Family, legacy and appreciation were what marked the Southeastern Hall of Fame Ceremony as three more athletes were inducted into the Southeastern Athletics Hall of Fame this past Saturday before the football game.

The players that were honored were Kenny Lehrmann, Calvin Favron who passed away at the age of 41 in 1999 and Jacques Chevallier who was in Spain and unable to attend.

The only inductee who was able to receive the award in person was Lehrmann, who had considered this to be a big moment in his life which he was glad to share with the people who matter most.

“This is probably one of the highlights of my life,” said Lehrmann. “For me to be honored with joining the people that are here, athletically to be recognized, is just a fantastic thing to be able to share with my daughters and my grandsons and my family is just really exciting and I am just as excited as I’ll get out to be here.”

Lehrmann was teary-eyed as he continued to talk about what he believes he has passed on to his kids through his time playing baseball at the university.

 “I always felt that my legacy, I was just someone who competed as hard as he could and just never gave up,” said Lehrmann. “I’ve always done that in my whole life and I still do that today. I teach that to my kids. That as long as you give everything you’ve got and when you walk away, whether you win or lose, you did everything you possibly could. You have no regrets.”

Lehrmann’s two daughters, both who graduated from the university, were there along with his two grandsons who were wearing a Hall of Fame T-shirt that their mom made for them. All of the families who came to support Lehrmann wore buttons they made with an old photo of him in his baseball uniform.

“You play through your career and your kids look through your photo albums and they know that their dad played baseball, but to have them here to experience this is just fantastic,” said Lehrmann. “To have little grandsons run around, it’s just awesome. It really is.”

Lehrmann talked about all the improvements on campus since he played here and how he would not trade his time here for anything.

“Would I love to be playing today,” said Lehrmann. “Absolutely with all the facilities they have, but I would not change the four years that I spent with the guys that we had. I had some of the best teammates a player could want, great coaches and it was just such a good time to be here at the school. It wasn’t nearly the size that it is now, the field wasn’t as great as it is now, but the comradery we shared as teammates was just something that I hold dear in my heart.”

Lehrmann received his award and was honored at the football game along with others inducted.

The theme of family continued as Calvin Favron’s family were also at the event. His wife, Ava Favron, spoke on his behalf during the ceremony and was able to hear many stories about her husband before she had known him.

Ava Favron was honored to be there.

“It means a great deal to me,” said Ava Favron. “I know that the university meant a lot to him. It gave him the opportunity to advance to the NFL. I’m glad to be here, but it’s bittersweet because he’s not here to share it with us.”

The couple met each other while in college. Ava Favron felt indebted to the university.

“Had it not been for this university, I probably never would have met him because he may not have even gone pro,” said Ava Favron. “So, I owe a lot to this university because they sent him to me viva the Cardinals.”

During the time before the ceremony, everyone was sharing stories, laughing and reminiscing about the times they had together.

People unknown to Ava Favron came up to her and told stories about her husband.

“It’s wonderful to see people that he knew years ago and that can tell me things about him that I am not familiar with because I did not know him till much later,” said Ava Favron.

Accepting the award during the ceremony was especially touching for her. Before Ava Favron even spoke, everyone in the room gave her a standing ovation.

“I’m going to try not to get emotional,” said Ava Favron.

Ava Favron thanked everyone involved with the selection process at Ava Favron for choosing Calvin. She continued to talk about how he would react if he was there and what it meant to her.

“Calvin would be very proud and extremely honored and even more humbled by this auspicious occasion,” said Ava Favron. “Initially, I tried to think about what Calvin would have said if he were here to accept this honor. However, was such a humble man. He would have never spoken about his many accolades and accomplishments. I would, however like to mention a few.”

Ava Favron went on to describe some of her husband’s accomplishments including a lot about his time at the university.

“Calvin loved his time and stay here at Southeastern University,” said Ava Favron. “He spoke fondly of many wonderful experiences here. He talked about his outstanding coaches, the fantastic players and all the great friendships he developed while attending this great university.”

The other inductee to the Hall of Fame was Chevallier who could not make it to receive his award because he was in Spain using his international business degree from the university.

Kenelly accepted the award during the ceremony on his behalf.

“I was a golf coach years ago and have been golf supporter ever since,” said Kenelly.

“Unfortunately, a last minute business deal kept him from accepting this award as planned.”

During the ceremony, an email Chevallier sent regarding his gratitude toward receiving the award was read aloud.

“I am very honored and also very disappointed that I am not able to attend the Hall of Fame Ceremony,” said Chevallier. “When I think of Southeastern there are a lot of great memories that come to mind. What an amazing experience I had.”

Chevallier continued to thank his coach and the university president at the time for their support and help toward him graduating in four years.

The Hall of Fame Ceremony allowed families and friends to remember the time at the university each player had and the legacy they left behind.