Other members of “Team Fetterman” joined the latest honoree, county Judge John Lambert, after today’s luncheon at The Otesaga. Front row, from left, are Mark Rathbun, Jack Vineyard, Pat Hazzard, Frank Miosek, Lambert, Bobby Hall, Ted Kantorowski, Brenda Wedderspoon-Gray, Dave Adsit, Brenda Jaeger and Bruce Andrews. Second row, from left, Mike Perrino, Ed Hazzard, Bud Lippitt, Dave Bliss, Sharkey Nagelschmidt, Bob Snyder and Ted Spencer. (Jim Kevlin/AllOTSEGO.com)
By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
John Lambert and Jane Forbes Clark pose for photographs today after she presented him with the Fetterman Award.
COOPERSTOWN – It was a lesson in the right attitude.
County Judge John Lambert, honored as the latest recipient of the Clark Sports Center’s Fetterman Award today at an Otesaga luncheon, was able to relate a first-hand story about Patrick Fetterman, a fabled director of the Clark Gym.
It was at a Biddy Basketball Tournament in St. Johnsville more than three decades ago. Lambert was in sixth grade; Fetterman was coaching, when one of the Cooperstown players made everyone’s concern explicit: “They’re cheating with the clock,” he said.
COOPERSTOWN – The Clark Foundation’s annual Beautification Contest has awarded first-place prizes to Pioneer Patio for businesses; the Monzon-O’Mara household, 108 Pioneer St., for homes, and the Inn at Cooperstown for best window box/hanging basket.
Clark Foundation President Jane Forbes Clark’s grandmother, Susan Vanderpoel Clark, founded the annual contest more than 60 years ago “to recognize the tremendous time and effort so many of our residents take to make our village look welcoming and beautiful,” the granddaughter said. “She would be so happy that this wonderful tradition continues to make our Village even more special.”
Sergio Arias of Lompoc, Calif., smiles with surprise a few minutes ago as Hall of Fame Chairman Jane Forbes Clark advises him he is the 17 millionth fan to pass through the turnstile at 25 Main St. At right, Arias, wife Amber, and children Gabi, 11, Noah, 9, and Aubrey, 6 pose with Miss Clark for the official portrait. She then presented the honoree with a lifetime Hall of Fame membership and other gifts. Arias – he is a Yankee fan; his son a Dodger fan – is visiting Cooperstown for the first time. The Hall has been open since 1939; lately, a million fans visit Baseball’s Mecca every three years. (Jim Kevlin/AllOTSEGO.com)
The newly renovated Grandstand Theater will open on Friday, May 25, ahead of the Hall of Fame Classic game.Jane Forbes Clark spoke to a packed house at the Grandstand Theater during a talk in January 2016. (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)
COOPERSTOWN – With new surround sound, a state-of-the-art projector and a brand-new film, the Baseball Hall of Fame’s Grandstand Theater is set for re-opening this weekend as part of the museum’s annual Classic Weekend.
“Baseball fans come to the Hall of Fame looking for that ‘wow’ moment, and the new “Generations of the Game” introductory film, shown in the beautifully renovated and state-of-the-art Grandstand Theater, sets the stage and delivers an emotional foundation for a memorable Museum experience,” said Jeff Idelson, Hall of Fame president.
Jane Forbes Clark told Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce members this morning that the village’s downtown, which lost the CVS and Cooperstown General Store in recent months, is at a crossroads, and she adopted the chamber’s 2018 of “togetherness” as a way toward a solution. The Hall of Fame chairman said store rents – as high as $7,000 a month – are “too high” to achieve mixed retail offerings, and that there are too many baseball stores. While suggesting no specific solutions, she detailed the hundreds of thousands of visitors Clark entities – The Hall, The Fenimore and The Otesaga among them – attract to Cooperstown annually, potential customers for downtown establishments that can figure out how to bring them in the doors. (Parker Fish/AllOTSEGO.com)
Cooperstown Elementary phys-ed teacher Bud Lippitt, in right photo, receives the 24th Fetterman Award for service to youth from Clark Foundation President Jane Forbes Clark at today’s luncheon in his honor at The Otesaga. In accepting the honor, Lippitt said, “I’ve never had a bad day – I always look forward to coming to work.” In top photo, the honoree poses with wife Nicole, daughters Marley, left, and Emmy, and son Tommy. About 50 attended the luncheon, including many past honorees. The award is sponsored by the foundation and the Clark Sports Center. (Parker Fish/AllOTSEGO.com)
Performers from Ice Dance International AJ Reiss, Carly Donowick and Brad Vigorito (skating on artificial Glice), electrified the annual Fenimore Art Museum gala-goers last evening at the Glimmerglen Estate on Otsego Lake; watching behind the skaters, top photo, at right, is Patricia Kennedy, Springbrook president. Attendees included state Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford, and wife Cindy, lower left, posing with Olympian Dorothy Hammill. At right, hostess Jane Forbes Clark chats with guests; in the foreground is Tom McReynolds, Franklin, the retired Oneonta investment counselor and nationally syndicated business columnist. (Leah McDonald/AllOTSEGO.com)
Before the doors even opened this morning, people were gathering outside the doors of the Clark in anticipation of the grand re-opening of the sports complex which had spent the two years undergoing extensive renovations. Above, Gunter Weldon, Cooperstown, gets a leg up from Adventure Staff member Steph Talaia-Murray on the rock-climbing wall during the grand re-opening of the Clark Sports Center this morning. Right: Staff member Peg Wilson, Dr. Rodman Carter and wife Imogene congratulate board chair Jane Forbes Clark on the state-of-the-art sports center. (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)
USA Today caught up with what everyone in Cooperstown already knows: Jane Forbes Clark is the most influential woman in baseball. (AllOTSEGO.com photo)
COOPERSTOWN – Jane Forbes Clark was ranked as the most influential woman in baseball in USA Today’s list of the 100 most influential people in the National Pastime.
Ranked 30th, she nonetheless led the field for women. The second most influential was Kim Ng, MLB’s senior VP of baseball operations, ranked 40.
