by Sarah Heinonen | Feb 10, 2025 | Agawam, Hampden County, Local News, Photo Slider Agawam Mayor Christopher Johnson explains the new police station’s upgrades to evidence storage compared to the existing station.Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen AGAWAM — Although it may not look like much now in Agawam is well on its way to becoming a modern police station capable of providing for the town’s public safety needs now The Police Department moved into its current headquarters at 681 Springfield St A former elementary school that was built around World War I the building was given a renovation that Mayor Christopher Johnson described as “more cosmetic and not structural.” formerly a branch of the HUB International insurance company With the construction needed to bring the building to code for public safety uses Johnson said the $13.62 million project is about half of what it was estimated that a newly constructed station would cost including aligning the design to the existing plumbing structures and maintaining much of the landscaping The department will reuse as much of the furniture and equipment from the old station as is feasible however the building was sold to the town with its office furniture included said Chief Procurement Officer Jennifer Bonfiglio The layout of the building’s interior was intentional and will “significantly improve workflow.” The front section of the station is dedicated to handling visitors’ needs creating a separation between the public-facing areas and the rest of the building with an interview room to the left and the behavioral health office to the right The records department will be located behind a large window Police personnel will be required to have a security fob to enter points beyond those areas Among the upgrades over the existing police station at 681 Springfield St the new station will be outfitted with four dispatch stations The dispatch center includes a restroom to ensure the dispatchers are never far from their stations One major benefit of the new station will be the evidence room evidence is stored in four spaces at the Springfield Street station The walls were constructed after a refrigerated evidence locker was moved into the space due to the equipment’s size Johnson said the room is “essentially impenetrable.” He emphasized that there have not been issues around evidence storage or chain of command in the past but the new evidence room will greatly improve efficiency The new station will also have space for storage including a dedicated one for the detective bureau Johnson said that officers write reports “anywhere they can find a space” in the Springfield Street station Johnson said one of the offices near the locker rooms will likely be used as a “muster room,” an area where officers will receive their assignments for the shift Officers currently use repurposed school lockers The Police Department consists of 54 sworn officers and eight civilian staff Johnson said there is “plenty of capacity to grow” to up to 70 individuals at the new station he noted the number of officers has been relatively steady for the past 30 years The only change to the building’s envelope the sally port will allow officers to pull their vehicles into an enclosed part of the building and take people in their custody straight into the booking room a segregated cell for juveniles in custody and six cells for general prisoners Johnson said people do not often stay in the custody of the Agawam Police Department overnight as the Sheriff’s Department usually collects them within a few hours the cells give the department flexibility if needed Johnson said he expects the building to be completed by June The original timeline for the station has been pushed back due to supply chain issues the town is waiting to receive a generator and electronic switches without which the station cannot be occupied Johnson said that with a retrofit of an existing building The move to the new station will be completed in phases over a couple of months The most intensive phase will be the transfer of evidence due to the sensitivity of the items and the care with which they will have to be moved Johnson said the police department is excited to move into its new-and-improved headquarters I would like to receive emails from The Reminder This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page by Mike Lydick | Jan 14, 2025 | Agawam, Hampden County, Local News, More Articles AGAWAM — Rachel Sills will perform one last — and important — duty as Agawam’s reigning colleen next month when she crowns one of four young women vying to succeed her for 2025 Patrick’s Committee nominated Abigail Drumm One of them will be chosen as colleen at a gala coronation ceremony on Feb The three runner ups will become the colleen’s court Brief biographies of them appear at the end of this story They will represent Agawam at the 72nd Holyoke St The colleen and her court also will attend numerous events and functions throughout the year An important factor in the colleen selection process is a commitment by the contestants to their Irish heritage A three-judge panel — independent from Agawam and who live and work in surrounding communities — will select the colleen based on interviews with contestants who will be revealed at the start of the event extracurriculars/volunteer activities as well as interest in a contestant’s Irish heritage Contestants also will be required to write an essay about a person of Irish descent — living or deceased — who made a significant difference in their lives The winning essay — which will be read during the ceremony — will be selected by the family of the late William Pfau Agawam’s 23rd colleen coronation will take place at St. Anne’s Country Club in Feeding Hills. There will be a cocktail hour at 5:30 p.m., with the ceremony starting at 6 p.m. Tickets for the Saturday event are $55 for adults and $30 for children under 12. They can be reserved by emailing agawamstpatricks317@gmail.com no later than Feb The grand coronation also marks the beginning of “Irish Season” — about a six-week period filled with Irish events and celebrations — that ends in March with the Holyoke St they all can participate in the Irish Season,” said Abaigeal “Abbie” “We want to share and promote our Irish heritage with the town so having these young women celebrating their family and heritage is something we cherish.” The committee was established 25 years ago by a group of people of Irish descent in Agawam who decided to bring out their Irish spirit Although Agawam is a predominantly Italian community Patrick’s committee so everyone could celebrate the “Green Season.” They meet regularly to ensure there’s an annual celebration of Irish culture throughout town while also promoting Agawam economically Taking a page from surrounding communities that celebrate their Irish heritage the committee also created its own colleen program other members of the committee include Douglas Reed intends to major in music education with hopes of becoming a high school choral teacher She serves as president of the Tri-M Music Honors Society and is a member of the National Honors Society and the French Honors Society Abby also is one of the Dan Kane Singers and is active in the theater community as a member of the Exit 7 Players the Red Door Theater and the AHS Drama Club Abby wants to be the Agawam colleen to showcase her Irish family traditions of respect caring and kindness in the Agawam community is committed to the University of Rhode Island for the fall with an interest in forensics homecoming and prom committees and the Adventure Club Teagan has lettered in varsity tennis and field hockey and has been recognized by the Spanish National Honors Society Teagan wants to be the Agawam colleen because her Irish heritage means so much to her and her family — it would be an amazing way to honor her nana Sam intends to pursue a degree in criminal justice with a future career as an FBI agent She is an AHS Chief who has mentored 9th graders beginning their high school career and has been a member of the soccer team as well as varsity indoor and outdoor track She has volunteered with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s (AFSP) suicide walk the Agawam Police Department’s “Stuff a Cruiser” and the Girl Scouts Employed as a hostess at Storrowton Tavern and as a babysitter Sam wants to be the Agawam colleen so she can build self-confidence and showcase her resilience Julia Nicosia: Julia attends Holyoke Community College majoring in child and family studies with the goal of becoming a developmental specialist working with special needs children Julia has worked as a teacher’s assistant at the Thom Infant and Toddler Services a dance teacher at Impressions Academy and at EB’s Restaurant The Agawam High School graduate was on the varsity cheerleading team and the competition team For achieving a high GPA throughout her four years at AHS Part of an adult tap team at her dance studio Julia wants to be the Agawam Colleen to learn more about the Irish culture and share it with others .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Michael Ballway | Special to The RepublicanSPRINGFIELD — Agawam’s library director and personnel office engaged in retribution and discrimination based on age according to a lawsuit filed by the town’s assistant library director alleges in a complaint that Library Director Nancy Siegel Mayor Christopher Johnson and past Mayor William Sapelli violated employment law and her civil rights by terminating her medical leave and creating a hostile work environment While the case was originally filed in Hampden County Superior Court the case was transferred to federal court at the end of February Magistrate Judge Katherine Robertson gave the defendants more time to file a reply has been employed by the Agawam library for 37 years but has been on medical leave since December 2023 the town’s human resources office canceled her leave after questioning its medical basis Mercadante’s complaint alleges the office did not provide justification for the move Johnson declined to comment on the lawsuit did not respond to requests for comment by phone and email Mercadante alleges that terminating her pay and health insurance coverage was unlawful retaliation for disagreements she had with the library director as well as discrimination because of a health condition and her age and sexual orientation The complaint says Mercadante has been serving as assistant director of the library since 2003 The suit alleges that when Siegel was hired in 2019 many of Mercadante’s duties began to be reassigned to other staff and she was increasingly left out of decisions Siegel “stated on numerous occasions that it was necessary to replace the old employees with new younger employees,” Mercadante’s complaint alleges.Mercadante was at least 10 years older than the other librarians Mercadante says she was one of several library employees who complained about mold and water leaks at the library which led to the building’s closure and renovation in 2021 She said the library director singled her out for “animosity and retaliation” after staff members brought their concerns to Sapelli Mercadante also says Siegel “actively tried to prevent” LGBTQ-related book clubs displays and events by requiring that they be approved by the mayor The complaint says Siegel had no such rule for programs highlighting other minority groups It says Siegel knew that Mercadante had been in a committed relationship with another woman since 1989 Mercadante filed a discrimination complaint against the town Mercadante says she met with the town’s human resources officer and with the mayor several times to discuss her concerns about workplace hostility and discrimination She was told these were personality differences The complaint says Mercadante’s treatment at work caused Kowalski 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All rights reserved (About Us) The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Advance Local Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here Ad Choices by Mike Lydick | Feb 10, 2025 | Agawam, Hampden County, Local News, Photo Slider Samantha Machos (second from left) and Abigail Drumm.Reminder Publishing photos by Mike Lydick AGAWAM — When Julia Nicosia realized she had been selected as Agawam’s 2025 colleen “I don’t think this smile is going away anytime soon I’ve wanted to be the colleen ever since I was a little girl I have a picture of me and other Girl Scouts sitting on the Agawam float when it was stored at Six Flags New England I was about 7 or 8 years old and we were waving to people,” she said Nicosia was crowned colleen at a gala celebration Feb Patrick’s Committee kicked off the Irish season with its 23rd coronation at St The 22-year-old said she was shocked when she learned she was the new colleen “My jaw dropped and my eyes widened when they called the last name It wasn’t me who was being called to step forward for the court That’s when I realized I was the colleen,” said Nicosia The three runners-up — there were only four contestants for 2025 — selected for Nicosia’s’ court are three Agawam High School seniors Nicosia attends Holyoke Community College where she is majoring in child and family studies with the goal of becoming a developmental specialist working with special needs children She said it means a lot to her to represent Agawam at the Holyoke parade on March 23 as well as at other events and activities during the next year I love being doing something with my community and getting to represent not just Agawam but also my Irish heritage Nicosia said ever since she sat on the float her “little self” thought about getting to do the princess wave while riding on a float in the St “I feel I can be a role model for other little Irish girls who are watching the parade I remember looking up to the colleen as she went by and waved at me.” Even if you think that you’re a little too old for it Nicosia said this was her “last chance” to become colleen because of her age I had one shot — and I guess I did a good job,” she said But Nicosia said she didn’t think she had a good chance of becoming colleen since she was competing against three younger contenders The other girls had community service that I haven’t had in years because I already have a full-time job at this point I was nervous that the judges would see me differently than the younger girls,” she said A panel of three out-of-town judges — Sue Feyer Elizabeth Gourde and Brianna Viens — made the difficult decision to select Nicosia and her court Judges based their decision on contestants’ biographies extra-curriculars/volunteer activities as well as interest in their Irish heritage Drumm won the William Pfau Cultural Award for her essay about a person of Irish descent — living or deceased — who made a significant difference in her life All contestants were required to write a 200- to 300-word essay on this topic Her essay described how her mother’s favorite Irish band and singer Damian McGinty influenced her life “Watching him and the other members of the band blend their voices on stage introduced me to rich harmony and tone Watching him with my family strengthened our bonds beyond what I could have ever hoped them to be and suddenly my interests transitioned as well It is because of him that I have my two greatest joys: music and theater,” wrote Drumm presented the award on behalf of her family She said her dad was the “epitome of a true Irishman” — and not just on St “It was my dad’s vision to spread his love of and his knowledge of his Irish heritage to members of the Agawam community When he sadly passed away in 2005 after a valiant fight with esophageal cancer and a stroke this wonderful committee established an award in his memory I cannot be more thankful to them for helping us to keep his legacy and his memory alive,” said Turmel the committee also presented awards to three individuals — all Agawam residents — who will lead the Agawam contingency on parade day Todd Arslainian was named parade marshal for his contributions to the float building committee as well as serving as a member of the committee’s board of directors presented to a female committee member who epitomizes the values represented by Anne Sullivan went to Judy Christian for exceptional volunteerism in the community Dawn DeMatteo received the Vera Conway Citizenship award for her dedication to youth sports activities in Agawam by Mike Lydick | Oct 23, 2024 | Agawam, Hampden County, Local News, More Articles Rita Thompson stands on the first-floor front porch of her astrology shop at 14 S AGAWAM — It’s been decades since Agawam has had someone practicing astrology as a business But that is no longer the case now that the Agawam Astrology Shop is open in the center of Feeding Hills who has 40 years of experience practicing astrology She said in some ways she’s like a therapist because she helps people who are looking for guidance in their lives who also has an astrology shop in Chicopee said she leads a lot of meditations and works with spiritual candles — which she also sells in her shop which is where I have my clients lay down and meditate with special herbs They tell me how they feel and I tell them what the spirits tell me they should do,” said Thompson She said her goal is to guide people in ways that show them how to make peace with themselves or how it’s important to forgive everyone “And if they have some kind of spiritual problem or love problem I coach them on how to help their relationships My clients see very good results,” she said According to the American Federation of Astrologists astrology began as way to bring a sense of order out of apparent chaos and was eventually broadened to include forecasts of natural disasters Astrology soon progressed to be used to provide guidance for human affairs Thompson said she discovered she had a “gift” for astrology when she was 13 or 14 “I was seeing things —  and I was a little spooked.” She told her grandmother that she was not only seeing things but also hearing and feeling things because what was happening was a gift that Thompson needed to use for good and to help people “She taught me not to be scared of it and just accept it,” she said who moved to Agawam after recently getting married said she did some research before deciding to open her shop in town “I saw that there hasn’t been an astrologist or anything like that in Agawam for many years So that inspired me to try to help people in the community.” She said that when she began talking about her business plans “People were very excited about having my astrology shop here — and this is a good location right in the center of Feeding Hills — which made me really excited about it One of her biggest challenges as an astrologer is people who Thompson said “don’t have open minds and open hearts.” While many people really believe in astrology “It’s sad that people don’t believe in it and accept it Thompson said some people also come to her with “unrealistic” expectations If they want me to communicate with people who have passed and stuff like that She added that she has had clients who just refuse to hear the truth “They say the truth hurts and some people don’t want to hear that It’s a challenge to make them try to understand that They’re just too resistant,” Thompson said The Agawam Astrology Shop is located on the first floor of 14 S by Miasha Lee | Oct 9, 2024 | Agawam, Hampden County, Local News bringing back the old-school video game arcade has something both for the kids who grew up feeding quarters into the likes of Centipede and for the youngsters of today who may find those games just as enjoyable as their parents did offers token-based play of video games from the 1980s and 1990s but does offer vending machines with snacks and soft drinks and keeps menus at the bar for adults to order food from local pizza places “We just opened in August,” said owner Michael Sarnelli with neon colors and all the walls are graffitied of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mortal Kombat and Rubik’s Cube.” He continued business has been going pretty well and people are liking it We’re just trying to spread the word around putting flyers everywhere and posting it on social media on Facebook and Instagram.” and his three children always have fun in them “I’ve always thought of opening an arcade,” he said “Owning an arcade is a very fun place to work and meet a lot of people He got the idea while on vacation with his family in Salem They were walking around and found a place called the Bit Bar which had a full bar with all the old-school arcade games Sarnelli and his wife Ashlea went to the bar while the children were playing Sarnelli and his wife were playing the games and had a lot of fun We should probably try and see if we can find a spot find something that has the games and go from there We ended up finding a spot and my neighbor owns the building.” Agawam resident Julie Racicot heard about Brewcade on Facebook and loves that there’s such a unique hangout right here in town “The staff was super-friendly and the vibe was very relaxed and inviting,” Racicot said “Brewcade embraces families spending time together and it’s reminiscing of my childhood with the retro gaming options Supporting local small businesses is important to me and I think it’s such a creative and fun way to spend an afternoon or a night out Sarnelli’s goal for Brewcade is to have people come I’m trying to see if we can run a dart league out of the Brewcade or a pool league and also do birthday parties,” said Sarnelli “It’s nice to see the families come in and see the young kids play the games that I grew up on.” by Sarah Heinonen | Dec 3, 2024 | Agawam, Hampden County, Local News, Photo Slider A watercolor rendering shows the future Agawam High School campus.Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen AGAWAM — Residents and town officials got a look at the latest designs for the new Agawam High School at a public meeting on Nov who also serves as the chair of the Agawam High School Building Committee while emphasizing that decisions were made based on the lessons other schools learned in their school builds “We visited a dozen schools as part of our research,” Johnson said “We wish we never did that” in reference to several ideas “[The design] has all been vetted and vetted and vetted again,” with school staff and town departments voters overwhelmingly approved a debt exclusion to pay for the $230 million project The town expects to receive $99 million in reimbursements from the Massachusetts School Building Authority a semi-governmental agency that helps fund school facilities The project was designed by the architecture firm Flansburgh and will be built by contractor Fontaine Bros The Agawam High School Building Committee contracted with LeftField as its owner’s project manager which oversees the project throughout the design and construction process pointed out the colonnade around the community wing “We’re trying to have this campus feel,” he said connected to the first by walkways and a turfed courtyard that can be used for outdoor classes The wing contains three “pods.” Rather than clustering classrooms for science a media center and a central “collaboration area,” Johnson shared He said the days of each teacher having their own classroom are ending Because teachers are contractually obligated to have planning periods and lunch each classroom is empty for a couple of periods — up to 40% of the day Teachers will rotate in and out of classrooms and spend their planning periods in rooms set aside for that purpose With specific equipment and infrastructure required for the sciences dedicated classrooms and labs will be built for those subjects There are also more special education spaces than are required by the MSBA Johnson said this will save money in the long term by not having to send as many students out of the district to receive services The academic wing will connect to the existing main entrance “While the amount of square footage is roughly the same much more condensed,” because the building is two stories the footprint of the new school will overlap with the existing one To accommodate the need to continue using the school while construction is underway “The beauty of the plan is that no services will be disrupted,” Johnson said scheduled to begin after April vacation in 2025 and be finished by December 2026 involves construction of the community wing next to the existing building The fields to the left of the high school will be used as staging areas for construction and for heating — the building will be fully heated and air conditioned — geothermal wells will be drilled in the rear corner of the site the portion of the building where the gymnasium and cafeteria currently are will be demolished and the academic wing will be built in its place A new parking lot will be created between the newly built community wing and the track but Johnson said there will be less parking at the school when completed Student parking passes will either be eliminated or be drastically reduced The existing industrial arts wing will be extended and become an early childhood center with 10 classrooms The early childhood center will have a dedicated parent drop-off area its own parking and a preschool playground A greenhouse and foliage will separate the center from the main building Kovacs said the front of the early childhood center will have a brick facade to evoke the appearance of “a quintessential schoolhouse.” The new industrial arts classrooms will be in the community wing Phase 3 will see the demolition of the remainder of the building and landscaping The bus loop will be moved to the front of the building with entrance and egress onto Mill Street Parents will enter from Cooper Street to drop students off and pick them up at the side of the building Kovacs said this will lead to an improved traffic flow The soccer field will be relocated between the baseball field and the main building and the softball diamonds will be recreated near their current locations The track field will be recreated over the geothermal wells The project is expected to be finished in November 2028 pushing the opening back by several months Several of the decisions were made with maintenance and durability in mind Grass fields were chosen because they can be maintained with relative ease There are pitched roofs wherever rooftop HVAC units are not required both for traditional New England aesthetics and durability Johnson said modern technology is not built into the classrooms so there is “the least amount of disruption as possible” when new advancements replace today’s state-of-the-art Johnson said that about 20 of the approximately 1,000 lockers in the high school are used He explained that much of the instructional materials are digital and students prefer to carry their backpacks from class to class Johnson assured those gathered that the school would have cameras and a security system although he refused to disclose the details to keep bad actors from circumventing them He noted that community-facing areas can be cordoned off from the rest of the building An audience member asked about rooftop solar to offset utility costs Johnson explained that to receive the maximum reimbursement the MSBA requires that the school be solar-ready but designs that include solar panels are not eligible for MSBA funding He acknowledged the contradiction and said it has been included as a potential design alternate and there may be federal grants to help the town cover the cost Another person asked if the school is sized for the possibility that enrollment could increase in the future Johnson told her that “exhaustive” demographic models were a part of the profile submitted to the MSBA when the town applied for the program Enrollment levels are expected to continue to decline allowing the school to serve Agawam’s population for decades to come by Mike Lydick | Mar 11, 2025 | Agawam, Hampden County, Local News, More Articles Tim Considine cuts a sheet of pressure-treated plywood for the floor of the hay wagon trailer that’s the base for the Agawam St Holding the plywood are Todd Arslanian (left) and Frank Benson.Reminder Publishing photo by Mike Lydick Patrick’s Parade will be the first time in five years that the Agawam St Patrick’s Committee will have a completely new float rolling through the streets of the Paper City The last time the committee built an entirely new parade float was for the 2020 parade When the 2020 and 2021 parades were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic the float was stored behind Sarat Ford for two years It was then refurbished for the 2022 parade — which was the last time the committee entered a float in the parade The committee had been building floats at Six Flags New England for many years It was able to make needed repairs to the 2020 float when the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield offered space in its Farm-A-Rama building for three weekends before the parade Once the fairgrounds fully reopened after COVID-19 it had no buildings available for the committee Without a place to build a new parade float the committee decided to rent a green and white horse-drawn carriage to carry the colleen and her court along the parade route for the 2023 and 2024 parades has been involved in building the parade floats for more than a decade He said the committee is still optimistic that it can find a new build site in the future “But after two years of not building floats we knew that regardless of not being able to secure a build site it was necessary to return to our tradition of constructing a float for the colleen and her court,” said Reed The floats — which the colleen and her court also ride on for Agawam’s Memorial Day parade — have won numerous first-place awards in past years at the Holyoke parade Reed and a crew of about seven volunteers from the committee are directly involved in constructing the new float that’s built on a hay wagon trailer The remainder of the committee helps with sourcing supplies and materials The theme for the 2025 float is “Rockin’ with the Colleen: An Irish Musical Journey.” Ideas for possible themes were discussed at a monthly meeting until the committee agreed on this one “The group involved in building the floats then suggests further design ideas which will continue to evolve during construction,” added Reed “Our biggest challenge this year was a flood in our town-supplied materials storage space paints and a motor drive unit we had built for our animatronics were discarded The cold winter weather and heating the build space with a portable heater also has been difficult.” Construction began in January and will continue until March 22 — the day before this year’s parade The float is being built in two sections — components in Reed’s garage and the trailer base in the garage of Todd Arslanian “Building components in one location and assembling everything in another isn’t all that difficult,” said Reed “We will just bring the trailer to my garage for the final assembly.” He estimates it will take about 100 hours of working mostly on weekends to have the float ready for parade day “Because our previous float had been stored outside we had to completely dismantle it so we could redeck the floor and replace the sides of the trailer,” Reed said The 21-foot-long trailer required more than 50 sheets of pressure-treated plywood — at $53 a sheet — to replace the trailer’s old and rotted plywood the committee has a budget of $2,000 for building the float — and the goal for this year is to come in under budget The committee received a $1,500 grant from the Agawam Cultural Council to build the new float They’re also getting some discounts for supplies from local businesses to help with construction costs He said the most important thing about the committee’s float is that it’s built for the colleen and her court Our floats are built especially for their parade experience We keep the float a secret so we can surprise them.” Reed said building the float is challenging and somewhat stressful “But it’s so gratifying to see the smiles when on their faces on parade morning when they realize we built the float especially for them.” by Mike Lydick | Oct 29, 2024 | Agawam, Hampden County, Local News, Photo Slider Michael and Salena Wing of Feeding Hills look over a display of newspaper clippings photos and other memorabilia from 100 years of Agawam football AGAWAM — It was a night of Agawam High School gridiron memories as 125 people — coaches players and supporters — gathered to celebrate the centennial of Brownies football 18 event at Oak Ridge Golf Club in Feeding Hills included 10 speakers from an early 1960s player to the current coach Sharing personal anecdotes and reflections such as the 1961 undefeated season and the 1994 conference championship and acknowledged significant donors and community members who have supported the program news clippings and memorabilia from the past 100 years A video with historical photos played on a continuous loop throughout the evening Speakers remembered many great memories of playing and coaching while also emphasizing the enduring tradition of Agawam football the values it instills and the lifelong connections it fosters there’s something intrinsically Western Massachusetts about being called the Brownies AHS graduate and local television journalist more so because it’s inextricably woven within the fabric of our lives,” he said Football plays a central role in a long town tradition the Thanksgiving morning game when the Brownies take on the “dreaded” West Springfield Terriers: “We go as children with our parents but we all seem to come back for that unofficial homecoming — the Thanksgiving morning game It’s a tradition passed on generation to generation.” chair of the Agawam Football 100th Anniversary Committee said Agawam football has been a significant part of his life since he was a kid “I remember going to games with my grandfather,” he said “We missed very few and we never missed the West Side Thanksgiving game The bonds back then have turned into lifelong friendships.” He said current players will see the same thing happen: “You’re going to forget about wins But the one thing that you won’t forget about is the camaraderie you build inside the locker room Mayor Christopher Johnson presented Pisano with a special citation for the anniversary committee from the City Council to mark the football program’s historical milestone It extended congratulations for “providing the town with a century of pride passion and unforgettable moments on the football field.” Second generation Brownie Richard “Dick” Benoit — a 1963 graduate now living in Southwick — played under legendary coach Harry Leonardi on the 1961 and 1962 teams as a fullback Benoit helped the 1961 team achieve a conference win while his father Charles unscored-upon 1931 Brownies coached by the famed Harmon Smith Benoit paid tribute to Leonardi and his other coaches but gave a special shout out to one of the team’s unsung heroes he also pumped gas at his dad’s Main Street service station,” Benoit said “He was my friend and a great guy who died in 2022 He had cerebral palsy and had difficulty walking But he always carried the ball bag — and always had a contagious smile.” Benoit said Webster was the “essence” of Agawam football “Bobby always had a persistent and positive demeanor excelled in several sports and was inducted into the Agawam High School Athletic Hall of Fame for 2024 on Oct He came from South Carolina to share his memories we always thought the class of 1988 was the best football team — we always think that about our class,” said Peterson that team fell in the playoffs on a controversial play the Brownies were awarded a tie after referees called an extra point kick no good Peterson said the ball went through the uprights and should have counted we would have gone to the high school super bowl and played Greenfield he led the Brownies to their first conference championship since 1964 but I learned a lot — it was a tough start,” said Vecchiarelli then the state’s youngest high school football coach I was there for nine years and we had some success I had a wonderful career — I don’t think I would be here without football,” he said began his career in Agawam as a physical education teacher and then served as Agawam’s athletic director until retiring in 2010 “Football is such a great sport for young people,” he said “It’s just something that you don’t know until you leave but it’s also relying on other people — and that makes you successful in life,” he said Conte’s advice to kids playing football: Make every day your best day class of 1998 and team captain in his senior year is currently deputy wing commander of the 104th Fighter Wing at Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield He gave some insight into how football mattered to him on time management … all those things really matter,” he said He said his military career included working as an instructor at the Air Force Weapons School which is similar to the Navy’s “Top Gun” pilot school “It’s supposed to be a professional military education but the reality is there wasn’t a single thing I learned there that I didn’t get from one of my coaches.” His family is part of Agawam’s rich and proud Brownie tradition executive entrepreneurs and started businesses in town They’re police officers — even police chiefs — all over the Northeast They’re in our school administration and in our government They serve our country in every military branch.” even decided to follow in the footsteps of their coaches by going into education and coaching “I’m very grateful to be in this position and to continue to do my part in coaching to help produce successful citizens good neighbors and great fathers — just like Agawam football has done for 100 years.”