By Paul Halloran
The idea, when conceived by Gerard Moynihan a quarter-century ago, was simple: recognize high school students for their academic achievements as well as their athletic accomplishments.
As one of the owners of the lumber company bearing his family’s name, Moynihan had already been a longtime supporter of high school sports on the North Shore, all the way back to sponsoring football broadcasts and the immensely popular Saturday Scoreboard Show on WESX Radio.
Moynihan was very cognizant of the attention given to high school sports by the local media at the time, which included a half-dozen local dailies – Salem Evening News, The Item, Beverly Times, Peabody Times, Gloucester Times and Newburyport Daily News – as well as WESX and local cable TV.
A former sportswriter himself, Moynihan appreciated the blanket coverage of scholastic sports. He had also seen how much effort was required for his daughter, Kerry, to play three sports at Nazareth Academy and graduate No. 3 in her class, and knew there had to be hundreds of other athletes who were working just as hard in the classroom. Shouldn’t they have a chance to be in the spotlight?
The answer was obviously “yes,” so Moynihan reached out to Max Martin at WESX and a few other members of the local media and asked them if they would be willing to help him create a vehicle to honor student-athletes. The Moynihan Lumber Student-Athlete of the Month program started in the fall of 1991 and it continues today. The Merrimack Valley Student-Athlete Award was started in 2002.
“We are thrilled to see this program endure for 25 years,” Moynihan said. “We have had the privilege of honoring hundreds of deserving young men and women throughout the North Shore and we look forward to honoring many more.”
Coaches and athletic directors are invited to nominate student-athletes monthly. One male and one female winner are selected by a group of local media members representing the Salem News, Daily Item, Gloucester Times, Newburyport Daily News and msonewsportsonline.com.
The monthly winners are eligible for the male and female Student-Athlete of the Year Award, which is presented, along with a $1,000 scholarship from Moynihan Lumber, at a luncheon in June.
Moynihan is quick to point out that the caliber of the yearly winners serves as the best example of the merit of the program. The list includes: Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt (Peabody, 1992), Mass Golf Association Communications Director Becky Blaeser (Masconomet, 1994), Major League Baseball Senior Vice President Peter Woodfork (Swampscott, 1995), Olympic distance runner Shalane Flanagan (Marblehead, 1999 and 2000), former major leaguer Matt Antonelli (St. John’s Prep, 2003), pro hockey player Colin Blackwell (St. John’s Prep, 2011), and Providence College cross country All-America Catarina Rocha (Peabody, 2012 and 2013).
“We take great pride in the accomplishments of our honorees,” Moynihan said, adding that a former winner is invited to speak at the luncheon every year. “It is always a pleasure to have them come back and update everyone on their exploits. It is a wonderful group of young men and women.”
While the student-athlete program has brought him immeasurable joy over the years, there is one moment that stands out above the rest. It was in 2000 and Flanagan had just become the first female two-time winner. When the luncheon was over, Moynihan had the chance to speak to her one-on-one and he asked her what her career aspirations were.
“Mr. Moynihan,” Flanagan told him, “I want to be in the Olympics.”
“I was so impressed that someone her age could be setting her sights so high,” Moynihan said.
Flanagan has appeared in the last three Summer Olympics, earning a bronze medal in the 10,000 meters in Beijing in 2008.
“Imagine that,” Moynihan said. “A kid from Marblehead decides she wants to make it to the Olympics, she dedicates her life to it, and she accomplishes her goal. What a great story.”
Moynihan’s goal of recognizing deserving student-athletes has worked out pretty well, too. Now that it is celebrating its 25th anniversary, perhaps a silver medal is in order.