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Hall of Fame announces honorees |
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SPRINGFIELD — The Basketball Hall of Fame recently announced its honorees for the second annual Basketball Hall of Fame Springfield Rotary “Service Above Self” Luncheon on Dec. 9 at noon on Center Court. This year’s honorees for this year’s luncheon who live out the Rotary motto “Service Above Self” are the retired Mayor of Springfield, Charles Ryan and former WNBA and University of Connecticut (UConn) women’s basketball star Rebecca Lobo.
“We are honored to work in conjunction with our friends at the Springfield Rotary to honor two individuals who have had a major impact on our community, the game of basketball and the Basketball Hall of Fame,” John L. Doleva, president and CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, said.
Ryan was the mayor of Springfield from 1962 to 1967 and again from 2004 to 2008. Known for his civil service throughout his career, he established a tremendous legacy on Western Massachusetts that spanned over four decades, helping to redraft Springfield’s City Charter to its current form of government.
Ryan was also the president of the Springfield Library Foundation and a strong advocate for the reopening of the city libraries. He fought closure of the Springfield Armory and was an active fundraiser and contributor for The Elms College and Sisters of St. Joseph.
Lobo was the Massachusetts state scoring record-holder with 2,740 points in her high school basketball career for Southwick-Tolland Regional High School. She helped lead the UConn Huskies to the 1995 National Championship with an undefeated 35-0 record.
In her senior year, she won the 1995 Naismith and College Player of the Year award. She has since gone on to a successful WNBA career, Olympic Gold Medal and ESPN broadcasting career once she retired, including her work as an advocate for breast cancer awareness.
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