In the final installment of the Golden Eagle Monogram Club Honor Roll Recognition banquet, we present Rick Stonebreaker , special Board inductee Cary Simpson, a special award given to Harry Sickler and remarks by featured speaker Kelly Goodman.
Steve Magulick who presented Dave Grazier, also presented Rick Stonebreaker
“Rick was a member of the track team at Tyrone,” said Magulick, “as well as the chorus, stage crew and also was in Bob Leipold’s electrical shop. Rick was the all-around guy, who worked hard at whatever he was involved in. His love of hunting led him to develop an interest in archery. After graduation, Rick went on to Texas A & M where he became a four-time All-American in archery, three-time national collegiate champ and won nine state titles in Pennsylvania and 19 state championships in Texas. In 1974, in Yugoslavia, Rick won the silver medal in the World Field Championships, missing the gold by one point. In 2002, in Australia, Rick won the gold in all three championships, outdoor, indoor and target.
Rick presently lives in Houston, Texas and has written archery articles for several magazines. Stonebreaker works for NASA. When Rick has some free time, he enjoys long distance running, taking part in marathons and Ultra marathons, which are any race longer the 26.2 miles covered in a marathon.
Rick states in many of his newsletters something we should all seriously consider. ‘We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.’”
Rick Stonebreaker could not be at the Honor Roll Recognition, so his mother, Mrs. Alfreda Stonebreaker accepted on his behalf.
Harry Sickler presented Cary Simpson as a Special Board Honoree.
“Cary has been here 48 years, and has done everything,” informed Sickler. “He has done everything in regard to Tyrone sporting events. How many towns of this size has a high school that has a radio station that will carry every sport that there is practically? When coach John Franco came to town, he was amazed at how active Cary was. Cary is a very successful businessman. He was a mathematician. When he first came here he was one of the few announcers who realized there was a hundred yards to a football field. He would say the runner was at the forty, the fifty, the sixty, the seventy, the eighty and so on.” said Sickler, tongue firmly planted in cheek as the audience all guffawed. “Cary was originally from Huntingdon and he graduated from Juniata College, but Tyrone is Cary’s hometown. One of the common friends Cary and I had was Monsignor Harkins. I remember the Monsignor saying to me, ‘Harry, if you want a role model to follow, just follow Cary Simpson because there is a guy who loves this town. If you just do half the good he does for this town, then you will be a success. Well I’ll tell you without Cary Simpson, we wouldn’t have a town like Tyrone.”
“I was listening to each of the people telling us about their coaches,” explained Cary Simpson. “The coach looks good when the players look good. The coach is successful when he or she is able to make the kids look good. Where would the athletes be without someone saying ‘hey, that’s the way to do it,’ If you can’t get satisfaction from making other people look good, then you can’t be a good coach. I think we have had some wonderful coaches in this area. This is how you succeed in coaching- by making the players into good players and it always seems to follow, into good citizens. Just think about the number of role models in this room. You know what a role model is-the kind of person that you looked up to when you were young and said, I think I would want to be like that person. I pay tribute to each of you. Whether it is sports, whether it’s education, music whatever it is. Someone is looking at you and saying ‘I admire you.’ I think that is one of the wonderful things about Tyrone. Think about all the names mentioned tonight. Then you will know what I’m talking about. Remember though that you are a role model for somebody else. You have to behave yourself. You’ve got to be good, you’ve got to be the kind of person that you yourself would be proud of.”
Master of ceremonies Werner then introduced Kelly Goodman as the featured speaker.
“Everyone who watches TV-10 was rooting for Kelly Goodman to get the job as the sports anchor person,” exclaimed Werner. “Female sports anchors are rare, but Kelly has proven she is more than qualified to do the job. Last November, the Altoona Mirror devoted a full page to tell her story”, said Werner, a former employee of the Mirror. “When I retired after 43 years, they only gave me a half a page. She worked her way up from being an intern. I never could understand how she gets 15 minutes of sports into three minutes. She has nurtured a love affair relationship with the Tyrone fans. She comes across so warm and caring that you can’t help but be endeared to her.”
“I want to thank everyone who came out tonight to celebrate these special individuals,” acknowledged Goodman. “It is a tribute to the kind of local sports fans you have here in Tyrone that so many people would come. Think about the number of people watching the Steelers and Eagles and the number of high school kids who participated in some form of team sport this week.”
Then Goodman concluded, “There is one thing that all sports do. That is they give communities a sense of identity and a sense of pride. I have been very fortunate to see that sense of identity and pride demonstrated here in Tyrone in the best of ways. This community pulls together through good times and bad like a football, baseball or basketball team does. It’s a community that sets goals, achieves them and then sets higher ones. This is a community that celebrates achievements of all kinds, athletic, academic and personal. For all a community like this one receives through athletics, it is easy to lose sight of what the athletes receive from you as a community. I would take a Tyrone high school football game over a Pittsburgh Steeler playoff game anytime, because of the way high school sports draw communities like this one together and because of the lessons young people learn from participating in them. I look at your very impressive list of inductees and although I don’t know all of them personally, the ones I do know or know of are not just enthusiastic competitors or supporters of sports, but they are also lovers of life. In my experience, participation in sports gives us more than good athletes, it gives us good people and leaders of the community. You have seen that demonstrated by your list of honorees here tonight.”
Following her feature speech, Goodman asked for Harry Sickler to come up and surprised him with a special plaque. “This plaque reads,” Goodman continued, “Presented to Harry K. Sickler Jr. by the Golden Eagle Monogram Club Board. Special Board appointee Honor Class Harry K. Sickler Jr. In appreciation for all you have done for the Tyrone athletic community as a lifetime contributor, athletic participant, financial supporter and most importantly for your foresight and wisdom in originating, organizing and directing of the Tyrone Golden Eagle Monogram Club. Inducted Saturday January 11, 2003 Golden Eagle Monogram Club.
“Of all my memories of Tyrone sports,” said Goodman, “ I think Harry Sickler is my very favorite. Because all the things I talked about community and bringing communities together through sports, I think Harry Sickler so completely appreciates and exemplifies.”
