By NEIL ZOLOT
NORTH READING — The School Committee is proposing to name two athletic fields at the Middle/High School complex after two longtime volunteers. Approval will be sought by the voters at June Town Meeting to name the multi-purpose field after Charles “Chuck” Carucci and a softball field after Jennifer Casoli Vant.
It is appropriate to name both of these facilities in honor of these individuals, School Committee Chairman Scott Buckley said at the public hearing on the matter held Monday night.
According to Buckley, naming a multi-purpose field after Carucci is appropriate because he’s been multifaceted in his contributions, including being a long-standing member of the Secondary Schools Building Committee and the Hillview Commission, among other volunteer positions in town over the years. “He’s affected so much,” he said.
School Superintendent Dr. Patrick Daly agreed. “We wouldn’t have these buildings or fields if it wasn’t for Chuck,” he said.
“He’s always been there to try to make sure students in North Reading have the best facilities and experience,” Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Michael Connelly offered, referring to Carucci’s work on drainage and lighting on the school department’s athletic fields.
“Chuck’s a fixture in this town,” resident Karen Goldberg added during the discussion. “He’s dedicated himself to the town.”
Also under consideration as a name for the multi-purpose field was Joe Davis, a retired middle school and high school teacher and a high school track and soccer coach. “He represents the community in so many ways,” Middle School teacher Karen Caruso stated of Davis. “When he retired, it was amazing how many students showed up to pay their respects to him.”
Vant is a paraprofessional in the School Department and a former president and director of North Reading Girls Softball. “I can’t understate how she’s been a role model for my daughters,” resident Sheela Sethuraman said. “She’s been a remarkable inspiration for my daughters and an inspirational coach and advocate for girls.”
Junior Varsity softball coach Valerie Michelli said Vant worked to get a field originally slated to be a practice field for boys’ baseball designated as a softball field. “The impact she had was amazing,” Michelli said. “She fought tirelessly for the girls and turned a mom and pop operation into a legitimate non-profit organization,” in reference to North Reading Girls’ Softball.
School Committee member Noelle Rudloff said North Reading Girls Softball was “above and beyond a well-run organization in terms of professionalism.”
It would be appropriate to name the softball field after a woman, added School Committee member Jennifer Leenders.
Another name under consideration for the softball field was former Select Board and School Committee member Gerald Venezia. In reference to Venezia’s nomination, Daly said the Middle/High School complex “wouldn’t be the way it is without him,” but he also suggested that facilities at other schools could be named after Davis and Venezia. Buckley added that he associates Davis with the track program.
As a member of the Hornet Hall of Fame Committee, Davis has been instrumental in running the annual North Reading 5K Turkey Trot that attracts 1,500 participants annually and funds scholarships for track athletes and raises funds to supplement physical education equipment in the elementary schools.
“I’m impressed with the amount of dedication from all the names considered,” Rudloff commented. “It’s great to hear about all the things these people have done.” None of the four nominees were present at the meeting.
It has been almost 20 years since a field at NRHS was named after anyone. On May 5, 2007, “Carey Park,” the baseball diamond at NRHS, was dedicated to longtime Hornet baseball coach Frank Carey. More than 300 “Friends of Frank,” including at least 55 former players and retired NRHS Principal Arthur J. Kenney, attended the festivities organized by the North Reading Diamond Club. Kenney, who was 91 years old at the time, threw out the first pitch. Kenney had pitched for the National League Boston Braves in 1938 before entering the teaching profession and had hired Carey as a teacher and JV baseball coach at NRHS back in 1965. The day ended with a Hornet victory over Manchester-Essex, the 612th career victory for Carey.