The Rochester Press-Radio Club will hold its 4th Annual Celebration of Champions on Tuesday, June 10, at Innovative Field, home of the Rochester Red Wings. Proceeds from the event will benefit Rochester Children’s Charities.
The Major Donald Holleder Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to a person whose active life has exhibited the highest level of sportsmanship, character, courage and achievement. This year’s recipient is Keith Ryan, past president of the Rochester Press-Radio Club and long-time club member, past president of the Spencerport Area Chamber of Commerce and its recipient of its 1993 Businessperson of the Year and its 2019 Citizen of the Year, past president of the Greater Churchville-Riga Chamber of Commerce and the recipient of its 2010 Member of Year, past president and current treasurer of the Kiwanis Club of Spencerport and the recipient of the Kiwanis International George F. Hixson Fellowship, recipient of the Paul Harris Fellowship given by the Rotary Club of Spencerport, an organizer and chair for the first five years of the Spencerport Canal Days committee.
The Charlie Wagner & Christine Wagner Welch Founders Award is presented to a person involved in promoting sports on the local level with commitment and inspiration. This year’s recipient is Sal Gerbino, in recognition of his 25 years of raising hundreds of thousands of dollars on behalf of the New York Special Olympics and their Polar Plunge. Sal is a retired Gates Police Department Sergeant and current Councilman on the Ogden Town Board.
This year’s ESL Coach of the Year recipient is Stephen Lian, Head Coach of the Brighton High School Varsity Football Team, the 2024 Far West Regional Champions. He was the Buffalo Bills nominee for the Don Shula Coach of the Year Award and is the first Asian American Head Coach to win a Section V Football Championship and a Far West Regional Championship. He also is a sixth grade teacher at Twelve Corners Middle School in the Brighton School District.
The Elliot Cushing Award is presented to a local person who has excelled on the national sports scene. This year’s recipient is Pete Guelli, the Chief Operating Officer of the Buffalo Bills & Buffalo Sabres. He is also a Minority Owner of the NJ/NY Gotham FC.
The Gary Smith & George Beahon Sports Media Award is presented for local sports media excellence. This year’s recipient is Paul Gotham, owner of Pickin’ Splinters, “Rochester’s Independent Sports Source” website. He has operated the website since 2009 and is a 1983 grad of Aquinas Institute.
The Jean Giambrone Award is presented to a woman who has made an exemplary lifetime commitment to local women’s sports. This year’s recipient is Deanna Kernan, general manager of Tennis Club of Rochester. The Bellevue, Ohio native came to the Tennis Club of Rochester in 2015 after stops in Texas and Florida. She helped guide the Tennis Club through the pandemic to the delight of its members and staff.
The Morrie Silver Award is awarded for special contributions in promoting sports in Rochester and Monroe County. This year’s recipient is Marty Keating, who recently retired after an over 50-year career as a Section V Swimming Coach at Pittsford High Schools. His program achieved over 500 straight dual meet victories. The East High and MCC grad has also been the Head Coach of the PACK Swim Team since its inception. Past honors include the 2003 Rochester Press-Radio Club Galyan’s High School Coach of the Year and the 2004 Jack Palvino Award at the WHAM Sportswomen of the Year Luncheon. He was also been inducted into the Frontier Field Walk of Fame.
This year’s Rich Funke Jr. & Jerry Flynn Local College Athlete Award recipient is Brynn King, the Roberts Wesleyan University graduate student and record-setting pole vaulter. A member of the 2024 Olympic Team, she set the all-time collegiate outdoor record in women’s pole vault by surpassing 15 feet, 7 inches at a meet on March 29, 2025 in Texas. The Woodlands, Texas native returned to her home state to set the mark. Along the way at Roberts Wesleyan, she was helped on the path by Roberts Wesleyan’s own Jenn Suhr and husband, Rick Suhr, a 1986 Spencerport High School alum.
Jenn was a three-time US Olympic pole vault competitor and walked…or flew…away with the 2012 Olympic Gold Medal in the pole vault.
This year’s Eddie & Kevin Meath Press-Radio Club Member Community Service Award recipient is John Snider. He volunteers for many Rochester Press-Radio Club events including the annual Challenger World Series. He is also involved with other volunteer efforts including being a volunteer with a fire department.
For event and ticket information, visit http://www.pressradio.org and click on the Celebration of Champions link, email rocpressradioinfo@gmail.com, or call Mary Gross 585-315-2452.
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