Elton Brand Expected to Attend HOF Dinner

Elton Brand, a two-time National Basketball Association All-Star who is a power forward for the Philadelphia 76ers, will be one of this year’s inductees to the Peekskill High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

The induction dinner takes place at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, at the Mansion at Colonial Terrace. Brand is expected to attend, according to Peekskill High School Athletic Director and boys basketball coach Lou Panzanaro, who coached the 1997 Peekskill graduate turned all-star.

“This is a very special honor that he is receiving, induction into the Athletic Hall of Fame and he recognizes that,” Panzanaro said. “He said he was proud of the honor. He didn’t hesitate, he told me that he would be there.”

Panzanaro elaborated on the importance of having Brand at the dinner.

“He just had such a special career at Peekskill,” Panzanaro said. “He’s obviously gone on to bigger things but that was the beginning of it, that and playing at Riverside Church (Brand’s AAU team in high school) that propelled him to where he is now. It’s special for us to have him to go to the Hall of Fame. I can’t imagine having this without him being there.”

Also being honored is wrestling coach Larry Cook, who coached the Red Devils from '63-78; ‘89 graduate and girls soccer standout Dana (Bennett) Dapson; ‘55 graduate James Enterlein, who was a multi-sport standout; Joe Boniello, a member of the Class of ‘76 who starred in baseball; and the ‘80 softball squad, which was a sectional finalist.

“This is a terrific opportunity to honor our great athletes, coaches and people that have supported the program,” Panzanaro said. “There is an awful lot of people that go through high school and a very, very tiny percentage are named Hall of Famers. So to be honored, you have to be very special.”

Panzanaro said that he is pleased with how things have progressed leading up to the dinner and expects about 140 people to attend.

The dinner will also raise money for the Jason C. Paige Fitness and Wellness Center that the school district is working to creat.

"Any profit that we have from the dinner is going to go towards that because we do have to raise $115,000 toward the equipment for that center," Panzanaro said.

Panzanro also recognizes the hard work of his volunteer committee,   spearheaded by Janene DeChristopher, Frank Colombini and Ann Brady.

“They did the bulk of the leg work. It takes a lot of planning and preparation and getting the flyers done and contacting the people that are going to speak on the Hall of Famers behalf. I am just so excited about this.”