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10/22/2016 12:00 AMPress release courtesy of Kim Doheny
The North Haven High School Sports Hall of Fame recently announced its inductees for 2016 and will honor the eight graduates at an awards ceremony that starts at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5 at Zandri’s Stillwood Inn on 1074 South Colony Road in Wallingford. This year’s inductees are athlete Timothy Joseph Binkoski (Class of 2003), coach Stephen F. Celmer ('74), athletes Bryan Thomas Darcy ('00), Pamela Kinsella White ('74), Michelle Morrotti Bonora ('96), Kristen Palmisano Moore ('89), and Bret S. Perkins ('87); and service award winner Mary Lou Stamp ('73). Tickets are $55 and must be purchased in advance. No tickets will be sold at the door. To attend, please send a check to Donna Malley at 18 Algonquin Drive, North Haven CT, 06473. For info, contact Malley at donnalmalley@comcast.net.
Timothy Joseph Binkoski (Class of '03)
Tim Binkoski graduated in 2003 from North Haven High School, where he earned varsity letters in baseball and basketball for all four years and made the honor roll each year before graduating with a 3.50 grade-point average. Binkoski’s outstanding performance on the baseball diamond earned him All-SCC Hammonasset honors in his sophomore, junior and, senior years. In his junior and senior seasons, Binkoski was named to the Connecticut High School Coaches Association (CHSCA) All State Team, the New Haven Register’s All-Area and All State teams, and was North Haven’s Most Valuable Player. In his senior year, he was nominated for Connecticut Male Athlete of the Year and the Connecticut Baseball Player of the Year. After graduation, Binkoski attended Quinnipiac University, starting for four years on the baseball team, while earning a bachelor of arts degree in history. Three times, Binkoski was named to the Northeast Conference (NEC) First Team as an outfielder and he was also a Valley Bank/NEC Scholar Athlete. He was the NEC Player of the Year as a senior and finished his career with a .368 batting average, plus the Quinnipiac record for hits in a season (81) and a career (245). Binkoski lives in Wallingford, where he works for the town’s police department.
Stephen F. Celmer (Class of '74, Coach Inductee)
Stephen F. Celmer is a 1974 graduate of North Haven High School. Celmer played wide receiver for the football team and competed in the hurdles and the high jump with the Indians’ track program. Celmer’s passion for sports really took off after he graduated from Southern Connecticut State College and joined the coaching ranks at North Haven. Celmer has been the head coach of the boys’ outdoor track team for 30 years and the indoor team for 10 years, in addition to coaching cross country and serving as an assistant for the football squad. He’s also spent 21 seasons coaching at other high schools. Celmer has compiled a remarkable career record of 374-110 to go with eight division titles and three undefeated seasons. He’s never had a losing season and his athletes have combined to win 10 state championships and 24 SCC titles. Celmer has also coached fellow Hall of Fame inductees Steve Solecki, Vin Nastri, Mike Zona, Travis Sasser, Angelo Annunziato, and Kevin Barry. Celmer lives in Wallingford with his wife Victoria and their daughter Veronica.
Bryan Thomas Darcy (Class of '00)
Bryan Thomas Darcy graduated in 2000 from North Haven, where he earned seven varsity letters between the football, basketball, and baseball teams, in addition to being a regular on the honor roll who was presented with the business department’s Senior Award. Darcy was a four-year member of the boys’ basketball team who captained the club as a senior. On the baseball field, Darcy was an All-Hammonasset and All-State honoree. He was also named the Indians’ MVP in his senior season. After graduating, Darcy lettered as a pitcher/first baseman in his freshman year at the University of Hartford, after which he played at the University of New Haven for the next three years. He was named to the All-New York College Athletic Conference Team as a sophomore and was a captain for the Chargers through the next two seasons. Darcy lives in North Haven with his wife Jennifer and their children Cora and Bera.
Pamela Kinsella White (Class of '74)
Pamela Kinsella White attended North Haven High School and graduated in 1974, competing for the varsity track program in all four years and helping the Indians win the State Open title in 1972, 1973, and 1974. In 1972, Kinsella White’s 440-yard relay team tied the state record with a time of 51.6 seconds and competed at nationals. Two years later, her relay broke the state mark at 50.6. In Kinsella White’s junior year, her 880-yard relay placed second at states and then broke the state record the next year with a 1:52.70. After graduation, Kinsella White earned an associate’s degree from Colby-Sawyer College and a bachelor of arts degree in economics from the University of New Hampshire. Kinsella White worked as an assistant vice president of private banking for the Bank of New York and is currently helping one of her children launch a new apparel company. Kinsella White and her husband Sandy live in Summit, New Jersey and they have four children: Tabitha, Terry, Alex, and Jamie.
Michelle Morrotti Bonora (Class of '96)
Michelle “Mimi” Morrotti Bonora graduated from North Haven in 1996 after competing for the Indians’ volleyball and softball teams. Morrotti Bonora captained the volleyball team in her junior and senior seasons and received North Haven’s Sportsmanship Award as a junior. As a senior, she was named the Indians’ MVP and earned All-Hammonassett honors. With the softball squad, Morrotti Bonora was a senior captain and received the Sportsmanship Award that same year. Morrotti Bonora later attended Quinnipiac and earned a bachelor of science degree in marketing, after which she earned her master’s in education from the University of New Haven. In 2010, Morrotti Bonora received her sixth year in education leadership from Southern Connecticut State University. She was appointed the principal of Troop School in New Haven in 2015. Morrotti Bonora lives with her husband John in North Haven.
Kristen Palmasino Moore (Class of '89)
Kristen Palmisano Moore is a 1989 graduate of North Haven who earned 11 varsity letters between the soccer, basketball, and softball squads. As a sophomore, Palmasino Moore was named MVP of her soccer team, in addition to making the All-Housatonic and All-District teams. She then repeated her All-Housy honors as a junior. In her senior season, Palmasino Moore captained the Indians and again received their MVP Award, along with garnering First Team-All State and All-Housatonic accolades. On the basketball court, Palmasino Moore was North Haven’s Most Improved Player as a freshman and won the Coach’s Award in her junior and senior years. She was also awarded the Housatonic League Commissioner’s Spirit Award for her performance on and off the court. In the springtime, Palmasino Moore was a captain for the Indians’ softball squad who made First Team All-Housatonic in her junior and senior seasons, earning team MVP distinction in the latter campaign. Palmasino Moore then attended State University of New York at Stony Brook, where she played Division I soccer. She went on to earn a bachelor of arts degree at Southern Connecticut. Palmasino Moore and her husband Jason live in Durham with their children Oliver, Aiden, and Jameson.
Bret S. Perkins (Class of '87)
Bret Perkins graduated from North Haven in 1987. Perkins earned three varsity letters for the Indians’ boys’ soccer squad, while helping the team win Housatonic League championships in 1984, 1985, and 1986. Perkins was the team’s MVP in his junior and senior years and led North Haven as a captain as a senior. Perkins collected All-Housatonic, All-Area, All-State, and All-New England honors during his high school soccer career. The New Haven Soccer Officials Association awarded Perkins with its DeNegri Outstanding Senior Award and the Knights of Columbus named him as its recipient of the Father Danaher Council Sports Award for Outstanding Achievement in 1986. Perkins also earned two varsity letters in basketball, helping the Indians win the Housy title in 1985 and captaining the team in his senior year. After graduating, Perkins attended Temple University, where he earned his bachelor of science degree in 1991. Perkins was a four-year starter for Temple’s Division I soccer squad that won the Atlantic-10 championship in 1988, 1989, and 1990. He was recognized as a member of the All-Philadelphia Soccer Seven in 1989 and was also a recipient of the Temple University Pete Leaness Spirit Award. Perkins and his wife Donna live in Philadelphia with their children, Tazio and Tiernan.
Mary Lou Stamp (Class of '73, Service Award Inductee)
Community service has been an important aspect of Mary Lou Stamp’s life since her parents Min and Bob Fers, Sr., instilled in her the value of giving back to the community. Stamp’s father is a member of the North Haven High School Sports Hall of Fame and she and her family became charter members twenty years ago after helping the idea of founding the hall become a reality. The Fers and Stamp families, along with Robert S. Fers Inc., and Brownstone Construction, support the Hall of Fame each year with sponsorship and donations. They generously constructed and donated the original oak showcases displaying all inductees. Stamp has also served as the vice chairman of the North Haven Education Foundation, chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission, and a board member of the Open Space Advisory Committee and the North Haven Historical Society. She participated in the North Haven school system’s Parent-Teacher-Student Association for 20 years and served on the Project Graduation committee for 12 years. Stamp is also the donor advisor for the Robert S. Fers Memorial Scholarship, a monetary scholarship that helps North Haven High School students pay for their furthering education. In 2008, Stamp was the recipient of the North Haven Sons and Daughters of Italy Distinguished Citizen Award. In 2005, she joined the high school’s Alumni Committee and has since planned two all-class reunions. Last year, Stamp collaborated in the first annual Adult Spelling Bee that was sponsored by the North Haven Education Foundation, in addition to the Brides Through the Ages display for the historical society, plus the 2015 All-Class Reunion. Stamp has been married to her husband Earl for 39 years and together they volunteer in many town organizations, alongside their children Jason, Amy, Doug, and Alyssa, as well as their grandchildren Charlie and Ellie.