Sarah Charles

The day started with a beautiful rendition of our National Anthem by Sarah Charles, a junior from Westfield High School.

Lauren Blodgett

Joshua Stein

Casey Silver

The reading of the winning essays on the subject of “The Role of the Coach in Sportsmanship” by the three contest finalists, Lauren Blodgett of Peabody Veterans Memorial High School (third place); Joshua Stein of Maimonides School (second place) and Casey Silver of Bromfield School (first place). The introductions by their athletic directors illustrated that these three young people epitomized student athletes excelling in school work, community service and sport. 

A panel discussion on the essay topic included Tom Lamb, Athletic Director at Natick High School, Sherry Webb, Athletic Director at Smith Academy, Peter Roby, Director of the Center for Sports in Society at Northeastern University, and Paul Stewart, Director of Development for the Boston Bruins Foundation.
The discussion was facilitated by Ed Berliner, Host of Sports Pulse on CN8 - The Comcast Network.

Dan Switchenko, Professor of Health and Physical Education at Eastern Connecticut State University, motivated the male student leaders in the audience with his breakout session entitled, “The Role of the High School Captain.” 

Dan Switchenko

Mary Pratt

Springfield College Professor of Humanics, Dr. Mimi Murray and doctoral student, Jen Meade, inspired the female student leaders with their presentation “Keep the Lead.”  Mary Pratt, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, added to the girls’ workshop with tales from her days as a member of the Rockford Peaches in the Women's Baseball League in the mid-forties. In addition to an informative presentation on some of the history of progress in women's athletics, Ms. Pratt enlivened the crowd by singing the Rockford team's spirit song.

Representatives from several schools in the Middlesex League participated on a panel entitled "Middlesex League Captains' Workshop - A Model to Promote League Sportsmanship."  Panelists included Phil Vaccaro - Reading Memorial High School, Robert Norton - Woburn High School, Elaine Paradis - Watertown High School, Jim Davis - Belmont High School, James Carino - Stoneham High School, Mary Ellen Lynch - Winchester High School, and Madeline Nally - Reading Memorial High School.

"Middlesex League Captains' Workshop:
A Model to Promote League Sportsmanship"

Daniel Washburn

Daniel Washburn, Executive Director of the Alabama High School Athletic Association and current President of the National Federation of High School Associations, congratulated the group for putting on “a truly awesome event” not duplicated anywhere in the country.  Citing high school sports as “one of the last bastions to learn discipline in the Country” he encouraged the students to take the lessons learned from sports and use them throughout their lives.

MIAA President Karl Lord, Principal of Keefe Technical High School, and MSSADA President Phil Moresi, Athletic Director of Ashland High School, presented District Sportsmanship Awards to the following schools:

District A - Lawrence High School
District B - Belmont High School
District C - Dedham High School
District D - Old Rochester Regional High School
District E - Algonquin Regional High School
District F - Turners Falls High School
District G - Monument Mountain Regional High School
District H - Mount Alvernia High School

Paul Stewart and Steve Burton

The audience was hushed while listening to inspiring remarks by Steve Burton, Sports Anchor of CBS4-TV, who presented the Ron Burton Community Service Award, and the recipient, the aforementioned Paul Stewart.  Burton, one of the sons of Ron Burton, told how he went from being expelled from a private high school for poor performance to become a college graduate and successful television journalist.  Stewart, a former National Hockey League player and official, delivered an inspiring tale of how he confronted the challenge of a cancer diagnosis, and now spends his days working to help children through the Bruins Foundation.

The crowd gave a standing ovation to Robert Kraft, Owner and CEO of the New England Patriots, who was given special recognition for hosting the
Summit.  Mr. Kraft also pointed out how the lessons learned through sports participation can help  in business or in any walk of life. He expressed the hope that the Summit would return to Gillette Stadium next year.

Robert Kraft

"The Commitment to the Community"

The day concluded with a panel discussion focusing on “The Commitment to the Community” moderated by Ed Berliner, host of Sports Pulse on CN8-The Comcast Network.  The panel included the following members of the Patriots organization: Rena Clark - Vice President of Community Affairs and Corporate Philanthropy, Jack Mula - Chief Legal Counsel, and Andre Tippett - Director of  Player Development.

Reebok Corporation and the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation were principal supporters of the Summit.