Category Archives: Visiting Speaker

Senior Dinner Speech 2014: Opportunity

Editor’s note: The following speech was presented by Ezra Barnehama ’03 during the fall Senior Dinner on Friday, September 12, 2014.

Good evening and thank you for having me.

I’m honored to be here tonight, in front of all of you bright young students.

When I received the invitation to speak to you tonight during your senior dinner, many questions raced through my head

Will I have to be in dress code?

What should I wear?

Can I negotiate for a speaker’s fee? Maybe a small statue?

And exactly how many people turned down the invitation before they asked me?

In reality, it was a simple decision to come back to Williston, to give back to this place that gave me so much, this place that will always remain a significant part of who I am.

To speak in front of the class of 2015 is not unlike the honor bestowed upon the speakers I sat before, just 12 years ago. And with this amazing opportunity comes responsibility. Responsibility to engage and empower. To motivate and to entertain.

So let’s get started…

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Athletic Hall of Fame 2014: Hanson Acceptance Speech

Editor’s note: Charles Lindberg Hanson ’48 was inducted into the Williston Northampton Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday, June 7, 2014 during Reunion weekend. Classmate Stanley Gedney ’48 gave the following acceptance speech during the ceremony.

Extraordinary Athlete, Tough Competitor, Exceptional Friend

Charles Lindberg Hanson was born on the same day that Charles Lindberg touched down in France after making his historic trans-Atlantic solo flight. His parents were so impressed, they named their son after the international hero.

Although Lindy Hanson did not achieve the notoriety of his namesake, he did achieve athletic prominence at Abington High School (MA), Williston Academy, and, later, Boston University. At Abington, Lindy was one of the few football players to gain unanimous All-Scholastic honors, as well as honors in baseball and basketball.

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Athletic Hall of Fame 2014: Bartlett Bates Acceptance Speech

It is wonderful to be back on this beautiful campus and truly an honor to be here under these circumstances. There are so many familiar faces and old friends here tonight. When Jeff Pilgrim informed me that I would be given the opportunity to speak tonight, I started to think about how I say something about the six years I spent at Williston in 5-10 minutes. While mulling it over, I realized that my feelings about the experiences I had here could be summed up in one word: Gratitude.

First, I am grateful for Tom Bly. As Tom mentioned, I came to a lot of home meets as a spectator when I was in grade school. I got to see some of the original wrestlers: Nate Zwirko, Chris Root, James Zurcher, and Jun Son. What he may not remember is that at one of those matches, he came up into the bleachers to introduce himself to me. To have this fiery coach in the corner come tell me, a weak little kid with a blond bowl cut, that he was excited to have me come wrestle for him was the start of something special. Bly was a wrestling fanatic, and would take us all over, as far as Fargo, North Dakota, to train and compete with the best. And he was invested in his athletes as people. When I get together with the old guys from the wrestling team, Bly inevitably comes up, and we always agree that we are better men today for having come under his guidance. Tom Bly was like a third parent to me, and I am forever grateful for his influence on my life. I will always look to him as a role model and a friend.

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Rich Monopoli ’89 Assembly Speech

2014 04 Rutherford Rich Monopoli 1Editor’s Note: Richard Monopoli ’89 presented the following speech during an Upper School assembly on April 30, 2014. Read the article about the talk here.

I want to thank Bob Hill, Eric Yates, Sharon Davenport for letting me join you guys today. I really appreciate it. As Bob noted, I graduated 25 years ago this spring and my 25th Reunion is really special because my niece, Miss Alexandra Lewis, is a six-year senior this year.  Williston has played a big part in my family’s life, and we are really attached to this school, we love this place, but I’ll get back to that in a minute.

So when I found out that I could to come speak to you all, I asked myself what would I have liked to know when I was a senior. If I could go back in time and talk to myself as senior what would I say?  Particularly if I only had 10 minutes. That’s a really tough question…but I’ll give it a shot.

I NEED A VOLUNTEER…I need a guy to play me in 1989….

You will experience great success over the next 25 years and you will experience great challenge. Success is easy, enjoy it. How we respond to life’s challenges though, is what distinguishes us.

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