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 The
camaraderie among teammates and coaches was rekindled, the craziness
was recaptured, and the family bond was reinforced. The evening was
truly magical, as the stories and memories live on in the hearts of
those who were touched by the Lincoln College experience.
Following opening remarks by President David Gerlach and a delicious
dinner buffet put on by the Lincoln College dining staff, the
evening kicked into high gear as Allen Pickering took to the podium.
“Pick" as he is affectionately called by most everyone, was the
emcee of the evening and once again he was on top of his game.
Dan Hemenway and Jake
Sexton
The
laughter started immediately as Pickering introduced Jake Sexton as
the presenter for Dan Hemenway’s award. Sexton was actually
Hemenway’s third choice to present, said Pickering, noting that the
first two choices fell through.
Sexton took it all in stride and when he reached the podium he
acknowledged this year’s inductees to be a “pretty impressive
class.” Sexton, a former swimmer for Lincoln College, had Hemenway
as a coach and he mentioned the four priorities that Coach Hemenway
had throughout his career: Family, Faith, Academics and Swimming &
Diving. “Those four priorities never changed,” said Sexton, of the
man who coached Lincoln College Swimming and Diving from 1991-2007.
Sexton went on to recall how Hemenway had survived a very traumatic
car accident in 2007 and how during the recovery period, “Dan
accepted the challenge with a strong resolve and with a sense of
humor.” Sexton went on to say, “Dan pushed himself like he did his
athletes.” Finally, in admiration, Sexton introduced the first 2017
inductee to the crowd by saying, “The lasting impact he’s had on all
of us is greater.”
As Coach Hemenway began his speech, he first thanked his mom and
dad. “I learned true determination from my own father,” he said.
“And my mom said, “No matter what you’re doing in life, have fun.
Mom and Dad, love them very much,” said Hemenway. Hemenway also
thanked his kids, Daniel and Grace, and their mom, Christina. “She
took care of the kids all by herself all of the time,” said Dan of
Christina. Hemenway is very proud of his children and noted that
Daniel will graduate from Illinois State University in the spring
with a degree in Business Marketing and Grace has started college in
Georgia. Hemenway also recognized the four assistant coaches that
were in attendance. “They made coaching fun,” he said. Hemenway
asked the swimmers and divers in the crowd to stand and more than a
dozen stood for their beloved coach. “They performed so well at
Nationals,” said Hemenway, “It was fun!” Hemenway then recognized
Ron and Joyce Schilling and gave them credit for attending Nationals
and sitting thru the 23-24 minute mile swim. As he choked up a bit,
Hemenway said, “I don’t have the words to really describe what this
means to me.” But then his ever-present sense of humor came back to
him quickly and he said, “I want to share this with all of you but
since it has my name on it, I’m gonna take it home with me.”
Dan's swimmers and
divers who had nothing but good things to say about the terrific
Coach Hemenway
The
crowd erupted in applause as this magical evening kicked off with an
excellent recipient.
Pickering stepped up and took credit for hiring Hemenway in 1991 and
then called Hemenway back to the podium to introduce Lincoln
College’s second inductee of the evening, Brianne Nation.
Brianne Nation and
Dan Hemenway
Brianne Nation was a decorated swimmer for Lincoln College and she
came to Lincoln from Bartonville. She graduated from Lincoln College
in 2004. Nation was supposed to be introduced by her sister, but
since she was unable to make it, Hemenway filled in, reading her
sister’s speech. Nation and her sister were both swimmers in their
youth and as the only two girls on the swim team, they always swam
against boys. “Bri did it because she loved swimming and had a
passion and the drive for it,” according to her sister. Hemenway
also noted Nation’s athleticism along with that passion and drive
and said, “If I remember correctly, Bri was the first female
national champion of all sports in Lincoln College history.” Many in
the crowd shook their heads in agreement.
Swimmers and divers
of Lincoln College years past turned out to support both Coach Dan
Hemenway, Brianne Nation, and Josh Wegrzyn Friday night.
As Nation took the podium, she said, “I am truly honored to be
considered let alone to be inducted. I created so many lifelong
bonds here and it was such an amazing experience.”
Nation began to break down in tears as she looked at Hemenway and
said, “The best coach I’ve ever had….I learned so much outside of
the pool. I’m incredibly honored to share this night with you and
all the other inductees.”
Josh Wegrzyn and
Keith Tobin
The
third inductee of the evening was swimmer Josh Wegrzyn. Wegrzyn was
in the Class of 2000 and he was a two-time NJCAA national champion
and seven-time All-American at Lincoln College. Keith Tobin
introduced Wegrzyn as his teammate who was “like a big brother to
me” and said, “Josh is one of the most hardworking people I know. We
have remained great friends.” Tobin also recalled the first time he
met Wegrzyn, he was wearing a t-shirt that read, “Real men don’t
quit.” Tobin never forgot that red t-shirt or that motto.
When Wegrzyn spoke, he immediately acknowledged Coach Hemenway. “I
certainly would not be here without Coach Hemenway,” he said.
“Thanks to Dan, he lit that fire under me and I got a passion for
learning back while I was at Lincoln College.”
Bill Piskorski and
Bob Morris
The
fourth inductee of the evening was Bill Piskorski, a Lincoln College
baseball player from the Class of 1972. He was introduced by his
dear friend Bob Morris who called Piskorski a "big city kid outta
Peoria Richwoods.” The two men had a 45-year friendship that Morris
called, “A relationship that meant the world to both of us.” Morris
continued, “My parents always taught me to respect a guy who had
character and class and Billy had both those things. We are
recognizing Billy tonight because of his baseball skills, but he’s
better at three other things in life. Billy is a better husband,
father and grandfather than he ever dreamed of being a baseball
player. He is an All-American all the time,” said Morris.
When
Piskorski got up to speak he first mentioned that he had not
been back to Lincoln College in 45 years but his two years spent
at the school were the “greatest two years of my life.”
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Piskorski said he had great teammates, as he nodded over to a table
full of baseball players from the early ‘70s. He also recognized
some great people in his life, starting with his parents, both
deceased. “My mom taught me the love of baseball and always had time
to go out in the yard to play baseball.” Piskorski acknowledged his
siblings, too, for "always having time to play catch.” He credited
his high school coaches for his success also and mentioned his coach
at the University of New Mexico, where he went on to play after
Lincoln College. As for Lincoln, he said, "My field of dreams was
right here at Lincoln College. I had the honor to play for Coach
Lindstrom, Coach Pickering and Coach Zurkammer. They made great
citizens and great students. They saved my life here at Lincoln
College. This is a family. This is like Heaven on Earth here.”
Piskorski also noted the important role Paul Beaver played in his
time at Lincoln College.
Piskorski thanked his teammates at Lincoln College "who made our
ball club so much better.” And he added, “We competed together and
won a lot of baseball games here.” Despite his love for the game, he
looked at his wife and gratefully said, “My wife of 44 years, Carol,
she’s the best teammate I’ve ever had. I am so honored, so humbled
and so overwhelmed. It was a privilege to be a Lynx.” ‘Billy P.’ as
he was called by his friends, makes his home in Albuquerque, New
Mexico and it looked like he had such a great time in Lincoln on
this visit that he will be back.
Coach Chuck Lindstrom
is surrounded by members of his 1972 Lincoln College baseball team
as they gathered to support "Billy P." Friday evening.
Before Pickering introduced the fifth inductee of the evening, he
took a phone call from Warren Lee while at the podium. Laughter from
the crowd ensued. It was an inside joke. Lee is apparently known for
calling and talking for over an hour, asking about everyone
individually, Pickering explained, while the crowd chuckled.
Allen Pickering and
Tom Zurkammer
Pickering did have the honor of introducing Tom Zurkammer as the
next inductee. No one honestly gets tired of hearing “Pick” talk,
except for maybe Zurkammer, so it was appropriate for the situation.
“It is a fact he did not graduate with Abraham Lincoln,” said
Pickering very clear and concise of his dear friend and confidant,
Zurkammer. Pickering noted that in fact, Zurkammer was born and
raised in Lincoln, went to Chester-East Lincoln School, Lincoln
Community High School and Lincoln College before heading off to
MacMurray. Zurkammer is a member of the Class of 1963 at Lincoln
College and he was inducted as both a coach and athlete at Lincoln
College. Zurkammer was a basketball and baseball player at Lincoln
College. Upon graduating from MacMurray and returning to Lincoln
College, Zurkammer coached the men’s basketball team, among other
duties throughout his 50-year career here. His accolades at Lincoln
College are numerous in the classroom and he currently serves as an
adjunct math professor at Lincoln College. Off the court, so to
speak, Pickering called Zurkammer the “greatest left-handed shooter
I’ve ever seen” saying that he used to “shoot the ball from down in
the stairwell” of the old gymnasium.
When Zurkammer finally reached the podium after Pickering’s
fantastic introduction, he yelled, “Hey!” and startled everyone.
“Pickering has a knack for putting everyone to sleep,” he said
dryly. Zurkammer immediately jumped into telling stories about his
time with Pickering through the years at Lincoln College. The
stories took place from Las Vegas to Louisville, Kentucky to
Lincoln, Illinois. While Zurkammer said Pickering gets accused of
being a tightwad, he simply calls his friend a “monetarily right
wing conservative.” The crowd laughed at everything Zurkammer said
and smiled when he said, “The 50 years at Lincoln College have flown
by. What a fantastic journey it has been for me.”
Zurkammer also told an inspirational story about a young man who
came to Lincoln College to pretty much do everything except study
and learn. Zurkammer said the young man had scored very high on his
ACT test but was not willing to put the work in at school on a daily
basis because he already knew he would go back home and someday be
in charge of his father’s company. Zurkammer told him one day in his
office, as the young man’s grades were failing, "What you hoped
might be, probably could be and with a lot of effort and hard work,
would be.” Zurkammer repeated this to the young man on his
graduation day from Lincoln College. Years later the man wrote
Zurkammer a letter and told him he used that phrase throughout his
life when meeting with his vice-presidents and second-level
managers.
Zurkammer has indeed left his mark at Lincoln College throughout his
50 years here and he also deserves credit of the birth of the
Lincoln College Athletic Hall of Fame, which now boasts twenty-nine
members.
As Zurkammer concluded his speech he said, “This honor tonight is my
golden capstone.” He started to tear up. “It truly is a mega-honor
for me. When I walk up to that line in my second lifetime, I will
say, “Give me 50 more at Lincoln College.”
Jan Bowers and Bill
Gossett
Pickering came to the podium one more time. The sixth inductee was
“Friend of Athletics” Bill Gossett of Lincoln. Jan Bowers was
scheduled to present to Gossett, but she had lost her voice, said
Pickering, so the honor of pretending to be Bowers was bestowed on
Pickering. Bowers did come to the stage to stand next to Pickering
at his request. Bowers’ speech started with “My friendship began
with Bill long before I even realized it.” She noted her childhood
days of visiting Gossett’s Cleaners of Lincoln. Later in life as a
member of the faculty at Lincoln College, Bowers observed Gossett as
a Lincoln College Board of Trustee member and she said, “Bill loves
everything about this school.” At 94 years old, Bill Gossett took
the podium to accept the honor from Bowers and he was sporting his
dad’s 1919 letter sweater. “It’s a special night,” said Gossett,
referring to getting the sweater out of storage. “I appreciate
this,” Gossett spoke of the honor. “When I am on campus I make it a
point to stop and visit with our students.” He also said he will
often ask students if they have a favorite instructor and often
times they say, “Jan Bowers.”
Gossett was a 1943 graduate of Lincoln College. Many have called
Gossett a lifelong public servant to Logan County and Lincoln
College, and he lives up to that billing. Gossett thanked his wife
of 69 years, Jean, as he so proudly stood before the packed
gymnasium. Gossett was indebted to his children and his siblings for
the roles they played throughout his life. He mentioned his brother
Jack’s distinguished military career and told some World War II
stories. Gossett received the first athletic award at Lincoln
College back in the day. Gossett also emphasized how the staff and
teachers at Lincoln College are making a difference. He encouraged
the crowd to make a difference as well.
Gossett’s impact on Pickering even made the master of ceremonies
proclaim, “I could listen to Bill Gossett talk forever.”
The stories, the memories, and the people all made for another
terrific evening at Lincoln College.
Congratulations to the six new inductees of the Lincoln College
Athletic Hall of Fame.
[Teena Lowery]
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