Nine Rhode Islanders to be Inducted Into Heritage Hall of Fame
GoLocalProv Lifestyle Team
Nine Rhode Islanders to be Inducted Into Heritage Hall of Fame
See the Inductees in the Slideshow Below
This year’s ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 5 at The Inn at the Crossings in Warwick.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe event will start at 5 p.m. with a social hour followed by a 6 p.m. dinner, entertainment, and the ceremony.
RI Heritage Hall of Fame
According to Board president and 1995 inductee, Dr. Patrick T. Conley, the Hall of Fame, consisting of illustrious Rhode Islanders from Roger Williams and the chief sachems of the Narragansett and the Wampanoag tribes to the present, was created in 1965 to honor “any individual who has brought credit to Rhode Island, brought Rhode Island into prominence, and contributed to the history and heritage of the state.”
Inductees must have been born in Rhode Island, lived, studied, or worked in Rhode Island for a significant time, or made his or her reputation here.
See the 2018 Inductees in the Slideshow Below
2018 RI Heritage Hall of Fame Inductees
JUDGE FRANCIS J. DARIGAN, JR., South Providence native who became District Court judge and then Superior Court justice, South Side community leader and activist, former national president of the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO), and co-founder and first president of Justice Assistance.
Inducted by Dr. Patrick T. Conley (1995 Inductee)
KENNETH R. DOOLEY, Cranston native, prolific author, playwright, and biographer, publishing executive, literary critic, political consultant, and the author of the play that led to the posthumous pardon of unjustly executed Irish immigrant John Gordon.
Inducted by Dr. D. Scott Molloy (2009 Inductee)
CONGRESSMAN PATRICK J. KENNEDY, Eight-term congressman from Rhode Island, state legislator, and crusader for mental health, both as a congressman and afterward as the founder of two international mental health advocacy organizations.
Inducted by Dr. Patrick T. Conley (1995 Inductee)
CONGRESSMAN RONALD K. MACHTLEY, Attorney, naval officer, three-term congressman from Rhode Island, and then long-time president of Bryant University, a school that has enjoyed unprecedented growth and development under his leadership.
Inducted by Albert R. Beauparlant (HOF Vice President)
RONALD R. S. PICERNE, Cranston native, who became one of the nation’s leading real estate developers with projects in Rhode Island and twenty-three other states, and who leads a family foundation granting hundreds of college scholarships to deserving students.
Inducted by General James J. D’Agostino (Director)
JAMES P. RILEY, Labor organizer, chairman of the Occupational and Environmental Center of Rhode Island, civic leader, and a major fundraiser for a variety of charitable organizations, especially the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Inducted by Dr. D. Scott Molloy (2009 Inductee)
DR. RUDOLPH E. TANZI, Cranston native, who is the Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy Professor of Neurology at Harvard University, Director of the Genetics and Aging Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital and one of the world’s leading authorities on Alzheimer’s Disease, genetics, and brain health.
Inducted by Dr. Arun K. Singh (2017 Inductee)
SPENCER W. VINER, ESQ., South Providence born and Pawtucket raised, high-ranking labor attorney, winner of the Bronze Star in Vietnam, civic leader, president of the Rhode Island Japan-American Society, and recipient of the Order of the Rising Sun Medal from the Emperor of Japan.
Inducted by Arlene Violet, Esq. (1996 Inductee)
PATRICE WOOD, Born Holly Patrice Wood in Ohio, she began her Rhode Island tenure in February, 1980 and has become the longest-serving female newscaster in Rhode Island television history, using her celebrity not only to win numerous professional honors but also to promote a variety of charitable endeavors, especially in the area of child adoption.
Inducted by Michael E. Lyons (Director)
