At the City Commission meeting on June 23, 2021, the Mayor and City Commission referred a discussion to the Neighborhood and Quality of Life Committee (NQLC) to review recommendations by the Hall of Fame Committee for the current Hall of Fame inductee selection process. This memorandum provides an overview of the Hall of Fame selection process as well as the Hall of Fame Committee recommendations to revise the said process to ensure a diverse pool of nominees. 

On September 25, 2017, the City Commission adopted Resolution No. 2017-29987 approving the creation of a Miami Beach Hall of Fame to be located on the South Concourse Wall of the Miami Beach Convention Center, and the creation of a selection committee and selection process, as follows:

1. Hall of Fame Selection Committee:

A nine-member Commission-appointed Selection Committee for the Hall of Fame, plus two (2) at-large members from the local community.

The Mayor and Commission may each designate one appointee, with two members being nominated at-large.

Selection Committee Appointees could be knowledgeable in the following fields of expertise:

• Business

• Education

• Arts & Entertainment

• Philanthropy

• Sports

• Public Service

2. Hall of Fame Eligibility:

Hall of Fame nominees must meet the following criteria for consideration:

·Must have either been born in City of Miami Beach, have substantial connections to the City of Miami Beach, or be a resident of the City of Miami Beach.

·Must have made substantial contributions to their respective area as an Artist, Architect, Designer, Scientist, Athlete, Business Leader, Civic Leader, or Family Legacy.

·Must have a history of demonstrating strong character and integrity while acting as an ambassador for the City of Miami Beach.

·Must have had a direct and significant positive impact on the City of Miami Beach.

·Nominees must be in good standing in the community at the time of selection by the City Commission

Ineligibility:

·No sitting elected or appointed public official shall be eligible for nomination. A moratorium, for a period of five (5) years after leaving office, shall be placed on the nomination of elected and appointed officials.

·Members of the Miami Beach Hall of Fame Selection Committee may not submit nominees or be considered for nominations.

·Individuals cannot nominate themselves.

3. Nomination Process:

·Hall of Fame nominations were open on July 1, 2020. The original deadline to submit nominations was August 30, 2020. In order to allow for additional applications, the deadline was extended through November 30, 2020.

·Nomination forms (Attachment 1) include the following:

• Nominee’s name, contact information and, if applicable, date of death.

• Biography highlighting the nominee’s personal history and connection to Miami Beach, including the major accomplishment(s) of the nominee and how they relate to Miami Beach.

• Two letters of recommendation which demonstrate how the nominee is relevant and valuable to Miami Beach.

• Nominators must identify themselves and their relationship to the nominee.

4. Selection of Inductees:

·Once the application is completed and submitted, the nomination package will be reviewed by the Tourism and Culture Department. Staff will serve as liaison to the Hall of Fame Selection Committee.

·The Hall of Fame Selection Committee will review all complete applications and determine how many inductees to recommend each year. Potentially, three (3) inductees each, with at least one induction being a posthumous honor.

·The Selection Committee would then make its recommendations to the Commission, and the Commission would ratify the inductees.

·The City has established a repeating selection process, which occurs on a bi-annual basis, with a celebratory event to induct new honorees.

The 2021 Hall of Fame Selection Committee (Committee) was comprised of the following City Commission appointed individuals:

• Victor Diaz (Chair)
• Joy Malakoff (Vice-Chair)
• Susan Askew
• Matilde Bower
• Trudi Cejas
• Anamarie Ferreira de Melo
• Robin Jacobs
• Margueritte Ramos
• Debra Schwartz

On May 13, 2021, the Committee voted unanimously on a motion in support of the following recommendations for the nominee selection process:

1) In order to obtain a more diverse list of nominees,  increase community outreach to ensure that the community participate in the nominating process.

2) Increase the involvement of the Hall of Fame committee in order to enhance networking opportunities and therefore, allowing for a more diverse list of nominees.

3) Further refine the application process by defining the qualifications for 1) family legacy, and 2) clarifying eligibility and residency.

4) Prior years nominees to the Hall of Fame may not be considered for nomination unless re-nominated to the current Hall of Fame year.

5) Rectify the number of inductees that the Hall of Fame Committee may submit to the Commission for final approval.