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. The Hall of Fame Selection Committee was established to review the applications, deliberate, and decide who deserves the coveted recognition. The Selection Committee and Hall of Fame nomination process is outlined as follows:

1. Selection  Committee

A nine-member Commission-appointed Selection Committee for the Hall of Fame, plus two at­large members from the local community.

         Appointees could be knowledgeable in the following fields of expertise:

• Business
• Education
• Arts and Entertainment
• Philanthropy
• Sports
• Public Service
• Literature and History

2. Hall of Fame Eligibility

A person would be eligible for induction to the City of Miami Beach Hall of Fame if that person meets one or more of the following criteria:

•  Had significant impact on the City as a whole 
•  Made a lasting and positive impact on the City
• Had significant ties to the City, was born in Miami Beach, and/or made Miami Beach his/her place of residence or business

 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

Nomination packages 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
• As part of the nominating package, nominators must identify themselves and their relationship to the nominee.
• The Selection Committee would consider up to five inductees to recommend each year, 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 annual inductees.
• The City has established a repeating selection process, which occurs bi-annually, with an event to induct new honorees

Nominations for the 2023 Hall of Fame were accepted from February 15, 2023 through 5 PM on May 1, 2023. (Applications were extended through 4 PM on Wednesday, May 17, 2023).

As a result of this process, twenty-two (22) nominations were received and are noted as follows:

On May 18, 2023, the Hall of Fame Committee held their first meeting. During this meeting, the Committee discussed the application process, qualifications criteria and scoring rubric. Following the meeting, Committee members were provided the twenty-two (22) nomination packages, along with the scoring rubric.

On June 9, 2023, the Hall of Fame Committee reconvened and invited submitters to speak on behalf of each nominee, which was followed by public comment. Based on total averages determined from the scoring rubrics, a motion was unanimously passed to recommend the following five inductees into the Hall of Fame:

Nominee Score

Judy Drucker 96

Michael Tilson Thomas 96

Seymour and Edith Gelber 93

Nancy Liebman 91

Mark Samuelian 88

During the June 9, 2023 meeting, the Hall of Fame Committee made the following recommendations for future Hall of Fame cycles:

1. Delete criteria requiring at least one posthumous honor

2. Submitters should be allowed to select multiple categories of expertise on the application form

3. Include additional criteria for ineligibility as follows: No family members of sitting elected or appointed public officials shall be eligible for nomination;  a moratorium for a period of three (3) years after leaving office shall be placed on the nomination of family members of elected and appointed officials.

4. Include a preliminary meeting prior to scoring to discuss the candidates being nominated to deem nominees as “Qualified” or “Not Qualified”.

5. Analyze scoring matrix to determine if the averaged score was fair if a member deemed the nominee as “Not Qualified”

A celebration to honor the 2023 Miami Beach Hall of Fame inductees is scheduled for Thursday, October 5, 2023, 10AM, Miami Beach Convention Center, South Concourse.