On a night designated to honor them, the new members of North Bend's Hall of Fame turned the tables during the school's seventh-annual induction ceremonies on Friday, recognizing the teachers and coaches who made their success possible.

The hall's new members are Jack Sausser, Dennis Radford, Dale Stebbins, Kelly Mallory-Johnson and Mary Hunter-Dickey.

One by one, they recognized the school, their teachers and their coaches for the influences they had.

From Sausser telling of how he learned to high jump and pole vault from Larry Lillebo at Roosevelt Junior High to Hunter-Dickey talking about the inspiration of her basketball and track coaches, the message was clear - the new inductees were better people because of the people they learned from growing up as Bulldogs.

“I am thankful for this recognition, mostly for the chance to thank the people that impacted me at North Bend High School,” said Hunter-Dickey, a 1995 graduate and the youngest inductee.

The state high jump champion and basketball star said she appreciates more the work of her coaches now that her oldest son is getting into sports.

“I realize now how much time and work the coaches and teachers put in,” she said.

Radford, one of the most distinguished wrestling coaches in Oregon after a long career at The Dalles, even said his mentors led him into coaching.

“Positive people that we encounter influence our lives,” he said. “And very early, I decided I wanted to be one of those people.”

Radford, who qualified for the state wrestling tournament for two years and went on to compete in the sport at the University of Oregon, coached for 35 years at The Dalles, earning many honors and sending many of his wrestlers on to success in college.

Like Radford, Stebbins went into coaching his favorite sport - baseball. His legacy will be his long tenure at Mount Hood Community College, where he collected 540 wins, and his Saints reached the NWAACC playoffs 18 times.

“At North Bend, the coaches were super,” he said. “They made me work hard and appreciate the game.”

They also taught him the importance of having fun in sports.

“I can say I've never worked a day in my life,” Stebbins said. “I had fun teaching. I hope my students and players did, too.”

Mallory-Johnson was the most emotional of the inductees as she tearfully thanked the many people who influenced her life.

“Being a student-athlete in North Bend is a great highlight in my life,” said Mallory-Johnson, a three-sport star who still holds school records in the long jump and 400 meters, was named North Bend's top female athlete her senior year and also helped the Bulldog girls win their first Coos County Track Meet title.

She said her great experiences weren't always about wins and losses, but were about the bonds she formed with her teammates - bonds so strong that a group of them ran the Hood to Coast Relay together.

“I feel the reasons we have such great memories were because of the coaches and teachers we had,” she said, later adding, “Thank God for the Bulldogs in my life.”

For all the touching moments, there also were humorous ones.

Master of ceremonies David Walker drew laughter as he suggested Sausser, North Bend's first state champion in track and field, still probably could high jump 6 feet, “well maybe 5-10.”

While Sausser described himself as “a string bean,” a plus in his basketball and track and field careers, Radford recalled being less than 5 feet tall as a freshman when a teacher and his father suggested he give up basketball for wrestling.

And Stebbins talked about his parents being his first coaches, and added that his mom, Fran, still tries to coach him.

Two more common threads were woven into the acceptance speeches.

First, the former athletes talked about how honored they were to be chosen.

“I feel like I'm home,” Mallory-Johnson said. “To sit alongside these people is overwhelming.”

“It's great to be here and have this honor bestowed on me,” said Sausser. “I didn't expect it, but I certainly appreciate it.”

The other common thought among the athletes was their loyalty to their former school.

Stebbins said he still pulls open the paper every Saturday morning in the fall to find North Bend's football score.

“Once a Bulldog, always a Bulldog,” she said.

“I loved being a student-athlete at North Bend,” said Hunter-Dickey. “The community is so involved.”

The seventh of eight children, she grew up watching sports in North Bend.

“I looked forward to playing in this gym since I was tiny,” she said. “It was well worth the wait.

“I'm proud to be a Bulldog.”