Class Of 2024 Gets Inducted Into Lake Of The Ozarks Shootout Bob Morgan Memorial Hall of Fame
Last night at the unique Lighthouse in Sunrise Beach, Mo., five men who have spent decades working at, volunteering for, participating in or reporting on the one-and-only Lake of the Ozarks Shootout received standing ovations for their dedication to the charitable Central Missouri event that has been taking place for 36 years.
From left: Matt Trulio, Frank Scarpino, Ed Grimm, Scott Frandsen and Jim Schultz were inducted into the Bob Morgan Memorial Hall of Fame last night. Photos by Jason Johnson
As it has for a dozen years, the gathering brought together board members, participants, volunteers, media and past members of the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout Bob Morgan Memorial Hall of Fame. And the honorees in the 12th annual class included Scott Frandsen, Ed Grimm, Frank Scarpino, Jim Schultz and Matt Trulio (yep the founder of this website).
The wonderful evening, which featured a delicious dinner from Angela’s Lake Catering, kicked off with host Mike Clayton rattling off all of the positives the Shootout has done for the community throughout the years beyond the charitable donations. Things such as expanding tourism, bringing another “big summer weekend” to lake businesses, introducing people from around the country to the popular waterway and creating long-lasting relationships that often only come together once a year because of the event.
Clayton then turned his attention to the man who took a shot at the Shootout 16 years ago and held the reins up until a couple of weeks ago when he announced his retirement from the event’s board of directors, Ron Duggan. The owner of Captain Ron’s—the host venue of the Shootout—Duggan and his dedicated board elevated the event to new heights in terms of sponsorship, additional Shootout happenings and of course charitable donations. Duggan promptly received a standing ovation and current board president Mark Maasen delivered some nice words about Duggan’s leadership while presenting him with a watch from Duncan Diamonds and Fine Jewelry in Osage Beach courtesy of the event’s board of directors.
Ron Duggan, who retired from the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout board of directors earlier this month, was recognized during last night’s ceremony for his years of dedication to the event.
Duggan, who was inducted into the Shootout Hall of Fame in 2019, proceeded to thank the board, his family and the friends he’s made during the years. He cited that while the event and its fundraising goals are the most important part about the Shootout, he said the people and the relationships that come from it are a close second. He called out many volunteers, sponsors, participants and media members whom he considers friends not business associates.
Another former Shootout leader and Hall of Fame member, retired fire chief Jeff Dorhauer who directed the event for many years during its tenure at Shooters 21, spoke before the class inductions began and presented an insightful—and humorous—history of the event, including how they used to broadcast illegally on a pirated FM radio station, keep track of the speed runs on yellow legal pads and register participants with carbon copy forms. He, like Duggan, called out the people he’s met during the past few decades and the relationships he’s developed with people around the country because of the event. There’s no doubt the Shootout is always going to have a special place in Dorhauer’s heart.
The first new member of the 12th annual Bob Morgan Memorial Hall of Fame class inducted last night was a fire chief who has been involved with the event since the beginning—Scott Frandsen, the Mid-Country Fire Protection District fire chief who was born and raised at the lake. Frandsen emphasized what the event has done for the fire-fighting community for the past 35 years and also joked that when he got the call from Maasen that he was going into the Hall of Fame he said with a laugh, “Wow, you all must have ran out of people to include.”
Next up was the owner of the fastest V-bottom in the history of the top-speed contest, Illinois performance boater Jim Schultz of the Factory Billet team. Last year Schultz and his main engine-builder, Mike Faucher pushed the limits of their canopied 51-foot Outerlimits V-bottom powered by a pair of in-house built, 3,000-plus-hp engines with three-speed automatic transmissions to new heights on the three-quarter-mile course when they blew away their previous top speed of 166 mph with a 184-mph run on Sunday morning. The soft-spoken Schultz thanked the board for the recognition, stating how much he enjoys the event and that he was planning to run the boat again this year, as reported on speedonthewater.com yesterday.
A member of the inaugural Bob Morgan Memorial Hall of Fame class, Jeff Dorhauer, who led the Shootout for many years before turning it over to Captain Ron’s owner Ron Duggan, gave a memorable speech on Tuesday evening.
A tough act to follow, Schultz’s friend for many years—speedonthewater.com’s Matt Trulio—was next in line for the honor. From his days at Powerboat magazine and since starting this website in 2009, Trulio has had his finger on the pulse of the Shootout, providing hundreds of stories dedicated to the boats, people and community that makes the Shootout one of the best performance boating events in the country. The California native followed his business partner (and author of this story), Jason Johnson, who was inducted in 2018, into the Hall of Fame and was appreciative of the honor, explaining that the event is appealing to him because of the people involved with it, not just the boats that participate in it.
After Trulio, local performance boater Ed Grimm, who has run boats and won his classes in the Shootout a few different times, received his recognition for his many years leading the technical inspections for the event. Every year for the better part of a decade, Grimm, and a team he hand-picks depending on availability and technical knowledge, has been classifying registered boats and making sure they adhere to the event’s safety standards. Grimm thanked the entire board for the “tremendous honor” and turned to his good friend and fellow Hall of Famer, Charlie Schaefer, and offered up a special thanks for his support during the years.
Last but not least, a former Shootout volunteer who stepped up to lead the challenging job of managing vehicle parking at Captain Ron’s and eventually sat on the board of directors, Frank Scarpino was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Scarpino said when he received the call that he was getting into the Hall of Fame he cried. “I couldn’t believe it—I was so happy,” he said. “The only thing I could compare it to is my wedding day.” Although he was going for a laugh with his wife Jacki in the crowd of close to 200 people, Scarpino, who moved to Florida in 2020, was sincerely moved by the honor.
As a fellow Hall of Famer, I could truly understand everyone’s sentiments from last night and would like to thank the Shootout team for putting together an amazing reception that so many of us enjoy attending every year.
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