"If I am within eyesight o the winner...as it kind of dawns on them that they're about to be called up to win $36,000 for college," said James Lynn (above), "that's an exciting moment."
Among the most enjoyable moments for James Lynn at Monday night's McCormick Unsung Heroes Awards banquet will be the moment of truth.
That's when two of the 119 athletes -- football players and girls basketball players -- will be announced as the winner of seperate scholarships worth $36,000.
"If I am within eyesight of the winner, watching them, as it kind of dawns on them that they're about to be called up to win $36,000 for college, that's an exciting moment," said Lynn, the director of McCormick & Company's Corporate Communications department.
"Then they get called up, and so, here they are in front of 750 people. Now, usually, by then, some of the local t.v. stations have come in with their cameras," Lynn said. "That's a pressure moment for these kids. So you see a wide range of reactions. Usually, what I'm taken with is their incredible poise."
Lynn took some time to share with DigitalSports concerning , among other things, this year's guest speaker, Herman Boone, the former football coach for Virginia's T.C. Williams who endured racism on the way to turning his players into champions.
Lynn also addressed the event's evolution from its start in 1940 until now, as well as the selection process, "which we are most proud of," he said.
(See Video Interviews Below)
Herman Boone, retired football coach of the T.C. Williams High School Titans immortalized in the Disney movie “Remember the Titans,” will deliver the keynote address at the 68th Annual McCormick Unsung Heroes Awards Banquet to be held on Monday, May 12 at Marriott’s Hunt Valley Inn.
A total of 119 high school senior boys and girls, two of whom will be honored as the 2008 Unsung Heroes scholarship winners, have been chosen to represent 73 Baltimore City and County public, private, parochial and independent schools.
McCormick scholarships, valued at $36,000 over four academic years, will be presented to one male athlete and one female athlete selected as the top Unsung Heroes.
The evening will also include a salute to legendary local broadcaster Vince Bagli who has been involved with the McCormick Unsung Heroes program in some capacity for nearly sixty years.
Originally established in 1940 by the late Charles P. McCormick, the program recognizes unselfish team play and honors those who contribute substantially to the success of their teams without receiving acclaim. The banquet will salute deserving male football players and female basketball players.
More than 700 city and county officials, school administrators, coaches and family are expected to attend.
Herman Boone will bring an inspiring message to the podium as he tells the moving story of what took place at his school in Alexandria, Virginia in the fall of 1971. Racial tension was high as three schools merged together in an integration initiative to become T.C. Williams High.
White and black players previously at segregated schools would try to be teammates. In a controversial move, Boone, previously an assistant coach, was appointed head coach over a successful and popular white head coach from one of the three pre-merger schools.
This might be a formula for disaster, but instead it became a story that is a lesson in understanding and civility. Boone, with his wisdom and perseverance, was the driving force in the Titans team melding into a single unit—and a very successful one. The story was so compelling that, in 2000, it became a major motion picture starring Denzel Washington as Coach Boone.
Special Note on Vince Bagli, who will also be honored with a recognition award at the event:
Legendary Baltimore sportscaster Vince Bagli has an association with the McCormick Unsung Hero Award that dates back nearly 60 years.As a young sports reporter at the Baltimore News American, Vince covered the annual event.
In later years he covered it as the sports director of WBAL-TV. He then served as the event emcee. Vince also was among the leadership group of the Maryland Scholastic Association (MSA) which included the schools that were first part of the Unsung Hero program begun in 1940.
In recent years, Vince has been part of the committee that selects the top two honorees, one young man and one young woman, who receive the Charles Perry McCormick Scholarship, each worth $36,000 over four years.
Vince retired from that committee this past winter, and he will be honored by McCormick for his many years of contributions at the May 12th awards dinner at the Marriott Hunt Valley Inn.
An alphabetical listing by school of each of the 119 players nominated for the 2008 Unsung Heroes Award follows:
Archbishop Curley - Lawrence A. Jackson
Archbishop Spalding - Joseph P. Brennan Emily Griffith
Baltimore City College - Troy Marable, Jr.
Baltimore Lutheran - Aaron Chotikul Catherine Kennedy
Baltimore Polytechnic - Christopher Acab Breonna Brewer
Boys’ Latin - John Davis
Bryn Mawr - Teona Hanson
Calvert Hall - Robert D. Proctor
Cardinal Gibbons - Ryan Staton
Carver Center for Arts & Tech. - Melanie Muszelik
Carver Vo-Tech. - Justin Williams Kenesha Thomas
Catholic High - Adrianne Williams
Catonsville High - Greg Meyd Nicole Chupka
Chesapeake High - Paul Inskeep III Keirsta Newman
Digital Harbor High - Jimmy Williams Sylvia Mobley
Dr. Samuels L. Banks High - Michael Phillips Mozell Brockington
Dulaney High - Gregory T. Flanders Natalie C. Martino
Dunbar High - Richard Chavis Rebecca M. Crawford
Dundalk High - Kevin Allen Hortensia Montoya
Eastern Tech. High - Jonathan Butta Hope Parto
Edmondson/Westside - Anthony Christian Shaneka Baker
Forest Park High - Isaiah C. Nicholson Kadeen T. Edmond
Franklin High - Ryan Mays Krista Frost
Frederick Douglass High - Allen Horton Tanesha Williams
Friends School - Robbie Miller Jennifer Schmidt
Garrison Forest - Blair Station
Gilman School - Mark Cleland
Hereford High - Jason Fischer Erin Francis
Institute of Notre Dame - Brianna Jones
John Carroll School - Daniel Saad Jenna Selvy
Kenwood High - Rob Sauer Shanetta Kancey
Lake Clifton/Eastern - Michael Jones Jr. Alisha Jenkins
Lansdowne High - Richard Orndorff Amanda Haas
Loch Raven High - Andrew Rutherford Kaitlin Handley
Loyola Blakefield - Patrick Cotherman
Maryvale Prep - Sarah Mather
McDonogh School - Brian Hess Kira Paterakis
Mercy High - Jessica Zikorus
Mergenthaler Vo-Tech. - Tron Honeyblue Chanel Ross
Millford Mill Academy - Peter M. Sweet Jr. Courtney Witherspoon
Mount de Sales Academy - Emily Reese
Mount St. Joseph - Dominic Serio
New Town High - Delbert A. Strawther Ashley Pettway
Northwestern High - Donte Banjoman Mammie Keith
Notre Dame Prep - Erin Workmeister
Oldfields School - Kate Roesch
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - Meghan Hartnett
Overlea High - Brian Smith Jr. Kandice Brooks
Owings Mills High - Brian Glassman Abigail Paris
Park School - Mica Fidler
Parkvile High - Donte Dixon Aiyana McNair
Patapsco High - Kevin Kikola Melanie Lynn McCabe
Patterson High - Chauntez Holmes Jr. Sherelle Davis
Perry Hall High - Nelson Knight Margaret Batton
Pikesville High - Yeremi-Yah Cruz Kibeauzeta Schools
Randallstown High - Marcus Wilson Kateris Kelly-Cornish
Reginald F. Lewis High - Allen Mahomes Angela McCray
Roland Park Country - Courtney Kirk
Seton Keough - Paulette Wright
Severn School - Clay Palmer Taylor Wieczorek
Southside Academy -