NORWICH – The Milford Academy Athletic Celebrity Golf Tournament and Legends Banquet got underway with a shotgun start, Thursday, June 24 at 12:30 p.m., at the Canasawacta Country Club.

Players took to the green for a full day of golf to show their support for both, the Milford Academy school in New Berlin, and for the Chenango Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, in which this year’s proceeds benefited.

Up to 17 teams participated in this year’s event. Golfers, undaunted by a mid-day rain storm, rounded the greens throughout the majority of the afternoon.

“For it being our first year, we were pleased with the turnout and hope to see it grow year to year,” said Kathie Deiertein, member of the Chenango Memorial Hospital Auxiliary.

Chenango Memorial’s Auxiliary has donated $50,000 this year and has been an asset in the remodeling project getting underway inside the Maternity wing, which will include new fetal monitoring systems.

Special awards were given during the Legends banquet that followed the tournament. The Preferred Mutual team, who won the day’s event by four strokes, consisted of players, Chris Harris, Jeff Johnson, Nick Scarafile and Bernie Hughes. The winning team, who scored a 59, was presented with footballs that had been signed by the celebrity players and coaches that made up the night’s head table. Awards were also given for longest drive, closest to line and closest to pin.

Tom Sutton, Vice President of NBT of Norwich who MC’d the ceremony pointed out the importance of community partnerships such as the one Milford and the hospital have begun. Thursday’s event honored former Milford Academy players who have been selected for the Milford Academy Hall of Fame.

A new addition to the banquet this year was the first ever, Milford Academy Excellence Award. This prestigious award honored two high school seniors who have proven to be positive role models, on and off the field. The honorees, Casey Edwards from Norwich and Ryan Harrington from Unadilla Valley were chosen by their high school football coaches. Harrington from the New Berlin area is known for being selfless, putting both his teammates and the community before himself.

Head Football Coach for Norwich, John Martinson said honoring Edwards was an unanimous decision among all of the coaches in Norwich. Besides the player’s achievements on the field this year, he ranked fifth overall in this year’s graduating class and has shown he is a devoted player and positive role model in the Norwich community.

“He drives for excellence,” said Martinson.

The evening’s keynote speaker, Head Coach at Syracuse University, Doug Marrone, spoke of the importance of finding a balance between Academics and Athletics. Marrone returned to his ala mater in 2009 with the idea of re-vamping a winning team. Before returning to upstate New York, he was the Offensive Coordinator for the New Orleans Saints and has been associated with either playing pro football or coaching since the early 1990’s. Marrone spoke of the importance a football team can make on a community, citing his most memorable moment in football was during the first home game the New Orleans Saints played following Hurricane Katrina.