{"id":29506,"date":"2026-05-15T10:46:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T14:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/?p=29506"},"modified":"2026-05-15T11:02:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T15:02:50","slug":"2026-harless-hall-fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/2026\/05\/2026-harless-hall-fame\/","title":{"rendered":"June Harless Center to honor education leaders at 2026 Harless Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><strong>HUNTINGTON, W.Va.<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 The June Harless Center at Marshall University will host the 2026 Harless Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Thursday, May 21, at Brad D. Smith Foundation Hall, recognizing individuals and organizations whose leadership and service have made significant contributions to education in West Virginia, particularly in rural communities.<\/p>\n<p>The 2026 Harless Hall of Fame inductees are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>John Hutton, recognized for his work in early literacy, brain development and child health<\/li>\n<li>Shawn Ball, recognized for leadership in advancing educational opportunities and innovation in West Virginia<\/li>\n<li>The West Virginia Association for Young Children, recognized for its support of early childhood professionals, advocacy efforts and promotion of high-quality learning experiences for children across the state.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cThe Harless Hall of Fame recognizes individuals and organizations who make a difference for West Virginia educators, families and children through leadership and service,\u201d said the center\u2019s executive director, Dr. Tarabeth Heineman. \u201cIt celebrates individuals who believe every child deserves great opportunities, no matter their zip code.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The event will include a celebration of the 20th anniversary of Dolly Parton\u2019s Imagination Library in West Virginia. The program provides free books to children from birth to age 5 and has supported early literacy and school readiness efforts across the state for two decades.<\/p>\n<p>Gayle Manchin, federal co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission, will receive special recognition for her foundational role in bringing Dolly Parton\u2019s Imagination Library to West Virginia. Also, the Raleigh County Commission will be honored as the top donor in 2026, supporting Dolly Parton\u2019s Imagination Library in West Virginia.<\/p>\n<p>The Harless Hall of Fame recognizes collaboration among educators, community leaders and organizations working to expand opportunities for children and families throughout West Virginia. The annual event highlights contributions that continue to strengthen education and support communities across the state.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">###<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HUNTINGTON, W.Va.\u00a0\u2013 The June Harless Center at Marshall University will host the 2026 Harless Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Thursday, May 21, at Brad D. Smith Foundation Hall, recognizing individuals and organizations whose leadership and service have made significant contributions to education in West Virginia, particularly in rural communities. The 2026 Harless Hall of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":665,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-coepd","category-news-releases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/665"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29506"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29506\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29510,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29506\/revisions\/29510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}