East Lyme Sportsman to Receive Award at 78th Gold Key Dinner

EAST LYME, CT — An East Lyme sportsman is among six individuals who have been named recipients of the John Wentworth Good Sport Award by the Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance.

Dave Putnam has been the East Lyme Parks and Recreation Director since 2005, and currently serves as executive director of the Miracle League of Southeastern Connecticut, spearheading an effort to bring just the second Miracle League field in Connecticut – giving children with disabilities throughout the region the opportunity to participate in sports – to East Lyme. Putnam has raised more than $210,000 for the construction of the field since the initiative was formally announced in Nov. 2017. In 2018, he was named Niantic Lions Club Humanitarian of the Year and earned the Connecticut Recreation and Parks Distinguished Service Award.

The award is named in honor of John Wentworth, former sports editor of The New Britain Herald who specialized in writing about local sports figures, and is presented to those who have unselfishly devoted their time and energy to the promotion of athletics in their communities. Chris Bishop of Wallingford, John and Judy Clark of Middletown, Michael Cotnoir of Enfield and John Larkins of Shelton are the other 2019 honorees.

They will be honored at the 78th Gold Key Dinner on Sunday, April 28, 2019 at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington. Gold Key Award recipients for 2019 are former college and pro basketball standouts John Bagley and Chris Smith, longtime NFL coach and Super Bowl champion Chris Palmer, St. Thomas More basketball coach Jere Quinn and ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen.

The Gold Key Dinner was inaugurated in 1940, with baseball legend Connie Mack and golf superstar Bobby Jones among the initial recipients. The roster of honorees since then reads like a Who’s Who of Connecticut sports – Joe Cronin, Julius Boros, Willie Pep, Andy Robustelli, Lindy Remigino, Floyd Little, Joan Joyce, Carmen Cozza, Otto Graham, Calvin Murphy, Joe Morrone, Gordie Howe, Bill Rodgers, Tony DiCicco, Geno Auriemma, Rebecca Lobo, Brian Leetch, Kristine Lilly, Marlon Starling and Dwight Freeney are just a few of the past Gold Key winners. A complete list is available at www.ctsportswriters.com.

Tickets to the Gold Key Dinner are $75 apiece, and may be reserved by contacting CSWA President Tim Jensen of Patch Media Corp. at tim.jensen@patch.com or 860-394-5091.

Proceeds from the event benefit the Bo Kolinsky Journalism Scholarship, named after a longtime Hartford Courant sportswriter and past CSWA president who died unexpectedly in 2003.

Photo courtesy of CSWA

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