Mattituck scholarship to honor journalist Chuck Adams
When beloved Suffolk Times sportswriter Chuck Adams died in January at the age of 55, he left a legacy of fine journalism and sportsmanship.
This week, one of Mr. Adams’ classmates from Mattituck High School announced plans to fund a scholarship for a graduating Mattituck senior who exemplifies Mr. Adams’ principles of excellence, honesty and integrity in both writing and athletic achievement.
Candidates will be eligible to apply for the Chuck Adams Excellence in Journalism Award in mid-March each year. The winner will be chosen by the school’s English and athletic departments.
Mr. Adams wrote for both The Suffolk Times and The Long Island Traveler-Mattituck Watchman and co-hosted “The Hot Stove League,” a sports talk show on local cable TV. Wheelchair-bound since birth, he was the statistician for Mattituck High School’s varsity basketball and baseball teams. After graduating in 1973, he attended Hofstra University.
Roger Yoerges, an attorney in Washington, D.C., who graduated from Mattituck a few years after Mr. Adams, is coordinating the establishment of a fund for the award. He said he hoped it would provide a scholarship of at least $500 for each year’s winner.
“He was one of a group of four good friends,” Mr. Yoerges said. “We all scattered to the four winds, but we saw each other pretty regularly.”
Last year, Mr. Adams published a first novel, “Something More,” which was to be the first in a trilogy. His second novel, “Something Else,” was accepted for publication by the same publisher, PublishAmerica, just before his death. His daughters, Rebecca and Bridgette, plan to complete the trilogy in his memory.
“You never saw the disability in him and he never saw the disabilities in other people. He was always able to see the best in people. He was really remarkable that way. He was almost iconic in Mattituck,” said Mr. Yoerges.
To contribute to the scholarship fund, send checks payable to the Mattituck-Cutchogue UFSD to Roger Yoerges Esq., Steptoe & Johnson, LLP, 1330 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036.
