New Canaan Old Timers Association 2023 Honoree Ceremony Set for Sept. 17 [Q&A]

Jun 14, 2023

A New Canaan-based nonprofit organization that honors local athletes has scheduled its popular annual ceremony.

The New Canaan Old Timers Association event is to be held at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 17 at Waveny House (register here—$50 for adults, $20 for students and children under 14 free).

We put some questions about the organization and ceremony to board member and historian Terry Dinan.

Here’s our exchange.

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New Canaanite: For our readers who may not know the organization, what is the New Canaan Old Timers Association?

Tom McInerney at the podium at the 2021 event, Old Timers Board members Bill Brown (l) and Terry Dinan (r) in the background.

Terry Dinan: The Old Timers is an organization that was founded in 1982, dedicated to honoring New Canaan athletes and athletic figures of the past while simultaneously supporting New Canaan athletes of the present and future. We host three annual fundraising events– a golf outing in June, the Homecoming Pancake Breakfast and perhaps most significantly the Honoree Ceremony held at Waveny in September.

Tell us a little bit about this year’s honorees.

What happens at the Sept. 17 ceremony? What can attendees expect?

2022 New Canaan Old Timers honorees (L-R): Elaine Benko (accepting for Mary Beth Gilbert), Tom Murphy, Lou Marinelli, Dave Stewart, Scott Harrison, Lisa Taylor Lane.

We start with a light continental breakfast at 11 A.M. in which guests and honorees arrive at Waveny. Then around noon we start the ceremony on the south patio. I introduce each of the honorees and they give a speech. That part of the day lasts about 60-75 minutes. The ceremony is immediately followed by lunch. It’s a great time for old teammates, coaches, friends and classmates to reconnect with each other, retell old stories and recall great moments of the past – from both on and off the field. We always have an amazing crowd in attendance, everyone from current and former coaches to local town officials come. It’s a special day.

Where do proceeds from the event go?

All proceeds from this and our other two events help endow the Vin Iovino Athletic Scholarship, named after the former New Canaan High School Athletic Director. We accept donations as well. We work in tandem with current AD Jay Egan and the NCHS athletic department and present the scholarship to a NCHS male and female student athlete at the end of the academic year who best embody the values Mr. Iovino championed – leadership, loyalty and humility. I’m fortunate enough to still be in contact with Mr. Iovino who was a hero to me and a father figure to almost every New Canaan athlete during his time as AD. He treated the athletic community like a family and we try to keep that familial spirit alive.

What else can you tell our readers about the Old Timers or the ceremony?

Join us for the September 17th ceremony and please consider joining the Old Timers Association. Our longtime President Len Paglialunga, Vice President Rick Ericson and Secretary/Treasurer Lauren Cerretani will be stepping down after many years of service. We are looking to add members. When I talk to Mr. Iovino we speak of how New Canaan has an extraordinarily rich athletic history. Sports are a huge part of the identity and fabric of this community. We are a town of only 20,000 and we have two current NFL players, an MLB player, an NHL player, dozens of collegiate athletes and perhaps most impressively we had an NCHS grad, Bill Toomey, win the 1968 Olympic gold medal in the decathlon. It’s an incredible past and an identity to appreciate and be proud of as New Canaan moves forward. The Old Timers are here to help make sure we secure that legacy and bridge the gaps from the past to the present and future. For more info and to register for the event, visit http://www.ncoldtimers.com/.