New Jersey Stage published its 25,000th story in December 2021. As the site approached the milestone, we posed the question on social media as how we should celebrate.  One response was to highlight our favorite stories from over the years.  We liked this idea, but could not narrow things down to just 25 favorites so we will present a favorite each day from different genres. Today's pick is our coverage of the New Jersey Hall of Fame's Class of 2018 induction.

The story was published on November 10, 2019 and is available here. This year's class featured inductees like Southside Johnny Lyon, The Smithereens, Jason Alexander, George R.R. Martin, Peter Benchley, and Timothy White on the arts & entertainment side. A pair of NY Giants legends in Harry Carson and Bart Oates were part of the Sports group. Martha Stewart and Tim McLoone were among the Enterprise inductees. Those are just a handful of names inducted that year. Click here for the complete list.

As usual, it was a fun time for everyone fortunate enough to be inside Asbury Park's Paramount Theatre for the induction.  Spotlight Central was on hand to cover the night from the Red Carpet through the inductions with plenty of great photographs. Notable names involved with the night include former NJ Governor Tom Kean, Darlene Love, Jack Ford, Governor Phil Murphy and his wife Tammy, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Garry Tallent, Jon Bon Jovi, Buzz Aldrin, Greg Schiano, and Whoopi Goldberg. Marshall Crenshaw and Robin Wilson from the Gin Blossoms took turns on lead vocals with The Smithereens in place of the late Pat DiNizio.  Not bad for a little state...