alumni awards

the 2022 alumni awards: rectory recognizes distinguished service, athletic excellence & emerging leadership

By John Xeller, Alumni Relations Manager/Special Events Coordinator

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1) Scott Milnor accepts the Distinguished Service Award on behalf of his father, Jay, who is pictured on screen. 2) Brad Seaward embraces Osmine Clarke, Terrence Clarke’s ’18 mother. 3) Retired Coach Seaward inducts Terrence Clarke ’18 posthumously into Rectory’s Athletic Wall of Honor. 4) Emerging Leader Award recipient Madeleine Hutchins ’11 converses with Fred Williams about her personal and professional accomplishments.

more than 100 people gathered in the p.y. and kinmay tang performing arts center on saturday, april 23, to attend the 2022 alumni awards.

Fred Williams hosted the event, which recognized those members of the Rectory community, as nominated by their peers and affirmed by school administration, whose contributions to Rectory school and the greater community in regard to service, sport, or leadership have left a lasting impression on our campus and students. The Distinguished Service Award, an acknowledgment of an individual’s exceptional commitment to supporting Rectory’s ongoing mission, was presented to Peter ’67 and Nathaniel ’98 Hamilton and Jay Milnor, Past Trustee. Two legendary Rectory athletes, Rory Burke ’60 and Terrence Clarke ’18, were enshrined on Rectory’s Athletic Wall of Honor. Madeleine Hutchins ’11 earned the Emerging Leader Award, presented annually to a Rectory alumnus/a who has exhibited great potential for positively influencing others in the early stages of their young adult life.

The ceremony began with the Athletic Wall of Honor inductions. Rory Burke, retired and living in Florida, attended the ceremony via Zoom. Fred Williams presented the case for Mr. Burke’s induction by quoting sports recaps from issues of The Rectory News from the late 1950s. Mr. Burke’s peers described him as unquestionably the best athlete in any arena in which he stepped foot. A three-sport star and captain at Rectory, Mr. Burke racked up impressive statistics on the football field, the hockey rink, and in track and field. Rob Perkin ’62, who nominated Mr. Burke, was on hand in person and presented the award to his Rectory contemporary. Mr. Perkin commented that some of Mr. Burke’s athletic feats remained among the most impressive things he had ever seen. After congratulating his old friend, Mr. Perkin handed the podium back to Mr. Williams who introduced the induction of Terrence Clarke. Mr. Clarke attended Rectory for one year as an eighth grader. His potential for greatness on the basketball court was apparent right away, and his embrace of the Rectory community and his fellow students made a lasting impact on the students and adults around him. After Rectory, Mr. Clarke remained on the path toward playing basketball professionally, enrolling at the University of Kentucky where he played for one year before earning an invitation to the NBA draft. Mr. Clarke’s life was cut short tragically in an automobile accident days before the draft, which made his induction a bittersweet moment. Mr. Clarke’s Rectory coach, Brad Seaward, spoke about his relationship with Mr. Clarke and described him as a once-in-a-career player who made everyone around him better, both on and off the court. Coach Seaward presented an Athletic Wall of Honor plaque to Mr. Clarke’s mother, who was in attendance along with many of Mr. Clarke’s family members and friends.

Next, Maddy Hutchins received the Emerging Leader Award. Mr. Williams gave a brief introduction that included several of Ms. Hutchins’ Rectory School highlights. Those highlights included Ms. Hutchins’ achieving at a high level in the classroom, a valuable contributor to the equestrian and fencing teams, and a standout musician and performer. Her many and varied interests, all of which she engaged in passionately, earned her the title of “Most Unique,” as determined by her Class of 2011 peers. More recently, Ms. Hutchins has remained connected with Rectory by sharing her story with current students, most notably at the 2022 Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Assembly. In addition to her service to Rectory School, Ms. Hutchins continues to inspire others within her many personal and professional pursuits.

Mr. Williams and Ms. Hutchins sat next to one another on the Tang stage, and Ms. Hutchins responded to Mr. Williams’ questions about the nature of her life and work. Ms. Hutchins mentioned two characteristics with which she identifies most strongly: storyteller and scholar. Drawing from her membership in the Mohegan Tribe, Ms. Hutchins values the role storytelling plays in connecting history with the present. Stories help to engage people in history in a way that brings it to life. Ms. Hutchins’ interest in theater and the arts remains a part of her life through the support of Native American theater projects as well as her own short fiction writing.

Reflecting on her philosophy major in college, Ms. Hutchins cited the broad range of disciplines it exposed her to. Similar to how her interests at Rectory were varied, philosophy allowed her to build a foundation from which to approach life’s questions and puzzles with the same focus and curiosity she exhibited as a younger student. Ms. Hutchins reflected in particular on advice given to her by one of her professors at Yale who suggested that when seeking direction in life to look for the “intersection of what you like, what you are good at, and what the world needs.”

The final awards conferred were the Distinguished Service Awards. The 2022 honorees were father-and-son alumni and Trustees Peter and Nathaniel Hamilton and long-time Pomfret resident and Rectory supporter Jay Milnor. Mr. Williams described each recipient’s service to our school before presenting each with a commemorative clock. The Hamiltons have enjoyed similar trajectories in their relationships with Rectory School. Peter was a student in the 1960s and was highly regarded by the faculty as a diligent, neat, and dependable student. He answered the call some time after his Rectory years to serve on the Board of Trustees and helped facilitate tremendous growth of the school’s physical plant. During his tenure, new dorms, faculty housing, student centers, and athletic spaces were added, and Peter’s willingness to support the efforts himself while encouraging others to do so as well were pivotal to Rectory’s many advances. One generation later, Nathaniel was a student in the 1990s who held numerous leadership positions on campus, including proctor and head waiter. Some time after his Rectory days, Mr. Williams asked Nathaniel to serve on the Board of Trustees. During his tenure, the school renovated Memorial dorm, added faculty housing, constructed Green Hall, added the Seaward Family Pavilion, and in the coming year will complete the construction of a new dorm. The impact of the Hamilton family at Rectory School is immeasurable, and it is only the beginning of their distinguished service. They have passed down values of community and cooperation from generation to generation so that they can share their gifts to enrich the lives of those around them. Mr. Milnor’s influence has been felt across generations as well, and that is because he has spent most of his 98 years in service to others. He served our country with distinction in World War II, often volunteering to take on missions above and beyond his call of duty. He arrived to Rectory school in 1948 and quickly connected with John Bigelow. The two enjoyed a great relationship as both colleagues and friends. Mr. Bigelow’s mentorship helped Mr. Milnor earn his first engagement as a head of school, and some years down the road, Mr. Milnor returned to town to lead Pomfret School next door. It was during that time that Mr. Milnor began a long tenure on Rectory’s Board of Trustees, and his visionary leadership and inclusive outlook were lauded by all who had the pleasure of working with him. Mr. Milnor attended the ceremony virtually, and his son, Scott, accepted the award on his behalf. He communicated how much Rectory and service to others in general have meant to Mr. Milnor throughout his life.

The ceremony concluded with remarks by Mr. Williams, and guests moved on to the Centennial Gala. It was with great pleasure that Rectory honored such an illustrious group of alumni, Trustees, and friends, and we look forward to what we hope will be another exceptional class in 2023.