Happy Father's Day Tony Banner by Lindsay Banner

It's been 27 years since Tony Banner was given the official title of "Dad;" one of the many roles he successfully fulfilled and far exceeded his job requirements. He was even more excited to one day be a grandfather and shared that with Andrew and I frequently.  Unfortunately, neither of us were or are ready for that kind of commitment to date. We joked that we both needed to find someone first and Dad would poke back that that is only a minor hiccup in the process.  So whenever  I received a text this morning from my cousin that he and his wife welcomed their first child into the world, Samuel Anthony Banner, I thought, "Wow, Dad would be so honored."

The first father's day without Dad around and I have been stumped all week as to how to celebrate.  It's not like we spent the day together when he was around. He always played in the Clarion High School Football Golf Scramble with Andrew and I would leave to go complete some form of Habitat for Humanity trip with the church. However, I wanted to do something for him, something to remind me how lucky I am a little more than every other two hours that something crosses my mind reminding me of a him.  Luckily, having the opportunity to drive north a little over an hour and meet the new baby made planning my last minute father's day celebration a bit easier, but as I was running along the harbor yesterday morning I thought I need to finally draft a post for Andrew's blog regarding the creation of the endowment created at Clarion University in Dad's honor.

Ever since I can remember, my Dad has had a passion for sports. There are few people I know that can recite stats about athletes in the manner and multitude that my Dad could. My brother has come into his own in recent years, but my Dad had a pretty amazing ability to do so. He also had an ability to tell you exactly what he was doing at what he deemed to be major sporting events in his life, like most people of his generation do with the Kennedy assassination or 9/11 for my generation.  In my lifetime, my earliest memory is celebrating the Pens winning the Stanley Cup over the Minnesota North Stars in Morgantown, WV with my Uncle Tom and Aunt Mary.  Although I recall the days when the Pirates were competitive and the days of Bonilla, skinny Bonds, and Van Slyke, I have more vivid memories of discussing what happened since 1992. I remember going to the last Pirate games at Three River's with Dad; watching Lemieux, Jagr and Ronnie Francis (one of his favorite's) at the Civic Arena; his excitement in going to Cooperstown to the Baseball Hall of Fame twice over; circling the highway in Boston to simply pass Fenway; receiving the call the day the Pens signed Crosby and gained hope for the new generation of Pens hockey; going to my first game at the new PNC Stadium with him during the Knights of Columbus Sunday tailgate; his envy when I had the opportunity to go to Heinz Field before him (even though it was to see N'SNYC - yes I just admitted that); receiving the call from my satellite phone on the MV Explorer while I was off the Brazil informing me that the Steelers had won the Super Bowl; hearing him teary eyed over the phone in my apartment while he watching the Red Sox receive the World Series Trophy ; and talking about how much he loved watching  the hand shake at the end of each playoff series of hockey. I think about how much I miss hearing him give me the recap of the SportsCenter episode I just viewed while I drove to work each morning - not necessarily recapping the events, but how each person highlighted through an interview handled themself.

But amongst all these great moments, I think about how much more he cherished the success and moments for the amateur athletes he witnessed within a twenty mile radius of his home. Beginning my cousin Ted's sophomore year of high school, me age 7, Andrew age 5, we attended every Keystone basketball game in the old gym supporting not only Ted, but my Dad's high school classmate and head coach Greg Heath. After Ted's automobile accident and being partially paralyzed on his left side (I think that's the right side, like I said, details were my Dad's strength), I can remember just how excited Dad was that he was going to be able to play his senior year.  A few years later as I progressed into high school, we attended every one of my cousin Chris's basketball games as well.

Naturally, Dad never missed a game of Andrew or mine. From countless basketball, volleyball, and softball games, to golf matches and Andrew's one year football career - he and my mom never missed a thing. And after every one of those games, either Andrew and Dad or me and Dad would take at least a half hour to discuss the game from both a strategy breakdown standpoint to the lessons to be taken away from the situations and conclusion of each game.  I think of several moments that stand out such as the night the boys basketball team beat Moniteau after losing by 60 points earlier in the season and him and Kevin Beichner nearly suffocating BJ Roth in his celebration, or beating Keystone my junior year to win Districts for volleyball, and his pride in speaking about Andrew's golf seasons. I contribute a lot of who I am today to the time he took out of his day to point out the lessons learned on the court to everyday life. 

As I segued into college and had the opportunity to play at Clarion University, I think back to how ecstatic he was to have the opportunity to see me play for four more years across town. And like high school, he and my mom never missed a game. Driving no less than an hour an a half, he and Mom were always there. When I blew my right knee out, not once, but twice, he drove me to Pittsburgh at least once a week for six months after each reconstructive surgery.  Little did I know how much I would look back and love that additional time spent with him. I will not forget how he and my Mom opened their home up to all of my teammates over the course of my career, particularly for Thanksgiving  Dinner, and the hug I received after losing to Kutztown in NCAA Regionals  at Lock Haven my senior year ending my volleyball career.

Recently, we were approached by a few very close friends indicating that an endowment had been created in Dad's name at Clarion University.  Andrew, Mom and I were truly humbled by the generosity of others.  Mom would be fulfilling any further financial requirements to ensure that it was fully endowed. We were informed that we would need to stipulate the guidelines for the future recipient.  As you can imagine, this was more difficult than it may seem. In recent years, Mom and Dad have attended the majority of Clarion University home basketball and volleyball  games. When Andrew assisted with womens' golf and womens' basketball, he became that more attached to Tippin Gym.  Growing up, his favorite week of the year was that of PIAA high school basketball and he without fail, he would ask Andrew and I each year while sitting in Tippin Gym, "Are we in heaven?" and we would respond, "No, We're in Tippin Gym." (Field of Dreams anyone?)

After much deliberation, we decided that the endowment would be created for a women's volleyball player qualifying as a scholar athlete. Considering the years Dad spent traveling across the state to support Clarion University volleyball, as well as Clarion High School volleyball, and from the lessons learned, experiences had, friends acquired along the way, and respect had for the two individuals currently leading those programs, we found it to be most appropriate.   Andrew has attached a link in which you can click and contribute, if you would like.  Although we would love your support, this entry is more for the purpose of informing rather than soliciting.

The endowment works such that $25,000 must be raised to be fully endowed.  Once the $25,000 mark is achieved, money can be given in the form of a scholarship.  The $25,000 principal amount will never be drawn upon, only the interest earned on the principal amount will be given out annually.  Typically, 3% is earned on the principal for purposes of distributing in the form of an annual scholarship. 


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