher in 1970 shortly after he earned a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Physical Education from Kansas State. In 1976, he joined the International Swimming Hall of Fame and has spent the past three-plus decades working tirelessly to help ISHOF achieve its mission of promoting the benefits and importance of swimming as a key to fitness, good health, quality of life, and the water safety of children. Duenkel was promoted to Director in the summer of 1998. Today, he continues as an integral part of ISHOF's success. The ISHOF Museum, Library and Archive contains the world's largest collection of aquatic memorabilia and the single largest source of aquatic books, manuscripts and literature.

The museum adorns the entrance to the Hall of Fame Aquatic complex and features more than 40 exhibits and displays that illustrate the history of aquatic sports through the recognition of both the world's greatest swimming, diving, water polo and synchronized swimming performers and the great moments in which they participated.

In addition, the two-story, original Hall of Fame building contains 7,000 square feet housing the Tripp Family Art Gallery, Henning Library and Archives, John E. DuPont Panorama Celebrity Room and administrative offices.

Since joining the ISHOF, Duenkel has served as the Director of Camp Chikopi, the world's first swimming camp that was founded in 1920 By United States Olympic Swim Coach Matt Mann II.

A long-time member and supporter of the International Sports Heritage Association, Duenkel has earned the reputation of generously sharing his experience and expertise with fellow ISHA members. In addition, he served on the organization's Board of Directors in the late 1990s. Throughout his professional years into the 1980s, Duenkel continued to swim and later coached at the high school and college levels. He was named to the 1997 Who's Who in Aquatics and that same year received the Glen S. Hummer Award for making the greatest contribution to long distance swimming. Duenkel was inducted into the Orange (NJ) Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999.