SPORTS HALL of FAME
Dale & Nancy Sweet
Another "first" in the annals of the Sidney Alumni Sports Hall of Fame. A husband-&-wife combination, neither one a graduate of SCS. Their Booster Club participation made indelible marks on the role of the parents of student-athletes, while also serving as announcers, scorekeepers and clock operators.
As they recall, the Sweets were brought into the Booster Club once oldest son Brian began high school sports. John and Pat Ferrara invited Dale (a Bainbridge-Guilford grad) and Nancy (Delhi) to a meeting in the mid 1980s and it wasn't long before Dale was elected president, with an immediate challenge to raise "about $900" for an expense already promised.
Booster Club always had the market on the 50-50 raffle, but it was the birth of the Bottle Drive that created unbelievable sums of money while involving dozens of parents and their kids. Each time, teams would drive to various neighborhoods in the district to collect empty bottles and cans. Then they were sorted in the shed at Keith Clark Park, and picked up by a Binghamton-based collector. It was not uncommon to clear $1500-1600 per Bottle Drive and the money went to help the athletic program at Sidney.
The other traditions the Club initiated under their guidance were the team photos and buttons. Normally done (and billed) by professionals, they realized that with a little effort, the photos could include the individual athlete within the team photo. Plus parents could buy buttons that featured their child's photo on that particular team as a show of support. The idea caught fire and made money!
But that wasn't enough for the Sweets. Dale ran the clock/PA for wrestling for many years before being asked by Karen Clark to announce at all Sidney girls basketball games. Soon he added boys basketball to that role and he handled it with accuracy and professionalism. Nancy, meanwhile had become the official scorer for the girls hoops team and later softball. And while Dale usually officiated football, Nancy ran the clock for home football games and all soccer matches, too. Many knew her also as an elementary teacher at Sidney, first with the "vertical team" then 2nd grade.
For many years, it was Dale Sweet announcing and presenting the Team MVP and Sportsmanship winners at the annual Sidney athletic banquet. And there were a ton of team suppers or fund-raisers with the Sweets cooking, organizing and staffing each one.
Perhaps their place as top-notch contributors can be summed up this way: As Brian, Jeff and Marc all made their marks as student-athletes at Sidney, Dale & Nancy were in the thick of the action as parents and Boosters. Long after the boys left, mom and dad kept going strong to help keep the Booster Club efforts productive and relevant. Tonight is THEIR night to be saluted for a job well done..