IHSSBCA Banquet 2009

IHSSBCA held its 4th Annual Banquet on April 18, 2009 at the Circus Room at Illinois State University. We honored the Hall of Famers, All-State Teams, and State Champions. The evening started with a short speech by IHSSBCA Founder Rob Grierson, who talked about all the new events that had happened in Illinois Scholastic Bowl during the year, including some teams winning their first sectional, some tournaments getting off the ground, and some reforms within IHSSBCA.

The first Hall Of Fame inductee honored was Norma Anderson, who coached at Oakwood High School for almost thirty years. She was introduced by Diana Herriott, who used to coach at Tolono Unity. Coach Herriott talked about how much Coach Anderson did for her students and for Scholastic Bowl in that area of the state, which is near Champaign-Urbana. Norma not only started her team but also started her conference and mentored many coaches in her region.

We then inducted Mike Cleary, who was introduced by his wife Nancy. She spoke about the central roles that family and scholarship had always played in Mike’s life. Mike’s family helped him run the largest invitationals in Illinois history, as he would write the questions and his family would type them. Additionally, his family often moderated matches.

David Reinstein then introduced Bruce Fitzgerald, talking about about the time that he ended up hosting the New Trier Scobol Solo at Stevenson and the great rivalry we have had between New Trier and Stevenson—a rivalry that has always been based on respect and trust and providing a great experience for the students. Reinstein read a note from one of Bruce’s former students, who has great memories of his classmates and coach working together. Bruce announced that, even though he is retiring from teaching, he is going to continue coaching.

Dennis Wyatt was then introduced by Tom Egan. Tom spoke about the great impact Dennis had on his students—including many who became very knowledgeable about our country’s history and literature even though they were not born here. Dennis also went on many trips with his teams all over the state of Illinois, seeking out the best tournaments no matter where they were. Though Dennis had been forced to quit coaching in the middle of his last season due to a stroke, it was clear to everybody that his health has gotten better during his retirement.

Matt Laird then introduced the All-State Teams, most of whom were in attendance. For each student, Matt explained what their coach had said about them to demonstrate what makes that student among the best and brightest in our state. Many of the students, who were a mix of seniors and underclassmen, were accompanied by coaches and family.

Sharon Lorinskas then introduced her Carbondale team, which won both the Masonic and IHSA Class AA State Championships. She talked about how the seniors on the team had been around when they almost won state three years ago and were determined to make the best of their opportunities this year. Sharon also gave a team medal to Dale Thayer, the Tournament Director for Illinois Masonic Academic Bowl, stating that it was the support of the Masons that allowed her team to travel to national tournaments and to many tournaments all over Illinois.

Mr. Thayer, who was recently named Mason of the Year, attended the Banquet with Daniel C. Yandel, Grand Master of Masons in Illinois, and their wives.