Longtime supporters of the Kansas City Chiefs franchise likely shared similar feelings to the Voice of the Chiefs, Mitch Holthus.

When Holthus found out about Will Shields making it to the Hall of Fame, he was on a basketball assignment in the small city of Morgantown, West Virginia.

"I remember when I got either a text or an email from (Chiefs team president) Mark Donovan very near when Will made it," he described. "I sat there in my hotel room staring at that email or text and I got emotional because he's so well-deserving of being in the Hall.

"I think he's the best right guard to ever play in the National Football League and I'll argue anybody that wants to argue me about that. He was a phenomenal football talent, but he's as good a person and continues to be that."

Holthus played host Wednesday night to "An Evening With Will Shields" at the Gridiron Glory exhibit in Union Station. The event featured a question-and-answer session including Shields, Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt, Hall of Famers Bobby Bell and Jan Stenerud, Trent Green and Casey Wiegmann.

"I think tonight is a great celebration," Shields said of the evening, after arriving with his family. "I think the simple fact of it is you get a couple of Hall of Famers who get a chance to come out and be a part of the community that has expressed so much love and joy for what you've done as a football player. It's just amazing."

The first part of the evening featured the first showing of the upcoming "Chiefs Kingdom" episode on Shields before the panel session began.

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Green, who shared 88 career starts with Shields, felt honored to be asked on the panel.

"It's great to get together with these guys," he said. "I've been a fan of the NFL since I was a little kid, so to be on a panel with Jan Stenerud and Bobby Bell, that's obviously pretty select company and now with Will Shields being in the Hall of Fame, I have a great deal of respect for Clark and the Hunt family. Knowing Lamar the number of years that I did, it's obviously an honor."

Many fans are familiar with Shields' 223 consecutive starts, his 14 years of service in Kansas City and his 12 consecutive Pro Bowl appearances. But before introducing Shields to the stage Wednesday night, Holthus highlighted some fascinating stats that fans likely had not realized.

In front of more than 300 special guests, the panel discussed the career of Will Shields and what it was like to play as his teammate, in addition to that feeling of walking across the stage a Pro Football Hall of Famer.

At one point during the dialogue, Bell described his personal feelings on the latter.

"100 years from now, people will come by and say 'That's Will Shields,'" Bell said. "That's a big step."

After the panel session, Holthus left the stage as the guests in attendance stood and applauded Shields for the special night.

"We see is it as an honor to actually have fans that are really good come out and see us," he said, "just the simple fact of just being able to celebrate what you did with the community that helped you get to where you wanted to be."