WATCH: Brevard Healthcare Visionary Larry Garrison to be Inducted Into Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame May 24

FIRST IN-PERSON INDUCTION SINCE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

WATCH: Larry Garrison’s love of sports, advocacy of Space Coast sports and his ongoing support of community fitness through Health First’s fitness centers earned him a place as a founding member of the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame review board at its inception in 2011.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame selection committee announced that the 2025 induction ceremony will occur on Saturday, May 24, at Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne. This will be the first in-person induction since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. To make a reservation for the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com or call 321-323-4460. CLICK HERE to see the 2025 Class of the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame.

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In the 1990s, Larry Garrison was the primary support for the very successful Prep All-Star series and was also instrumental in launching live radio broadcasts of high school sports

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – An award that celebrates a lifetime of achievement recognizes an individual’s sustained, exceptional performance and significant contributions over an extended period of time. Lifetime achievement awards are often bestowed for accomplishments in one field or industry.

However, this Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award recipient’s impact on our community represents a broad brushstroke of intimately related and vital aspects of our lives: Health, Fitness, and Sport.

Larry Garrison lost his courageous two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer in 2020, and the Space Coast lost one of its most esteemed community leaders, healthcare visionaries, and sports ambassadors.

Garrison moved to Brevard in 1973 to take the helm of the administration of Cape Canaveral Hospital and ended up taking on much more than just a job. “I fell in love with Brevard County,” he said.

Over the following decades, his commitment to the community played out in the development of what’s now Health First, the integrated healthcare delivery network that our community has come to trust and depend on.

In his capacity as a prominent healthcare leader in the community, Larry was a fixture at many philanthropic and humanitarian events and organizations on the Space Coast and was celebrated as a Central Florida Humanitarian in 2010. Early in his career he also recognized the positive impact he could have on the Space Coast sports scene.

An avid golfer and sports fan, Garrison took advantage of the opportunities afforded him as the top healthcare executive in the county to support sporting venues, events, and organizations.

Almost every community charity golf tournament had the financial and participation support of Cape Canaveral Hospital and/or Health First. The Health First banner was a mainstay at just about every High School stadium or auditorium of every athletic discipline.

In the 90s, he was the primary support for the very successful Prep All-Star series and was also instrumental in launching live radio broadcasts of high school sports, which, as everyone knows, is now a Space Coast Daily multi-sport mainstay across the county.

Larry’s love of sports, advocacy of Space Coast sports, and his ongoing support of community fitness through Health First’s three fitness centers earned him a place as a founding member of the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame review board at its inception in 2011.

It is safe to say that few, if anyone, whoever met Larry were not impressed with his easy-going manner, warmth and generosity. Larry, who touched so many lives both professionally and personally over his 70 years on this earth, was a true sportsman,

I can very humbly and sincerely say that Larry Garrison’s life contributions and achievements, and his character are such to which we should all aspire.

FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL, call 321-323-4460 or 321-615-8111 or e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com.

CLICK HERE TO SEE MEMBERS OF THE SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME

SPACE COAST DAILY TV: Tim Wakefield talks about his induction into the first class of the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame. Space Coast Daily created the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in 2011 and has so far inducted more than 200 of Brevard County’s most outstanding athletes, coaches and sports personalities.

The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction dinner and ceremony is presented by Tom and Suzie Wasdin

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA—The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame selection committee announced that the 2025 induction ceremony will occur on Saturday, May 24, at Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne. This will be the first in-person induction since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction dinner and ceremony, presented by Tom and Suzie Wasdin, will be held on the evening of May 24. The Meet-and-Greet will begin at 6 p.m., and the dinner and program will start at 7 p.m.

Tom and Suzie Wasdin are longtime Brevard County entrepreneurs, community supporters, and philanthropists. Tom, an NCAA Final Four basketball coach and Brevard Sports Ambassador, was inducted into the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

The meet-and-greet will include an opportunity to talk with the area’s sports royalty. Dinner and the induction proceeding, which will include compelling video tributes to each inductee, will follow.

The Brevard County High School Breakfast of Champions recognition awards will be held Saturday, May 24, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., also at Eastern Florida State College.

During the Breakfast of Champions, more than 40 awards will be presented to the best of the 2024-2025 male and female high school student-athletes in each sport. For sponsorship information, call 321-323-4460 or e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com.

Both the Breakfast of Champions and the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame events will be streamed live on Space Coast Daily TV.

Health First, Erdman Automotive, Eastern Florida State College, All Points, Clear Choice Health Care, Brevard Public Schools, Space Coast Office of Tourism, EDC of the Space Coast, 4Ever Young Merritt Island, and Savings Safari sponsor the 2025 Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction event and the Brevard County High School Breakfast of Champions recognition awards.

To make a reservation for the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com or call 321-323-4460.

INDUCTEES SELECTED IN FOUR CATEGORIES

Nominees are chosen in four categories: professional sports, college sports, high school sports, and amateur sports. Special honorary recognition is also bestowed upon individuals and groups that have made significant contributions to sports on the Space Coast.

SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2025

■ PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Jamel Dean, Football; Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Wrestling; Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Football; Randy Pobst, Auto racing; Juwaan Taylor, Football

■ COLLEGE CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Paulette King, Basketball, Dylan Lewis, Soccer; Steve Freeman, Soccer; Bryan Cook, Baseball

■ PREP CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Lexy Denaburg, Volleyball; Andi Sellers, Soccer; Kaira Simmons, Track & Field; Jayvan Boggs, Football

■ AMATEUR/RECREATION CATEGORY INDUCTEE: Alli Penovich, Free Diving; Peter Blount, Track & Field; Caylor Williams, Wrestling

■ COACHING CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Doug Butler, Cross Country and Track; Gerald Hodgin, Football; Jim Oler, Basketball; Don Smith, Basketball

• SPORTS OFFICIAL INDUCTEES: Ted Ruta

• SPORTS JOURNALISM INDUCTEES: Steve Vaughn

• SPORTS DEVELOPMENT INDUCTEE: Loren McClanahan

■ LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT INDUCTEES: Larry Garrison, Clint Hurdle

■ SPORTS AMBASSADOR AWARD INDUCTEE: Rusty Buchanan

■ CHALLENGER AWARD INDUCTEE: Joshua Dillon

■ TEAM OF THE YEAR: Cocoa Tigers Football

■ LEGACY CHAMPIONS: Merritt Island Baseball, 1999-2000

■ SPECIAL TRIBUTE: Tim Wakefield

Space Coast Daily created the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in 2011 and has inducted over 200 of Brevard County’s most outstanding athletes, coaches, and sports personalities. Eastern Florida State’s Titan Fieldhouse on the Melbourne Campus hosts the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame. Portraits of the Hall of Famers are displayed on the wall in the building’s main hallway, which runs parallel to the gym and outside the athletic department offices.

To make a reservation for the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com or call 321-323-4460.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE MEMBERS OF THE SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME

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