Post by Admin on Oct 21, 2003 11:13:25 GMT -5
From the NU Homepage:
Norwich inducts eight into Athletic Hall of Fame
2003 Norwich Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees, l-r: Don Phillips; Bill Hockenbury, standing in for his brother, late Norwich men's basketball coach Ed Hockenbury; Rick McCarthy; Liz Cronin; Walt Connery; Kim Cyr; Brendan Cleary; and Gary Confessore
Norwich University inducted eight new members into its Athletic Hall of Fame in a dinner ceremony at Plumley Armory on Saturday night, September 18.
This year's inductees into the Hall include hockey player Rick McCarthy '88 (of Scituate, Mass.), wrestler Walt Connery '88 (of Framingham, Mass.), three-sport athletes Kim Cyr '88 (of Manchester, NH) and Liz Cronin '83 (of Middlebury, VT), rifleman Gary Confessore '63 (of Rockville, Md.), and football-baseball player Brendan Cleary '63 (of Ipswich, Mass.). Late men's basketball coach Ed Hockenbury was this year's honorary inductee into the Hall of Fame, while Don Phillips '68 (of Williston, VT) received the Distinguished Alumni Letter.
All of the inductees expressed their gratitude and humility to be inducted as the 21st class to join the NUAHOF.
"When I learned of the honor, I was totally overwhelmed," said Phillips during his remarks to an audience of more than 200. "Norwich meant a lot to me. I grew up at Norwich in a lot of ways, and athletics let me stay focused on what I was doing."
"It's hard to explain to someone that didn't go to Norwich, the camaraderie and passion that come from sports at a military college," said Cyr. "It's the essence of team like no other. I have taken a lot of what I learned at Norwich and from athletics to my job as a school counselor and coach."
"When you make a mistake in athletics, you usually pay for it right away," said Confessore. "Maybe that is the thing that I have taken forward from my experience in athletics at Norwich."
Many of the inductees shared personal experiences from their tenure at Norwich, both lighthearted and heartfelt.
"My father is more proud of the fact that I graduated from Norwich than that he graduated from Harvard," said Cleary. "My father put me on a train up here as a freshman, because we didn't have a car, and because he knew that it would be a long walk home if I wanted to leave. It turns out I loved every minute of it - after I walked 125 tours my freshman year."
"This honor isn't a testament to my abilities as an athlete," said Cleary. "Its testimony to Norwich University's ability to extract from people the very best that they have to give."
The new inductees bring the total number of inductees in the NUAHOF to 161.
Norwich inducts eight into Athletic Hall of Fame
2003 Norwich Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees, l-r: Don Phillips; Bill Hockenbury, standing in for his brother, late Norwich men's basketball coach Ed Hockenbury; Rick McCarthy; Liz Cronin; Walt Connery; Kim Cyr; Brendan Cleary; and Gary Confessore
Norwich University inducted eight new members into its Athletic Hall of Fame in a dinner ceremony at Plumley Armory on Saturday night, September 18.
This year's inductees into the Hall include hockey player Rick McCarthy '88 (of Scituate, Mass.), wrestler Walt Connery '88 (of Framingham, Mass.), three-sport athletes Kim Cyr '88 (of Manchester, NH) and Liz Cronin '83 (of Middlebury, VT), rifleman Gary Confessore '63 (of Rockville, Md.), and football-baseball player Brendan Cleary '63 (of Ipswich, Mass.). Late men's basketball coach Ed Hockenbury was this year's honorary inductee into the Hall of Fame, while Don Phillips '68 (of Williston, VT) received the Distinguished Alumni Letter.
All of the inductees expressed their gratitude and humility to be inducted as the 21st class to join the NUAHOF.
"When I learned of the honor, I was totally overwhelmed," said Phillips during his remarks to an audience of more than 200. "Norwich meant a lot to me. I grew up at Norwich in a lot of ways, and athletics let me stay focused on what I was doing."
"It's hard to explain to someone that didn't go to Norwich, the camaraderie and passion that come from sports at a military college," said Cyr. "It's the essence of team like no other. I have taken a lot of what I learned at Norwich and from athletics to my job as a school counselor and coach."
"When you make a mistake in athletics, you usually pay for it right away," said Confessore. "Maybe that is the thing that I have taken forward from my experience in athletics at Norwich."
Many of the inductees shared personal experiences from their tenure at Norwich, both lighthearted and heartfelt.
"My father is more proud of the fact that I graduated from Norwich than that he graduated from Harvard," said Cleary. "My father put me on a train up here as a freshman, because we didn't have a car, and because he knew that it would be a long walk home if I wanted to leave. It turns out I loved every minute of it - after I walked 125 tours my freshman year."
"This honor isn't a testament to my abilities as an athlete," said Cleary. "Its testimony to Norwich University's ability to extract from people the very best that they have to give."
The new inductees bring the total number of inductees in the NUAHOF to 161.