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By STEVE SEMBRAT steves@leader.net
Sunday, February 06, 2000 Page: 1C
WILKES-BARRE – The Wyoming Valley put away its briefcase on Saturday night
and celebrated the very best of its athletic community.
That happened at the 17th annual Killer Bees Athletic Club awards banquet
at Genetti’s, which was filled with cheers and tears of joy and gratitude.
The evening culminated with awards for state Rep. Kevin Blaum and pro
football player Greg Skrepenak, each getting a standing ovation from the crowd
of about 300.
Prior to that, the club handed out its Joe Hoinski Memorial Awards for
Excellence in Athletics. Wilkes University basketball player Dave Jannuzzi won
in the open male division. Crestwood High School graduate Carissa Messimer of
the University of Maryland field hockey team won in the open female division.
Pittston Area wrestler James Woodall won in the scholastic male division. And
Wyoming Valley West field hockey star April Fronzoni won in the scholastic
female division.
The club also presented student-athlete awards to Bishop O’Reilly’s Charlie
Bustin in the male division and Wyoming Seminary’s Jennifer Blum in the female
division.
Then came the awards to Blaum and Skrepenak, who both accepted with brief,
but emotion-filled talks.
Blaum was given the Kerry O’Neill Award for Dedication to Excellence for
his work in creating First Union Arena at Casey Plaza, which opened in
November.
In his speech, Blaum started by joking it was a first for him to talk about
the arena in front of a crowd of 300 and not have somebody yell at him.
Then he made mention of the four state championship teams that were honored
earlier in the evening: Bishop Hafey boys cross country, Bishop Hoban girls
basketball, Crestwood field hockey and Wyoming Valley West girls water polo.
Blaum drew an analogy between those squads and the efforts to build the arena,
saying it took a championship team to overcome opposition to the project and
build the facility in Wilkes-Barre Township.
Then the usually commanding voice of the Wilkes-Barre politician started to
crack with emotion as he talked about the connection between himself and Kerry
O’Neill, which is detailed in a recently published book by Ed O’Neill, Kerry’s
dad.
Kerry O’Neill, a star runner for Wyoming Valley West and the U.S. Naval
Academy, was shot to death by a fellow officer on December 1, 1993, at the
Coronado Naval Base in California. Blaum and Ed O’Neill sat near each other on
the final leg of the flight to return Kerry’s body for burial.
Blaum was intent on getting some work done during the flight, but O’Neill
suggested he put away his briefcase, go home, hugs his kids and spend the
weekend with his family. Blaum put his briefcase away and followed that
advice.
“The story in the book is true,” Blaum said. “That’s exactly the way it
happened. I tell that story to others as good advice.”
Blaum said during his speech that he probably hasn’t spent enough time with
his wife, Beth, and his two daughters during the five-year battle to build the
arena, but will try to heed O’Neill’s advice more now that the project is
completed.
And after getting the O’Neill Award, he said “it’s all come full circle.”
The same can be said of Skrepenak, a former Hoinski Award winner who was
named Person of the Century by the club. The special award was given to a
former award winner who has given back to the community.
The club picked Skrepenak, whose charity organization has donated tens of
thousands of dollars to benefit underprivileged children in the area.
The 6-foot-8, 330-pound GAR and University of Michigan graduate, who played
seven years in the NFL, shed a few tears when he talked of the support he
received from his family through the years. That, he said, was a huge part of
the equation that helped him reach his childhood dreams.
“So many things have to go right for you to become a professional
athlete,” Skrepenak said. “You have to have talent, but you have to have a
lot of help. All that rushed through my mind. I happened to be in the right
place at the right time.”
He also said the award was extremely meaningful to him considering recent
events. In the past few months, NFL players Rae Carruth of the Carolina
Panthers and Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens were charged with murder.
“The NFL right now has a black cloud over it,” Skrepenak said. “This
award puts things into perspective. I avoided those kind of things. I’ve tried
to teach kids there is a positive side to it.”
Skrepenak, who asked for and received his release by the Oakland Raiders
during 1999 training camp, said he will try to return to the NFL. If that
doesn’t happen, he said he’ll turn his attention to “other important
business,” namely his charity organization.
The two presentations were part of club’s Board of Governors Awards.
Earlier in the event, the club honored: the four state championship teams from
1999; John Joseph, who retired as Coughlin High School’s head football coach
after last season; and Bishop Hoban girls basketball coach Bob Schuler for his
300th career victory.
Five traditional Board of Governors Awards also were handed out.
Lake-Lehman field hockey player Melissa DeCesaris received the Pete Gray Award
for overcoming adversity. Retired GAR Principal Phil Latinski got the Eddie
White Pioneer Award. Crestwood field hockey player Jen Sawicki was given the
Tom McLaughlin Unsung Hero Award. Local racewalker Donna Chamberlain was
honored with the Bernie Hargadon Memorial Award for Excellence in running. And
WARM radio personality Bobby Day received the Gentleman Jim McCarthy Sr. Media
Award.