Markeshia Ricks Photo
Nyberg accepts the Polly Sweeten Excellence in Sports Award.
The Farnam Community recognized some hometown heroes at its 10th Sports Celebrity Breakfast.
Penders.
At an event Tuesday at Anthony’s Ocean View, friends of the Farnam Community (formerly the Farnam Neighborhood House) gathered over breakfast to raise money for the Fair Haven center and the children it serves.
They also gathered to honor some familiar faces and get some words of encouragement from the University of Connecticut Baseball Coach James F. Penders who reminded attendees, many of whom were local student-athletes, the importance of being good teammates and giving back to their community.
Tuesday’s event was a full circle moment for Dr. Tamiko Jackson-McArthur.
New Farnam Director Jamel Cotto and board President Jackson-McArthur.
The New Haven pediatrician grew up in the Fair Haven section of the city and she was a regular at the center as a child. She was a camp counselor at Camp Farnam. McArthur now serves as the president of the board of directors for the Farnam Community.
“If you grew up in Fair Haven and you didn’t go to Farnam we wouldn’t believe that you were from Fair Haven,” McArthur said Tuesday. “Every one who grew up in Fair Haven went to Farnam.”
Nyberg receives a crystal vase from Jackson-McArthur.
WTNH News 8’s Ann Nyberg didn’t grow up in Fair Haven, but it was the first place she lived when she moved to New Haven from Oklahoma, so it holds a special place for her. Known for her charity work with children — - she founded the Toy Closet at Yale-New Haven Hospital and hosts the Walter Camp Football Foundation’s annual Stay in School Rally — Nyberg Tuesday received the Polly Sweeten Excellence in Sports Award.
The award is named for the former Farnam Neighborhood House Board of Directors member of the same name who also served on the New Haven Democratic Town Committee, the Fair Haven Neighborhood Corp., the St. Francis Parish House. Sweeten also chaired the Mayor’s Commission on Aging and was a member of what was then the Board of Aldermen.
Redente.
Full circle moments abounded Tuesday. Frank Redente, a recently named Board of Education member who has served as the operations director at Farnam, said that he remembered Jackson-McArthur as a child and now she’s president of the board. He also remembers mentoring a young Michael Jackson, who grew up in the neighborhood coming to Farnam, and ultimately became a volunteer coach.
Jackson.
That young man grew up and raised two daughters who also grew up playing and volunteering at Farnam just as their dad did. Jackson was recognized Tuesday for his 23 years of service as the Biddy Basketball director.
The Farnam Community also recognized its inaugural Rising Star award to recognize rising seniors in the greater New Haven area who excel in academics and sports. Kwane Taylor, a Wilbur Cross student-athlete, took home that honor Tuesday along with $500 that he can use toward his future college expenses.