Jan. 16, 2003

By Jeremy D. Pond Poughkeepsie Journal Reprinted courtesy of the Poughkeepsie Journal (www.poughkeepsiejournal.com)

'I will never see a shell or watch a race or even take a stroke without a thought of Scott Sanford close behind. You are a leader, a role model, a teacher, a motivator, and most importantly, a friend.'' -- Excerpt from a letter written by 1998 Arlington High School graduate, and 2002 Marist College graduate, Scott Sanford.

That's the impact Scott Sanford had on so many lives he touched.

Whether he was bonding with his family, training his rowers or cultivating young minds in the classroom, Scott was always thinking about someone other than himself. To describe the man who walked with a swagger of strength and confidence as humble would be an understatement.

Scott was all about people, all about what others needed and what he needed to do to help them in life. From the extra time spent on the Hudson River with his Marist College rowers, to his final days of life when his only concern was his family's well-being.

Simply, Scott was a man of love and life, dedication and determination.

And those are just a few reasons why he has been named the 2002 Poughkeepsie Journal Sportsperson of the Year.

Perhaps the most recognized individual in local rowing history, Sanford died June 9, passing away after a valiant battle with cancer. He was 60 years old.

''Together we were a great team. Life will never be the same,'' his wife, Judy, said.

For Judy, his children, Tom and Jody, his friends, his champion Marist men's rowing team or the countless number of people whose lives he touched, Scott was the epitome of perfection.

''Dad made you feel like you were the most important at that moment,'' said his daughter, Jody Sanford Sweeney. ''He was very warm, thoughtful and interested in people. He was such a good friend to me.''

A retired teacher and administrator, Scott had a major impact on several local rowing programs during his 40-year coaching career. He led the Franklin D. Roosevelt High School teams from 1964 to 1978. After his time in Hyde Park, he founded the crew program at Vassar College in the Town of Poughkeepsie, coaching the Brewers from 1981 to 1993.

Scott then took his talent to Marist, working nine years with the Red Foxes as the director of rowing and coach of the men's crew team up until his death.

''He loved each one of those segments,'' Judy said. ''It was always about the sport, the young men. It was never about the ego.''

Rick Lambert, the women's crew coach at Marist, agreed.

''He knew how to build programs. He built them from scratch,'' said Lambert, who rowed for Sanford as a student at Roosevelt. ''I think that's what he enjoyed doing.''

Scott crafted a dominate program at Marist, capped by this past year's amazing campaign. The men's varsity eight reached as high as No. 15 in the national rankings. That boat won the Avaya Championships in May for the first time in school history, stunning national powers Michigan and Georgetown in the process. >

Tony Johnson, the men's and women's crew coach at Georgetown who captured a silver medal in rowing in the 1968 Summer Olympics, not only got to coach against Sanford and his Marist teams, he actually rowed with him and his brother, Bill, at Syracuse during the early 1960s.

The last time Johnson saw his old friend was at the Avaya Championships in West Windsor, N.J. Sadly, it was also the last time Scott would see his Red Foxes compete, passing away just four weeks after the race.

''He was a great sportsman,'' Johnson said Friday from his home in Fairfax, Va. ''I think in my mind one of the things that strikes me was that he was competitive and worked extremely hard for his crew. He always took a backseat to his crew and their performance. The focus was never on him.

''There are many people where ego is a big part of their character. But he was a very humble guy.''

The Red Foxes' season was capped by a historic trip to England, dominating British waters before falling to Harvard's freshman eight in the semifinals of the Temple Challenge Cup for student eights at the Henley Royal Regatta at Henley-on-Thames, England.

Scott's lifelong goal was to take a team to England to compete in the prestigious international event. He coveted the competition he named his black Labrador retriever, Henley -- his pal who rode in the boat with him for Marist crew practices on the Hudson every morning.

''Scott loved the sport so much. He was always trying to move the crew program forward,'' said Tim Murray, Marist's director of athletics. ''He was a man of great pride and dignity.

''He just touched an amazing amount of people. He commanded a great deal of respect without words and taught so much more than just crew.''

Rowing in the Sanford family runs mighty deep. His son, Tom, who was the coxswain at the University of Pennsylvania, has taken the reins from his father as Marist's director of rowing. His brother, Bill, retired this past school year as head coach of the men's rowing team at Syracuse. His younger brother, Paul, had a lengthy run as the freshmen crew coach at Syracuse.

Jody took part in crew at Cornell University as well. Sanford's nieces, Kristen and Jennifer, are the head women's rowing coaches at Syracuse and the University of Connecticut, respectively.

And because the family has bloodlines run deep in the rowing community, the Sanfords have received tremendous support from past and present rowers, and colleagues, in the days since Scott's death.

Judy has received more than 800 pieces of correspondence in regard to her late husband, whether it be via letter or e-mail. The numerous phone calls weren't even included in that total.

One of the more touching e-mails she received came from John Delikanakis, a 1985 Vassar graduate who's now a lawyer in Las Vegas. A small portion of his e-mail read:

''There isn't much I can say that isn't already known by anyone that had the privilege of knowing Scott except that he was the finest mentor any young man could have.''

And that type of support can further solidify what Scott meant to the people he touched in so many different ways.

''He taught those young men more than sport. He taught them about courage and strength,'' Judy said.

And he did that more so with his actions than his words.

Scott was diagnosed with carcinoid cancer, a rare neuro-endocrine cancer seldomly treatable by chemotherapy, in June 2001. It had started in his small intestine before traveling to his liver, which was where doctors found the cancer. A colonoscopy never picked it up.

Doctors later believed that he might have had this rare form of cancer for more than a decade, according to Judy.

''He was a man who took very good care of himself,'' Judy said. ''He didn't smoke and he worked out a lot with his crew. The kids called him 'The Rock.' '' >

But despite having cancer, Scott never backed down. There would be no change in his routine. It was business as usual for him.

''You have kids complain about a three-page paper or a cold. His illness really put everything into perspective,'' Tom said. ''But Dad was at practice every day, even when he was receiving chemotherapy. We all admired him for that. He didn't want it to affect anybody or be a distraction.''

Ed Clark, who rowed for Scott at Roosevelt before coaching with him at Vassar and Marist, was one of his closest friends. Clark, who saw Scott just a few hours before he died, took his pal's death extremely hard.

''I cried like a baby. It was like having my own father pass away again,'' Clark said. ''He seemed to be indestructible. You figured he'd die at about 120 years old. You never thought something like this would happen.

''He was just an outstanding gentleman. He's the type of guy you'd like to go out and have a beer with once in a while.''

The months following Scott's death have been filled with highs and lows, according to the Sanfords. While the family went through the grieving process of losing a loved one, there were some memorable moments. Jody was married on Nov. 16 to her husband, Gerry Sweeney.

With her father's health in question, Jody recalled how she even offered to have a smaller wedding in the family's home just so her father could definitely be there for it.

But Scott wouldn't allow that. Sick or not, there would be no changes.

''He said, 'it's your day,' '' Jody recalled.

The wedding was a '' happy joyous occasion,'' Jody said, yet it was still a sad day with her father missing. He wasn't able to give his daughter away. Instead, her brother and mother combined on the joint effort.

''The feeling of absence was definitely strong,'' Jody said.

More recently, Tom's wife, Elna, gave birth to a healthy baby girl on Dec. 14. They named her Lauren Elisabeth Scott Sanford.

Tom and Elna showed Scott the baby's ultrasound, giving him a memorable piece to remember.

''Having the baby ... it was hard,'' Tom said. ''We thought about him a lot.''

Scott loved the holiday season, too. The day before Christmas, he and his daughter would go to lunch at Beekman Arms in Rhinebeck.

''Then we'd go and get some surprise gift for Mom,'' Jody said.

This year, the annual event continued. Only this time, it was Jody and her husband.

''Some of the traditions are sad for us,'' Jody said.

Scott now rests peacefully at Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, his grave overlooking the Hudson. And how appropriate is it that Scott lies on the banks of the river where he spent so much of his time, molding the bodies and minds of so many people, young and old, who had the honor of meeting and working with the man.

''It seems pretty fitting,'' Judy said.