Induction Class Of 2007

Aaron Perron was a three sport standout for New Bedford High School from 1988-1991.

Aaron was one of the craftiest left handed pitchers ever to put on a whaler uniform. He was a three year varsity pitcher and first baseman. In his junior year he went 7-2 with an incredible 1.12 ERA with 62 strikeouts and 26 walks and in the state tournament he went

3-0 with a 1.82 ERA while hitting .390 in leading New Bedford into the State Championship game. In his senior season he went 8-3 on the mound with a 1.38 ERA and hit .395 on the year. After his junior season Aaron was named 1990 Eastern Massachusetts Baseball MVP and was also selected to the Boston Globe and Boston Herald All Scholastic Baseball Teams. He was also a Standard Times all star in 1990 and

1991. In 1992 Aaron went to Northeastern University on a baseball scholarship and pitched for two years where he started 6 games had twelve overall appearances and was 2-2 with one complete game. After two years Aaron went went to the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth where he went 8-2 with an ERA of 2.43 and was selected to the All New England Baseball Team.

In football, Aaron was a two year starter at wide receiver. In his junior year he had 18 catches and 3 touchdowns and in his senior season he had 23 catches and 8 touchdowns with a 2 point conversion. In 1990 he was selected to the Boston Globe and Boston Herald All Scholastic Football Teams and also was a member of the Big Three All Stars as well as the All Bristol County Football Team and a Standard Times All Star. He also had 1 year varsity experience in basketball. Aaron was a five time Perfection Player of the Week in Football and Baseball which is an award given weekly by the Standard Times.

Aaron currently lives in Fairhaven with his Fiancée Julie Baker and her two sons Tyler and Justin. Aaron currently works at Freetown/Lakeville Middle School where he teaches Physical Education and Health and also coaches the girls Junior Varsity Basketball Team at Apponequet High School.

Coach Ed Rodrigues called Bobby Duarte the "toughest and most intense player he has ever coached" and it shows by the many accomplishments he achieved during his high school career. Bobby had a career record of 69 wins and 4 losses, this includes an undefeated freshman season 12 • 0, an undefeated junior varsity season at 17 - 0 and a two year varsity record of 40 wins and 4 losses. In his two years with the varsity Bobby lost only 2 regular season games and made it to the South Sectional Finals his junior year before losing to Madison Park and the South Section Semi-Finals his senior year before losing to B.C. High School. Bobby had a single game scoring record of 49 points against Bishop Hendricken who at the time were the #1 ranked team in Rhode Island. Bobby ended his two year varsity career with 800 points and 600 rebounds.

After high school, Bobby accepted a full basketball scholarship to Stonehill College and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Computer Information Systems. Bobby was a three year starter at Stonehill and scored a total of 1,279 points which earned him an induction to the Stonehill College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993.

Bobby currently resides in Raynham with his wife Kerin and their two children Rob Ill (9 years old) and Olivia (3 years old). Bobby currently works for Reynolds & Reynolds selling hardware and software solutions to the automotive industry.

Neil Macedo is a 1978 graduate of New Bedford High School and is the current Head Girls Volleyball Coach. He has been selected due to his outstanding accomplishments as both an athlete and coach.

Neil was (and still to this day) a gifted athlete. He excelled in both the pool and on the track. As a two-year member of the swim team, Neil established the school diving record with a score of 194.65 for six dives. He went on to place ninth in the South Sectionals and twelfth at the State Championship. Neil also held the school record of 12'9"' as a pole vaulter on the school's outdoor track team. He was selected as a Boston Globe All Scholastic after the winning the State Coaches Invitational and placing second at the Class A, All State and New England Championships. He was named the school's Athlete of the Year in 1978. He has been the head coach of the school's girls volleyball team since 1984.

During this time, his teams have won 380 matches. His teams have won three South Sectional titles in 1991, 1992, and 1994. In addition, the girls team has won the 1994 State Championship as well as finishing as state runner-up in 1992. He has been named the Boston Globe Coach of the Year on three occasions (1992, 1994, and 1998). Incredibly, the girls volleyball program have been the only Big Three Champions that the conference has ever known, having won the conference championship and amazing seventeen consecutive years!

Neil is a 1982 graduate of Springfield College. He is a physical education teacher at New Bedford High School. He and his wife Kathleen live in Mattapoisett with their two sons, David and Matthew.

Mary Beehan Duffy is a 1977 graduate of New Bedford High School. She played basketball from 1973 • 1977 and was captain from 1975 • 1977. She was also a member of the swim team, where she competed in the 500 yard race, as well as the track team, where she ran the mile and threw the shot put. During her career at NBHS, she was a member of the National Honor Society.

Mary's passion has always been basketball. Growing up and playing ball with the guys was her inside advantage to developing her skills and competitive flair. Her formula to success was that she was always aggressive, and her trademark was owning the boards and never letting herself back down from her opponents, being known to use her elbows to clear out her space! But her belief in communicating on the floor with her teammates was the joy of her game. Thru interacting, and solving court dilemmas and in celebrating court victories, her confidence self transpired into the strong mother that she has evolved into today.

Coach Jeanne Bonneau has mentioned Mary to be one of the finest defenders she has coached and was always known to play an unselfish game. She was a leader on and off the court and attributes a great deal of her success to her teammates and her parents' positive input and support throughout the years.

As a center, Mary was chosen for the Standard Times All-Star Team in 1976 and 1977 and was the 1977 Southeastern Massachusetts Conference Leading Scorer. She was honored with the team's MVP award and was named to the Boston Globe All-Scholastic Team in 1977.

Upon graduation, Mary was offered a scholarship to the University of Rhode Island, where excelled all four years. She majored in Physical Education. After receiving her Bachelor's Degree, she moved out to Denver, Colorado, where she was a teacher and basketball coach. Mary has since moved to Marshfield, where she resides with her loving husband of 22 years and four children, Meghan - 21, Brett - 20, Terri - 19, and Trevor • 16. Meghan and Brett attend Quinnipiac University in Connecticut and Teri attends Colby-Sawyer College in New Hampshire, while Trevor is a junior at Marshfield High.

Jeff Miller graduated from NBHS with honors in 1975. He was a 2-year starter for Coach Sal Lombardo in basketball and played shortstop for Coach John Pacheco in his senior year.

Basketball was his passion. As co-captain of the basketball team Jeff averaged thirteen points per game and left with the school record in assists • a statistic he only learned about in recent years when the record was broken. His leadership and aggressive play earned him the sixth man spot on the Boston Globe's 1975 Southeastern Mass Division II All-Star Team. NBHS awarded Jeff the Dr.

Wallison Award for Scholarship, Citizenship and Athletic Ability and the James P. Murphy Award as the top Student Athlete.

Jeff attended Assumption College as a non-scholarship player his first season, but earned the starting point guard position and a full scholarship the following year. In his senior year he was elected Captain by his teammates becoming the first walk-on in Assumption's history to receive that honor. During his Career at Assumption he scored 706 points, handed out 468 assists, grabbed 316 rebounds and had an 81.4 free throw percentage. In 1979, The Worcester Telegram and Gazette called Jeff "The Heart and Soul of the Hounds" and he was named to the Northeast Regional Division Il Basketball Tournament All-Star Team. His athletic career at Assumption was capped by his receipt of the Annual Premier Senior Student-Athlete Award for the highest level of academic and athletic success. Jeff went on to earn his Master's Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling at Assumption in 1980.

To this day Jeff is actively involved with basketball, having coached both sons in various leagues over the years. He is currently coaching his son Nathan and many of the current NBHS varsity team members in AAU and took them to a National Championship Tournament in Reno, NV this past summer. He is also a co-founder of the Youth United summer basketball league in New Bedford.

Jeff is married to his high school sweetheart, Liz (Teixeira), and lives in New Bedford with their sons Kyle, a recent Mass Maritime graduate and Nathan, a NBHS Junior playing varsity basketball and volleyball and a daughter Brooke a UMass-D senior. He is Chief Philanthropy Officer at St. Luke's Hospital. In addition to his basketball interests, Jeff is a member and former President of the Rotary Club of New Bedford, Chairman of the board of ASSETS, Inc, and a Junior Achievement volunteer.

Ms. Reggie Gomes-Jackson, is a 1975 graduate of NBHS, where she was a four year starter on the girl's varsity basketball team, and two year starting pitcher of NBHS's first softball team. Reggie has been considered one of the greatest female basketball talents to compete at NBHS! She was elected both co & tri-captain in both her junior and senior years in basketball and co captain softball.

Reggie was a high scoring guard on one of the school's greatest girls basketball teams, where she teamed up with her older sister Helen, along with Susan & Dianne Leitao (1999 inductee), Betty Soares & Rose Lopes. She is the youngest member of New Bedford's greatest basketball family (the Gomes). During her sophomore season, Reggie became the first female to be selected as

"Player of the Week" by the Standard Times. In her senior year, she was voted the very first

"Female Athlete of the Year" at NBHS.

Upon graduation, Reggie accepted a full basketball scholarship to Lynchburg Baptist College now (Liberty University), in Lynchburg, VA. The college sponsored her in the 1976 Olympic Tryouts in women's basketball. She competed against hundreds of women for a spot on the team. She made it into the last 15 before being cut. At Lynchburg, Reggie became a four year starter, along with her sister Helen and was inducted into Liberty University's Hall of Fame in 1998. She is among the top 50 players in scoring and folds the school record for the most steals in one game (11).

Following graduation with a B.S. Degree in Physical Education & Health, Reggie began teaching in Alexandria, VA, where she coached the girl's basketball team to a conference championship. From Virginia she taught in Louisville, KY, and Prince George's County, MD.

In 1988, Ms. Gomes-Jackson returned to her roots and began teaching physical education in the NB Public Schools. Reggie began coaching girls' basketball, first as a volunteer assistant under Coach Jeanne Bonneau. Later under Robert Foster, Ms. Gomes Jackson was named freshman girls' basketball coach where she guided her teams for a number of years. During her reign Reggie compiled three consecutive undefeated seasons. The MIAA honored her with "The President's Award", for her courage in the tragic loss of Robyn Dabrowski.

Ms. Reggie Gomes-Jackson, resides in New Bedford, and is engaged to Cecil Lopes, S... Ms.

Gomes Jackson has one son, Keith Jackson of Laurel, Maryland.

Rich Nichols graduated from New Bedford High School in 1972. After being told by a junior high school track coach that he had "no talent", Rich persevered, accepted the challenge and became one of the most successful runners in New Bedford High School history. In March 1971 Rich ran a NBHS school record 1:13.8 in the 600 Yard Run at the Eastern States National Championships.

Later that year Rich teamed with fellow Hall of Famers Keith Francis, Steve Caton and David Silvia to run what was then the second fastest time ever run by a high school Distance Medley Relay Team, 10:07.8 to win that event at the New York Relays.

Upon graduation, Rich attended Dartmouth College on an academic scholarship. At Dartmouth, Rich excelled and was twice named to the Division One NCAA All America Track & Field Team. After Dartmouth, Rich traveled to the West Coast, attended graduate school at Stanford University, and law school at the University of California, Hastings College of Law. He continued his track career.

Rich was selected to be a member of the 1982 United States Track & Field Team and represented the United States in several international competitions as a member of the USA Team.

Currently, Rich is an attorney with over 25 years experience in the business of sports, politics, finance, venture capital and technology. As an entrepreneur in the sports business, Mr. Nichols owned and operated a sports management company, represented and consulted with major companies in the development of product specific domestic and international sports marketing, advertising and promotional campaigns, and owned and operated major international sports properties.

As a sports lawyer Mr. Nichols has represented professional and amateur athletes, including but not limited to professional football player, Stanford graduate and Pro Football Hall of Fame Wide Receiver James Lofton, and Olympic Champion and former World-Record Holder 400 Meter Hurdler Edwin Moses, and most recently Olympic Champion Sprinter Marion Jones.

Rich is currently the CEO of AthletiShare, Inc. a Silicon Valley sports technology start-up company.

He resides in Keller, Texas with his wife Jennie and his children, Savannah and Elliot.

Eddie Wojcik graduated from New Bedford High School in 1941. Eddie was a captain of three varsity teams. He was a guard on both the football and basketball teams as well as a catcher on the baseball team. In baseball, playing catcher for Coach and Hall of Fame member Win Dodge, he was selected to the All Bristol County team. Coach Dodge said that "Ed Wojcik was in a class all by himself."

He enjoyed a memorable senior year. His play helped the team win the MIT basketball tournament. It was necessary for him to play with a special brace due to a torn knee cartilage but he was still one of the best defensive guards around.

Hall of Fame members Al Palmieri, Stan Grabiec and Fred Sowa were also members of this championship team. He also received the James P. Murphy Award based on his general attitude, spirit, citizenship, scholastic achievement and athletic ability. In addition, he was voted the most popular student by the Class of 1941.

After graduation, he played American Legion Baseball for New Bedford Post 1. He also played basketball for the Hoboes.. His knee injury shortened his athletic career and he had to forfeit an athletic scholarship. He enlisted in the Air Force for two years and married his high school sweetheart, Marge Ross. They had four daughters, Susan Telesmanick, Elizabeth Pye, Joan Pilling and Marge Berube.

Eddie worked for Prudential Insurance Company for thirty years. He retired with his wife to Florida in 1976 where he resided until his accidental death in December of 1980. His wife passed away in 1990. They leave seven grandchildren (one deceased) and four great grandchildren.