Shootout Announces First Hall of Fame Class
Not only is first-year Shootout Hall of Fame inductee Randy Scism a Top Gun champion, he also builds some of the fastest boats—Marine Technology Inc. catamarans like Bob Bull’s above—to ever participate in the event. Photo by Jay Nichols/Naples Image
It could not have been easy to select 10 honorees for the inaugural Lake of the Ozarks Shootout Hall of Fame, but organizers of the 25th annual event on the Missouri lake have finalized the list of inductees.
Along with four of the originators of the top-speed event—local firefighters Fran Steingrubey, John Page and John Suellentrop and late boat racer Bob Morgan—three Top Gun-winning racers made the cut, Dave Callan, Randy Scism and David Scott. Joining the others on the list is former organizer Jeff Dorhauer, event photographer George Denny and two of the most dedicated volunteers the event has ever seen, Ron and Margie Frazier from the Coffman Bend Fire Association.
Joining the Fraziers, who will be inducted as a couple, all of the honorees or their representatives will be recognized during a Hall of Fame dinner on Thursday, Aug. 22, at Cannon Smoked Saloon on Highway 5 in Sunrise Beach. Open to the public at $20 per ticket with half of the ticket price being donated to the Shootout, the dinner precedes a live auction at the Stables, which features free admission to the public beginning at 7:30 p.m.
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“I’m really flattered to be put in to the Hall of the Fame on the first go-around,” said Marine Technology Inc. owner Randy Scism, who won the first Shootout with a 101-mph run in 1989 and even spent his honeymoon with his wife, Cherell, at the Shootout 23 years ago. “I honestly can’t believe it. The lake has always been our second home, if you will, and we know it’s the best-kept secret in the performance boat world.”
Scism, who has auctioned off a ride in one of his company’s catamarans the past few years to benefit the Shootout charities, isn’t the only one who was shocked by the recognition. The Shootout chairman for a dozen or more years when the event was at Shooters 21 and ran by the fire department, Osage Beach Fire Protection District Fire Chief Jeff Dorhauer was surprised to be included.
“Honestly if you consider all the names who have been involved with the Shootout over the years, I’m honored to be a part of something like this,” Dorhauer said. “Being that it’s the 25th anniversary of the event, I think this is the perfect time to start a Hall of Fame. I’m glad they’re stepping up and doing it. The Shootout has meant a lot to the lake for 25 years.”
Photographer George Denny also was blown away when he heard the news.
“For me to be included with people like Dave Callan and David Scott, and even John Suellentrop (the Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District Fire Chief who retired in 2011), I almost feel guilty because there are so many others who deserve it,” Denny said. “It’s a real honor and I guess something I earned for covering the event for so many years, but I can think of so many other names—Ken Warby, John Cosker and the original firefighters who put so much work into this event—that deserve to be on this list as well.”
One name that no one would argue against is eight-time Top Gun champion, David Scott, who owns a home on the lake. Scott, who holds the Captain Ron’s Shootout course record at 208 mph in Nauti-Marine (his 50-foot cat from Mystic Powerboats), hasn’t run in the event since 2010 but still attends the event regularly.
“The Hall of Fame selection is quite an honor and it’s very much appreciated,” said Scott, an accomplished offshore racing world champion. “I think it’s a great idea and I’m really glad to be a part of it. The Shootout means a lot to the lake—it’s really grown into an event all its own. It started out as a grassroots event and fortunately it’s been able to keep that feel for the most part as its continued to grow.”
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