Booster Club Presents Sportsmanship Awards
The Huntington Booster Club awarded sportsmanship scholarships to seniors Lauren Visbal and Daniel Smith near the close of the 42nd senior athletic awards banquet held earlier this month in the high school gym.
The $500 scholarships were established by the Booster Club to honor one male and one female student athlete “who through their actions in the competitive arena of high school athletics, have demonstrated one or more of the ideals of sportsmanship, including fairness, civility, honesty, dedication, unselfishness, determination, respect and responsibility,” according to the nomination booklet.
Ms. Visbal is headed to Nassau Community College where she intends to play volleyball before transferring to a four-year school. She played on the J. Taylor Finley Middle School soccer, volleyball, basketball and track and field teams and earned high school varsity letters in volleyball, basketball and spring track, serving as a captain for all three teams.
Mr. Smith plans to study business at the University of Maryland at College Park. At Finley he was a member of the volleyball, basketball, cross country and baseball teams. He later garnered varsity letters in volleyball, basketball and baseball.
Booster Club corresponding secretary Christine Beck and fundraising coordinator Carol Scully presented the awards to the two seniors before a crowd of about 200 in Louis D. Giani Gymnasium.
The scholarships were created “to impress upon young athletes the importance of respecting oneself, teammates and competitors by promoting integrity and sportsmanship in the game,” according to nomination materials. “It’s not about winning: It’s how you respect the game that’s important.”
Huntington’s varsity coaches were asked to nominate student-athletes for the scholarship awards and Booster Club officials selected the recipients. Ms. Visbal and Mr. Smith beamed as they were presented with their awards and graciously posed for a series of photos before the large crowd.
The Booster Club has been a very visible presence in recent years. The rejuvenated group has held successful annual fundraisers during each of the past three years at Crab Meadow Golf Course.
Booster Club members said they are excited to have initiated the new sportsmanship scholarship awards last spring. “This is why we raise money, to give it back to the children of our community,” Mrs. Beck said
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