2024 Elks Hoop Shoot Hall of Fame
Please join us in honoring the Elks Hoop Shoot Hall of Fame class of 2024: Competitors David Sickler and Maggie Goltz, and Contributors Jud and Deb Good.
When Hoop Shoot volunteers and participants step off the court, the contest may be behind them, but the lessons learned and love for the Hoop Shoot stays with them forever.
Reaching the National Finals means advancing through multiple rounds of increasingly difficult competition undefeated. It isn’t easy to make it to the national stage once, but all three of this year’s Elks Hoop Shoot Hall of Fame competitor inductees made it to the National Finals at least three times.
From 1984 to 1987, Regional participants would get a queasy feeling when they had to compete against David Sickler. Sponsored by Sayre, N.Y., Lodge No. 1148, Sickler not only made it to the National Finals an astonishing four times, but he took home back-to-back Frank Hise National Championships in 1985 (24/25) and 1986 (22/25).
After aging out of the Hoop Shoot, Sickler took his skills to high school and college basketball. He had a four-year career with the University of Rochester Yellowjackets, averaging 15.7 points per game and ending his career with 1,603 points. It’s no surprise that he made 80.5 percent of his free throws.
These days, Sickler is a health and driver’s education teacher, as well as a golf coach.
Another back-to-back National Champion, Maggie Goltz, sponsored by Falls City, NE, Lodge No. 963, reached the National Finals in 2007, 2008 and 2009, taking home the win in both 2007 and 2008. In 2007, Goltz won the Getty Powell Award as well with 24/25.
Goltz continued to excel at the free throw line, ending her prep career at Falls City Sacred Heart High School with the record for most career made free throws. She served as team captain and earned D2 first team all-state recognition three times. Now, she is studying to be a physicians assistant at Union College in Nebraska.
The two contributors inducted into the Hall of Fame for 2024 served as the Regional Director team for Region 11 for 11 years. Jud and Deb Good’s journey with the Hoop Shoot started long before they became a Regional Director duo.
“Jud has always had a love of sports and a love for what sports can mean in a person’s life,” says Vern Larson, former Regional Director of Region 2, who served in the position for 26 years. “When he was told about the Hoop Shoot, the first thing he did was put together the first shoot for the Plano Elks Lodge. It was a small but great beginning.”
Though Jud held many leadership roles in the Elks, his time with the Hoop Shoot always meant the most to him. While he was president of the Texas State Elks Association, Jud’s philosophy was: “You can’t do it alone. You have to have a team.”
“Jud developed a team that was truly excited about how the event could help develop the abilities and character of the kids involved,” says Larson. “Many that were on that early team are still involved in the Hoop Shoot.”
Jud never had to go it alone, thanks to the most important member of his team, his wife, Deb. Together, Jud and Deb made sure that every contestant that participated in their contests left with the feeling that they were winners by simply competing.
Deb brought that same approach to the National Finals, where for many years, she interacted with nearly everyone who attended the Finals as the manager of the mostly volunteer registration crew. Deb also served as Linda Cronk’s right-hand person, and in that capacity, she worked behind the scenes with professionalism, diligence, and a design sensibility that enhanced the look and feel of all the signage and printed material at the Finals.
We are proud to welcome these dedicated competitors and contributors to the Elks Hoop Shoot Hall of Fame. View the full hall of fame at enf.elks.org/EHOF.