A long-time Salina area youth coach is being honored.  JRI Hospitality has selected Bobby Stein as the recipient of its 2026 JRI Hall of Fame Award.

According to JRI, this award was developed to honor those who have made a significant contribution to youth sports and the entire Salina community. Recipients demonstrate a high level of leadership, teamwork, organization, and accomplishment in inspiring the lives they touch.

“Bobby has made a significant contribution to youth sports and the Salina community as a whole through his 50-plus years coaching youth wrestlers,” said Jason Ingermanson, founder and CEO of JRI Hospitality. “He has provided great leadership, organization and modeled effective teamwork through the sport of wrestling.”

Stein’s longtime wrestling career began when he was a freshman at Salina High School and by senior year, he placed 2nd in state. Coaching was a natural segue. In high school, he began guiding his young nephews through the sport.

In 1984, he took over the Salina Kids Club Wrestling Program and grew it substantially. Eventually, he also coached multiple sports for his own children (wrestling, football and baseball for son Cody, and volleyball, soccer and softball for daughter Michelle). He also coached women’s softball for years.

In his more than 50-year career of coaching, Stein has guided students from five years old to 18 years old and has held roles from parent volunteer to head coach and everything in between. He draws motivation from his children and his nephews and loves watching kids evolve from knowing very little about a sport to having great success in it.

Of the thousands of kids and multiple generations he has coached, Stein said the impact he hopes to have on athletes he has worked with is to make them better people in life. He does so by instilling life lessons of good sportsmanship and conduct, and the Golden Rule of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.

Stein will be officially presented with the award at a reception held on Thursday, March 26 in the main dining room of the Salina Country Club, located at 2101 E. Country Club Rd.

A reception begins at 6:00 p.m.; the award ceremony begins at 7:00 p.m. To RSVP, call 785-827-0388 or email [email protected].

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Photo via JRI Hospitality