The Butler Area Sports Hall of Fame announced its seven new inductees for the banquet at 6 p.m. April 24 at the Butler Days Inn.

Inductees will be Chester "Bud" Jordon, William May, Ed Codi, William Reith, Pete Steenbergen, Mark Smith and the late Jim McKinney.

With the inclusion of this class, the Hall will have inducted 239 men and women in its 39 years of existence.

Tickets to the banquet are $18 and reservations of eight can be made by calling John Graham at 724-482-4001. Individual tickets will go on sale April 1 and can be picked up at Moses Jewelry Store, Bill's Beer Barn and Snack 'N Pack in Butler.

Here is a synopsis of each of the 2004 inductees:

McKinney graduated from Mars High School and embarked on a baseball career that spanned 50 years. He played in the Eagle County League for 16 years and was a member of the Butler entry in the Tri-County League that won three championships in the 1950s.He coached for several years in the Butler Area Baseball Association, covering leagues from PeeWee to Prep. McKinney also served on the board of trust for Pullman Park for many years and was a commissioner in Butler County American Legion Baseball for more than 30 years.His second love was bowling. McKinney began bowling in 1955, won the coveted Ike Pawk Memorial Award in 1989 and bowled in 38 state tournaments and 15 ABC tournaments.

The oldest member of the 2004 class, this Petrolia native turned 88 in December and remains active in Little League Baseball as a coach.Jordon, an East Brady High School graduate, was a student and teacher of the game. He played on several successful baseball teams in the Petrolia Valley area, including the Chicora Legion, Penecol, and for a county team in the old AK Valley League.He was instrumental in forming teams that played in the Butler County PONY League, helped to form the Petrolia Valley PONY League and coached Legion teams in Chicora.

May graduated from Butler High School in 1948 after several seasons as a successful swimmer. He attended both Grove City College and the University of Pittsburgh, where he continued his swimming career, lettering all four years.Grove City College inducted May into its Sports Hall of Fame several years ago after a coaching career at his alma mater. Over a span of 20 years, he taught swimming at the Hiland Country Club, Fox Chapel Country Club and Ingomar Swim Club.May became coach of the Special Olympics team in Allegheny County in 1960 and continued with the program through 1992. He turned his coaching expertise to hockey in 1968 and worked with several youth programs. Presently, he is playing senior softball.

Reith will be inducted for his many honors and accomplishments in fencing. A 1964 Butler graduate, he participated in gymnastics while in high school. He took up fencing while attending Fenn College and Cleveland State, lettering all four years.He was named Cleveland State's outstanding fencer his junior and senior years, capping off his career by being named the school's Athlete of the Year in 1967.From 1974-98, Reith coached several national teams, including the U.S. Olympic team and the U.S. World Youth team that competed in Russia. His 1975 U.S. team won a gold medal at the Pan Am Games in Mexico City in 1975. He is a member of the Cleveland State University Sports Hall of Fame.

Codi lettered three years as a defensive end during the golden years of Butler football from 1961-63. He received a football scholarship to Kent State University, then transferred to Slippery Rock University in 1965.Following his college career, Codi began a long coaching career at Butler and North Allegheny high schools He coached three sports: football, baseball and track.For the past 20 years, Codi has been the voice of Butler High football, baseball and basketball.

Steenbergen played basketball and tennis for the Golden Tornado. He lettered two years in basketball and four years in tennis.Butler Area Sports Hall of Fame member and longtime Butler tennis coach Dave Barnes refers to Steenberger as the most outstanding tennis player to come out of the school.Steenbergen continued his tennis career at Haverford College, where he earned four letters playing singles and doubles. He was named a Division III All-American.

An outstanding basketball player at Butler from 1975-79, Smith lettered three of those years. He played in the Colt Classic All-Star Tournament in 1979 and was selected to the Chatham Sports Center All-Star Classic the same year.He went on to play at Grove City College, lettering for four years, and was named to several all-tournament teams. Smith was named Sportsman of the Year and Academic All-American at Grove City in 1983.Smith's wife, Jody Imbrie Smith, a basketball standout at both Butler and Grove City, was inducted into the Hall several years ago.