To the Editor:

Forty Potsdam Central High School graduates who were members of Coach Bill Lewis’s track and field teams in the 1960s and 70s gathered June 6 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his teams’ first Section 10 championship. That win in the 1965 Van Dusen would turn out to be the first of nine consecutive Section 10 victories.

Coach Lewis had a gift for making every team member feel important. And he had a simple but powerful message: “Become all you are capable of becoming.” Taking that credo to heart, we, with our teammates, not only won nine straight Section 10 championships but also achieved an unbroken 10-year streak of dual-meet wins.

As we shared our stories about Coach Lewis, we all saw how important it is that the PCS Board of Education change its current policy to allow the community to name the PCS track in Coach Lewis’s honor.

Cost should be no concern, because we gladly will raise among ourselves whatever amount Is necessary to install an appropriate plaque at the track.

In this way, we can ensure that future generations of PCS students will know not only what Coach Lewis achieved in his 12 years as Potsdam’s track and field coach, but also the power of the example he set for us, the student/athletes he inspired for a lifetime.

Signed,

Al Benson ‘73, Kelly Brant ‘69, Terry Brockway ‘ 66, Ron Cascanette ‘68, Marty Collins ‘71, Scott Conroe ‘73, Brian Daniels ‘70, Phil Demarest ‘70, Charlie Duncan ‘64, Dave Dwyer ‘66, Dan Forbush ‘71, Jeff Gardiner ‘70, Mike Gerrish ‘68, Len Groeneveld ‘70, Jon Harrington ‘66, Bill Hayman ‘67, Dave Henderson ‘66, Jeff Knight McCormick ‘73, Ron LaDuke ‘67, Louis Maine ‘74, Stan Maine ‘69, Bill Martin ‘63, Bill Mitchell ‘65, Paul Murphy ‘70, Pete Murphy ‘68, Jim Murray ‘65, Henry Oppermann ‘73, Mike Perry ‘65, Bill Putnam ‘65, Bob Reutershan ‘67, Bob Rogers ‘73, Don Saber ‘70, Dan Schulze ‘71, Kim Sprague ‘72, Bill Straub ‘73, Peter Straub ‘69, Tim Sweet ‘72, Dave White ‘73, Dave Wilson ‘73, Chuck Williams ‘65