(08-11-09) STAMFORD, Conn. - The Fairfield County Sports Commission today announced James Hilaire as the recipient of one of its most prestigious awards, the Chelsea Cohen Courage Award. The Cohen Award is sponsored by the Forever Young Foundation, the charitable giving entity of Greenwich native and NFL Hall of Famer Steve Young.
The sports commission also announced the Special Olympics Sports Person of the Year, Mark Kurimai, at a press conference at the Fairfield County Sports Hall of Fame at UCONN Stamford. Both will be presented at the Commission's 5th annual Sports Night awards dinner, Monday, Oct.19 at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich at 6 pm.
In 2006, the Commission created the Chelsea Cohen Courage Award, named after the late Cohen, a former Norwalk High soccer star who was the Commission's first Courage Award recipient in 2005. She passed away in Aug. 2006 after a courageous bout with a rare form of cancer of the nervous system. The award recognizes the person in the sports community who has shown inspirational strength in battling life-altering obstacles.
"For the second straight year, having the Forever Young Foundation play a role in helping tell the story of the Chelsea Cohen Courage Award and its winner is very rewarding," said Young in a press release Tuesday morning. "It seems very fitting that this year's recipient is another soccer player like Chelsea, and that James epitomizes many of her same qualities in fighting through his traumatic injury. Their stories need to be recognized, as they will help inspire others to battle similar obstacles in their lives."
In December, Hilaire was honored by receiving Stamford Youth Soccer's annual Profile of Courage Award and in June he was named the co-recipient of the 2009 Northeast-10 Conference Sportsmanship Award.
Hilaire, who attended Stamford High and Norwalk Community College before playing at UNH, was involved in a violent collision in a game at Merrimack on September 28. An opposing player's knee smashed into Hilaire's skull, causing a vein to rupture inside his skull and broke his jaw. He was in a coma for eight days. While he was in critical condition, a blood clot developed in his lung. Through diligent rehabilitation, he has made miraculous recovery and now has about 50% use of his right arm and hand.
In Hilaire's name, Forever Young and the FCSC will make a donation of $2,000 to the Chelsea Cohen Memorial Foundation, which was started by Cohen's parents Barbara Rittner and Larry Cohen. The Cohen Foundation's goal is to fund HOPE (Helping Open Possibilities for Excellence), which will support young athletes who need financial assistance to reach their athletic goals. The fund also is raising money for research to help find a cure for CNS Sarcoma, the rare cancer that took Chelsea's life.
Last year's Courage Award was presented to Mike Myers-Keitt, a Norwalk native and Fairfield Prep graduate, who now attends Monmouth University on a basketball scholarship. Jason Maiella, a standout baseball player at Sacred Heart University, was the first winner of the award in Cohen's name in 2006. In 2007, John Tartaglio, a Milford resident and recent Fairfield University graduate, won the award.
For more information or to buy tickets for the Fairfield County Sport Commission's 5th Annual Sports Night on October 19 at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich at 6 pm, log on to their website at www.fairfieldcountysports.com.
Forever Young Foundation is a non-profit, public 501(c) (3) organization whose mission is to pass on hope and resources for the development, strength, and education of children. Each year, through the efforts and vision of Steve Young, thousands of seriously ill, underprivileged, and at risk children are given therapeutic, academic, and athletic opportunities they would otherwise never receive. For more information, visit www.foreveryoung.org.
Above left: Hilaire and Fairfield County Hall of Famer Chris Drury at the press conference.
Above right: Hilaire and the Chelsea Cohen's parents at the press conference.
