General Chair & Vice Chair to lead volunteer efforts for 2025 Enshrinement Festival, including Enshrinement Week 

Vivian Leggett to serve as General Chair; Bill Smith to serve as General Vice Chair

The Pro Football Hall of Fame and Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce have named two longtime community volunteers to the top leadership positions for the 2025 festivities that will celebrate the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement.

Vivian “Vi” Leggett will serve as General Chair and Bill Smith as General Vice Chair.

Leggett and Smith will lead the more than 2,500-person volunteer contingent that helps with the planning, coordination and execution of all events surrounding the annual festivities. The volunteers provide a world-class experience to the hundreds of thousands of fans who will occupy the Canton area for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival, including Enshrinement Week. This year’s annual event kicks off the NFL’s 106th season and centers around the Enshrinement for members of the Class of 2025 presented by Visual Edge IT — ERIC ALLEN, JARED ALLEN, ANTONIO GATES and STERLING SHARPE — that will take place Saturday, Aug. 2, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

Leggett has devoted more than 40 years of leadership experience to Aultman Health Foundation in a variety of clinical and non-clinical areas. Prior to joining the Aultman Foundation leadership team, she was Vice President for Community Engagement at Aultman College. In her current role, she works collaboratively to connect grateful communities with philanthropic opportunities within the Aultman organization. 

Having served on various committees and boards throughout the community, Leggett is currently the immediate past chairperson of Women’s Impact, Inc., a member of the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank Endowment Board and most recently the chairperson for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinees’ Roundtable. 

Leggett is a graduate from Kent State University with an Associate of Applied Sciences in Nursing degree, Ashland University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and the University of Akron with a Master of Science in Nursing. Her family includes her husband, Don, along with her daughter, son-in-law and grandson.

Smith lives in Canton Township with his wife of 50 years, Diana. They have two married children: Bill and his wife, Amy; and Jennifer and her husband, Jerry. Together, they enjoy spending time with their 12 grandchildren. Bill graduated from East Canton High School in 1974 and has been running Smith’s Waco Market since 1976. He also manages several commercial properties through Waco Properties.

A hot-air balloon pilot since 1988, Smith holds a commercial/instructor rating in lighter-than-air, hot-air balloons. He has served on the Hall of Fame Balloon Classic Committee and is the field announcer for the event.

Smith was re-elected this past November to a third term as a Stark County commissioner. Prior to his election to that office, he served as a Canton Township trustee from 2002 to 2016. He has participated in the Canton Local Long Range Planning Committee and served as levy chairman. He is an honorary board member of the East Central Ohio Food Dealers Association and a past chairman of the board. He is also a member of the Canton South Rotary and involved in the St. Francis of Assisi Church Finance Committee. In 2023, Smith received the honor of becoming a Hall of Distinction member at Canton Local.

Leggett and Smith will work alongside staff members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce to provide guidance and resources to enhance an already solid foundation of dedicated community volunteers. The volunteer corps provides the support necessary to host the large celebration each summer in Canton.

The annual Enshrinement is a celebration of the Hall of Fame’s important mission to “Honor the Greatest of the Game, Preserve its History, Promote its Values and Celebrate Excellence Together.” The celebration, through collaboration with the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce, has grown remarkably over the past 60-plus years, now drawing an estimated 700,000 participants to its events and generating economic impact exceeding $40 million for the Canton/Stark County area and nearly $65 million for the State of Ohio. In addition, millions of people tune in to experience the events that are televised nationally.

In one of the greatest spectacles in sports, more than 100 Hall of Famers are expected to return to Canton to participate in the festivities that surround the Enshrinement of the Class of 2025 at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.