Enfield Sportsman to Receive Award at 78th Gold Key Dinner

ENFIELD, CT — A sportsman from Enfield is among six individuals who have been named recipients of the John Wentworth Good Sport Award by the Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance.

Michael Cotnoir, a 1983 graduate of Enrico Fermi High School, has held a leadership role with the Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame since its inception nearly a quarter-century ago. He and founder Bill Chaves were co-chairmen from 1995 to 1999, and Cotnoir has served as chairman since that time. He will be overseeing his 24th induction dinner in September, and regularly volunteers his time at the annual Amy Romano Memorial Field Hockey scrimmage event. He was instrumental in establishing a scholarship fund for deserving Enfield high school seniors, which to date has awarded $49,000. A number of other halls of fame have consulted with Cotnoir about the founding and operation of the Enfield hall. He has also organized charity golf tournaments in support of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

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, John Larkins of Shelton and Dave Putnam of East Lyme are the other 2019 honorees.

They will be honored at the prestigious 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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