In Calumet, Ill., fame only costs 37 cents.

The Calumet Memorial Park District (CMPD) in Illinois will celebrate the 10th anniversary this May of its Friends of the CMPD Hall of Fame project, which displays personalized pictures and memorabilia from celebrities and famous personalities.

The project has received attention from the media and, most importantly, the surrounding community. CMPD Community Supervisor Gene Popa founded the project in the summer of 1993, when the Illinois Recreation and Park Association announced its celebrity spokesperson was Chicago Bears football player Mike Singletary. The press release garnered so much media attention that Popa wanted to do something similar to make the Calumet community more aware of its park district.

"It's difficult getting a lot of coverage from the media," says Popa. "What they often do is provide coverage that is eye-catching."

Popa decided it was too expensive to have a celebrity spokesperson, but having a celebrity autograph or personalize a picture would not be costly. The first wave of solicitation letters were sent in September 1995 to about half a dozen presidents. Within a week, Popa received ale autographed picture from former President Gerald Ford. And by the end of that year, Popa received pictures from then President Bill Clinton, former President George Bush, Sr. and First Lady Barbara Bush, and former President Jimmy Carter. The other three solicitations--former presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon, and former first lady, Ladybird Johnson, had sent replies stating they were too ill to autograph pictures.

Popa's public unveiling did not occur until May 1994, which was in conjunction with the annual registration for the park district's summer programs. In addition to the normal-sized crowd of about 500 people, the park district had media attention for the celebrity display. The original display ease sits outside Popa's office in Calumet Memorial Park. A second, larger display case sits in Calumet's Sandridge Community Center. Both displays are on a rotating basis throughout the year, but are open to the public every day.

Ten years later, Popa still gets attention from park visitors. Teenagers, who Popa says are hard to involve in parks' programs, have really taken to the project and always have suggestions for the next batch of solicitations.

Popa has almost 200 autographed pictures of celebrities, ranging from politicians and sports heroes to celebrities. His collection includes current President George W. Bush, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Academy Award winners Halle Berry and Steven Spielberg, Grammy Award winners Patti LaBelle and Bette Midler, National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Nolan Ryan, World Wrestling Federation (WWF) Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan, champion golfer Arnold Palmer, and recently passed away national figure Bob Hope. Popa was also able to get autographs from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and astronaut and former senator John Glenn. The range in personalities helps resonate interest to the entire community, Popa says. "It's kind of a touchstone that everyone can appeal to."

In addition to receiving the autographed pictures, Popa has also received various other objects. Political novelist William F. Buckley sent a book in lieu of a picture, and the WWF sent T-shirts, posters and a 7-foot cut-out of wrestler and actor Vin Disel.

Popa says he will continue with the project because of the attention it gets from the public. And if a project can still reach out to its community even 10 years later, it is a worthwhile project to pursue, Popa says. Besides, "It can be done relatively inexpensively. It's the cost of a stamp."

If you would like more information about the Friends of the CMPD Hall of Fame, contact Gene Popa at 708-862-6443, or e-mail him at cmpdeep@ ameritech.net.