Executive Director’s Message
As the Executive Director of the Rome Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, it has been my pleasure to have been involved with such a fine organization for the past 19 years.
In 2024 we celebrate our 48th year honoring and preserving the rich sports heritage of athletes and coaches of Rome, New York. We are unique in the aspect that we are the only Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in the State of New York.
In accordance with our mission, we celebrated by adding 6 new inductees (bringing our total number of inductees to 218), two Frank Clark Service Award Winners, several High School Sports Personalities, and celebrated our youth with receptions at the museum.
The Rome Community has been extremely generous to "The House that Romans Built."
We are a 501(C)(3) organization and rely solely on donations, fundraisers, grants, and bequests from individual’s wills for our operating budget and maintenance of our facility.
We would like to specifically thank those donors who have made a contribution this past year whether as a Member, In Memory of a Loved One, as a Hole Sponsor for our annual Golf Tournament Fundraiser, or those who purchased tickets for our Brooks BBQ Fundraiser.
Our mission would not be accomplished without our dedicated Board of Directors, who volunteer their time to ensure the success of our organization. Thank you all once again for all your support of our organization and please be sure to visit us when we open for the 2025 season.
Grateful Acknowledgements
● A huge thank you goes out to the Roman Runners Organization who hold their annual Thanksgiving Run, with proceeds going to the Hall.
● We thank the Stewart’s Foundation for their donation through the Holiday Match Program for our student programs.
● We appreciate our Summer Interns Karabrie Wiggins and Derek Puma for their assistance this past summer working on several projects including updating sports records, scanning photos and articles, cataloging programs and statistic books, and so much more. At summer’s end Karabrie and Derek returned to their colleges to continue their studies.
Financially Speaking
The Rome Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is very grateful for the outstanding support that we continue to receive! Many thanks to our many generous supporters who help our organization continue to grow. We rely heavily on all of you. Thank you all!
These donations come for a variety of different purposes: Individual and family supporters, Corporate supporters, Direct donations, Donations via various fundraisers, Bequests from dedicated friends and supporters of the Hall, and in Memory of and in Honor of loved ones.
In addition, we once again held our major fundraiser this year – our annual Golf Tournament. It was very successful thanks to our hard working Board members and other volunteers and, of course, the many golfers that played! The tournament accounted for 20% of our income this past year.
As you all know, there are a lot of expenses that are necessary to operate our facility. Our major expenses include utilities (gas, electric, water and sewer), insurance on the building and its contents, maintaining the facility (mowing and snow plowing) and paying for our summer interns. Planning continues as our organization embarks on a major renovation to the inside of the building to upgrade the facility and improve flow. We are excited about the future of the Hall even though this will be costly. Donations received towards this project are put into a dedicated fund, not to be used for day-to-day operations.
We continually seek new grants and other funding opportunities and are very grateful for the past financial support we have received from all of you as well as the entire community. Without continued support we will not be able to keep our organization financially solvent and we hope that you will continue to keep us in your financial thoughts and giving as we approach the holiday season.
Please remember that we are a 501(c) (3) organization, and all donations are tax deductible.
Our facility is a gem here in Rome, New York as we are New York State’s only sports hall of fame and museum. All donations that we receive are earmarked to maintain our quality facility and to continue to celebrate and promote our athletic Roman heritage. We sincerely thank each and every one of you!
Grants
We are still looking for an experienced grant researcher and writer. Any help in this area would be appreciated.
Fundraising
We have two main fundraising events each year; the Brooks BBQ and our Golf Tournament. However, we would like to attempt an additional but smaller event that does not require sales of tickets. If you have any ideas, please pass them on to any Rome Sports Hall of Fame board member or call and leave a message (315-339-9038).
Induction Weekend
2024’s Induction Weekend was filled with excitement! Rome was in recovery mode after the tornado of July 16th rocked our fair city. The best side of our citizenry was shown as Romans pitched in to help Romans and city politics and diversities gave way to cooperation and support. In the shadow of this tragedy, the decision was made to move forward with the 2024 Induction Weekend activities as a show of support for our city…being ROME STRONG!
In the wake of the tornado, one of our main Induction Weekend events was postponed. The Honor America Days Parade was pushed to September which left us with the Plaque Hanging Ceremony and the Induction Dinner on Sunday July 28. The attendance for both was better than we could have expected. A large crowd turned out at the Rome Sports Hall of Fame to witness plaques being hung to honor Glen Bielby, Emanuel Comito, Don D’Aiuto, Lubert Lewis Jr., Julie Harris-Bouton and Dave Mellen. Nationally renowned sports writer, author and Rome Sports Hall of Fame Inductee, Scott Pitoniak once again served as MC for the event and did an outstanding job. Old teammates reunited, families posed for photos and Inductees mingled with the crowd. It was a magical moment in the sun for our Inductees.
That evening the Induction Dinner returned to Rome and to the beautifully remodeled Beeches Manor by Nascentia. How great it was to be home after being forced out of town when the Beeches closed in 2018. With over 180 people in attendance, this year’s event was all about the Inductees, our Frank Clark Service Award winners (Bob VanSchaick and Rodney Dixon) and the 2024 Ellie Bruce Team of Excellence, the 1995-6 & 1998-9 RCH Basketball Teams. This was the first year we have held a separate event to recognize Rome’s high school and collegiate athletes and it really added to the special nature of the Inductions. Each Inductee gave a heartfelt acceptance speech and the audience hung on every word. How great it is to be able to recognize our local athletes who have achieved such lofty heights of excellence in their chosen sports. Thank you to all those who contributed to make this event a success…sponsors, volunteers, interns and Board members. We look forward to MANY more Induction Weekends right here in Rome, NY!
Selection Committee
The Selection committee has been working over the last year at compiling the nominations from years passed as well as new nominations for review by the committee.
This past year, the committee selected another fantastic ‘class’ of athletes and contributors to add to the ranks of the Rome Sports Hall of Fame. In addition, the selection committee also selected another class of High School Sports Personalities. These selections came based on nominations from the RFA Varsity Coaches.
The committee will continue the work of compiling information based on nominations, for future classes. We encourage anyone who has an individual to nominate to do so for consideration. Nomination information can be found on our website and is publicized in the Rome Sentinel and other social media platforms.
8th Annual Ruth Demers Memorial Scholarship
The Ruth Demers scholarship is given annually to a female and male athlete who have exhibited athleticism, leadership and citizenship in the Rome community. The applications are reviewed by the High School P.E. Staff and then voted upon. The Rome Sports Hall of Fame scholarship committee meets to go over the results and break any ties in the voting. The winners of the 2024 Ruth Demers scholarships were Imani Pugh and Johnny Sharrino.
8th Annual National Girls & Women in Sports Celebration
February of 2024 marked the 38th Annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day (NGWSD). This celebration inspires girls and women to play, be active, and to realize their full power. The confidence, strength, and character gained through sports participation are the very tools girls and women need to become strong leaders. A vibrant annual movement we celebrate, NGWSD honors the achievements of female athletes, coaches, and leaders and continues to acknowledge the power of sports to unlock limitless potential.
This year on March 9, 2024 we celebrated NGWSD by holding a basketball free throw event for kids ages 8-12. It was held at the Rome Free Academy main gym. Awards were given, participants received a goodie bag, and all enjoyed pizza and a bottle of water. Participants had a great time.
Ceremony of Champions Youth Reception
The 2024 Spring Ceremony of Champions was held on Sunday August 15,2024. The event honored and recognized the Rome Grizzly Squirts and Rome Grizzly Midgets who both won their local Jam Tournament Championship. Twenty-three team members and five coaches were introduced and received certificates.
The ceremony was open to the public. There was the opportunity for local media, team reps, and parents to take team pictures.
Fall Youth Reception
The Rome Sports Hall of Fame held their Fall Celebration of Champions Ceremony on Thursday August 29, 2024. The event honored and recognized seven local championship youth baseball and softball teams. Fifty Team members and twenty-three coaches were introduced and received certificates. The ceremony was open to the public. There was the opportunity for local media, team reps, and parents to take team pictures. Guest presenter was Ryan Hickey, Coach of the 2024 New York State Championship American Legion team, Henry P. Smith Post.
The following teams were recognized:
Lee Little League Major League Champion, Ace Hardware
Lee Little League Major Gold New York District 9 Champions
Lee Little League Major Silver New York District 9 Champions
Lee Little League 8-10 year old District 9 Champions
Rome Girls Softball Spring 12U Champions, Johnny’s Pier 31
Rome Girls Softball Spring 10U Champions, Lucianna’s Boutique
Cal Ripken League and Tournament Champions, Hannaford Hurricanes
Bike Friendly Business
The Sports Museum was a stop for cyclists during the Cycle the Erie Canal event. The event is an 8-day trip where cyclists travel from Buffalo to Albany. On day 5 of the event over 700 cyclists traveled from Syracuse to Rome and were greeted at the Hall by our board of directors who provided water, snacks, and a rest area. Donations for this event were provided by: Eggan Environmental, Hannaford's, and several Board members. We are now recognized by NYS as a Bike Friendly Business and have a bike rack outside the Hall. We look forward to greeting cyclists for years to come!
31st Annual Golf Scramble
On July 13th we held our 31st annual Golf Scramble Fundraiser at Rome Country Club. A total of 24 teams competed. The tournament was under the direction of co-chairs Coach Stan Evans, Coach Bill Fleet and their committee. The Tournament was co-sponsored by Bouton Physical Therapy and Nascentia Home and Health.
Winning teams were as follows:
Team Nye won the American Division with a score of 59. Members were Pat Stacy, Ronnie Adamczyk, Jeff Miga & Joe Miga.
Team Robinson won the National Division with a score of 65. Members were Tyler Robinson, Ryan Gros, Ryan Switek, and Ryan Humphrey.
Team Copperwheat won the co-ed division with a score of 54. Members were Audrey Copperwheat, Jim Tims, John Rossi, and Roger Perta.
The Hall of Fame Board of directors would like to gratefully acknowledge all players and hole sponsors for their support of our organization.
Memberships for 2024
Memberships to the Rome Sports Hall of Fame are available in several categories. Please consider one or more of several methods of support.
General membership- $25
Family membership- $40
Lifetime membership- $150
Corporate Sponsorships 2022-
● Silver- ($350)- Americu, M & L Worldwide Logistics, Nascentia Health & Home
● Bronze – ($200)- Greg Ellington Collison, Nunn’s Home Medical Equipment, R.E.M. Fire Systems, Strong-Burns & Sprock Funeral Home
● Captains - ($150)- Davidson Auto Group, Eye Care Center of Rome, Nunn and Harper Funeral Home, Rome Sign & Display Co Inc, Rome Teachers Federal Credit Union
Friends of the Museum
Windrath Family Foundation, Kevin Colmey, Bouton Physical Therapy, Nascentia Health & Home, CNY Awards & Apparel, Roman Runners Organization, Stewart’s Foundation, Joe Ryan Jr. Foundation, NYSSD Print Shop, Karabrie Wiggins- Summer Intern, Derek Puma- Summer Intern, Lince Security & Video Systems, Nick & Angela Bottini, Egan Environmental & Excavating, Hinman Family, Oneida-Herkimer Community Foundation, Kevin Colmey, Summa Electric, Paul Pillmore Family, Sheila McInerney, All those who made donations in memory of someone who passed in 2024, All those who made donations in 2024 to our organization.
Ways to help us
Please remember that we are a 501(c) (3) organization, and all donations are tax deductible.
Please consider bequeathing part of your estate to our organization. What a great way to memorialize your love for Rome Sports History.
● If you have any archived item(s) or artifacts that you wish to donate
● If you would like to make a monetary donation to purchase a specific item(s) on our wish list
● If you wish to purchase the item(s) on your own and donate them
Any of these things would be extremely appreciated. Please contact any Hall of Fame Board Member, call the Museum (315) 339-9038, or stop by.
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