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There is a change in the lineup for the Winchester Sports Foundation Hall of Fame Dinner and organizers are hoping it will be a slam dunk.
“We’re excited this year,” said WSF Hall of Fame board member John Fleming. “First, we have a great group of inductees going in this year, some long overdue, and it’s the first time we’re doing it in the fall.”
The Hall of Fame Dinner will be held Sunday, Sept. 22 at the Burlington Marriott.
Fleming, who, along with Dot Butler, is a co-chair of the dinner, said the event is typically held in the spring, but spring has proven to be a busy time.
“WSF does a big golf tournament,” he said “And there is a lot of other stuff going on.”
Instead, organizers have decided to incorporate the dinner into “Spirit Weekend,” a long weekend of local shopping, eating and celebrating Winchester. It also includes the Glen Doherty Memorial Road Race.
Fleming said he thought capping the weekend with the Hall of Fame dinner would be a nice fit, and represents another change for the Foundation.
In the past, the HOF dinner has been held on a Thursday at 7 p.m. Fleming said they thought holding it on a week night made it tough for some people to attend. This year the doors open at 5 p.m., where ticket holders will have an hour before the event to have some food, get some drinks and catch up with old friends, before the presentation kicks off at 6 p.m.
Fleming said there would also be time post presentation for people to mingle as well.
“It can be kind of a mini-reunion for folks,” he said. “There are people that stayed connected, but maybe haven’t seen each other in a while and might not be sitting at the same table.”
And, in the case of inductee John Pirani, longtime coach for boys lacrosse, Fleming suspects there will be a lot of players from over the years on hand catching up and swapping stories.
Other inductees being honored that night include:
• Three-sport athlete from the Class of 1983, Stephen MacDonald.
• Class of 1997’s Frank Fodera, who played football and wrestled.
• Class of 2008, Courtney Travener, who played field hockey and lacrosse.
• Contributor Award winner Bill Dowlings, boys lacrosse scorer.
To buy tickets, click here.
