Local athletes receive UNICO Brian Piccolo Award

UNICO Delaware District I held its inaugural Brian Piccolo Award Program April 27 at Nicola Pizza on the Avenue.

This is an award given nationally in the month of April to an outstanding high school senior athlete of Italian heritage who exhibits the qualities and character traits modeled by the legendary Brian Piccolo: courage, friendship, loyalty, teamwork, dedication, sense of humor and anti-bias. All Sussex County public schools were invited to nominate qualifying male or female athletes.

The nominees for 2014 were Samuel Izzo from Indian River High School and Dominic Lombardi from Sussex Central High school.

Master of Ceremonies Nick DelCampo, a local businessman and coach at Cape Henlopen High School, briefed the attendees on the life of Brian Piccolo and his accomplishments. Piccolo played running back for the Chicago Bears in the late '60s and was a faithful friend to his teammate Gayle Sayers.

To honor his memory, family and friends formed the Brian Piccolo Foundation, which since its inception has donated millions of dollars to cancer research. For more information on the foundation, go to www.brianpiccolofund.org.

Attorney Richard A. DiLiberto, chair of the Delaware Commission on Italian Heritage and Culture, was keynote speaker. He encouraged everyone to follow their dreams and never to lose the drive, dedication and loyalty which are their heritage from those who emigrated from many nations to America so many years ago.

Samuel Izzo, 2014 award recipient, received a beautifully engraved plaque. Both nominees and their schools received gifts from the UNICO Delaware Chapters and members. The Indian River School District Athletic Department was awarded $1,000.

For more information on local UNICO Chapters and their services, contact the Delaware district governor at 302-226-0620 or mtmbeach@comcast.net.