At the 30th annual Hall of Fame dinner, on Nov. 9, 2007, 15 student-athletes were inducted into the Red Key Athlete Honor Society.
In the presence of esteemed members of the Cornell community, including Athletic Director J. Andew Noel and six All-America athletes from the past, the event was one buzzing with Cornell pride. Co-presidents, and tenured members, Dan DeSantis and Sarah Griffin, provided a brief address to those in attendance, giving the audience an introduction to the Red Key Athlete Honor Society and welcoming the new members to the group by presenting each with a Red Key pin and a certificate of achievement acknowledging each individual’s hard work and athletic prowess.
The evening continued with the induction of 13 new members to the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame. Each inductee was able to deliver a brief address to the audience recounting his or her experiences at Cornell. With speeches from Seth Payne, a professional football player for the Jacksonville Jaguars and member of the class of ‘97, and father of the recently deceased all-American wrestler Carl Keske ‘97, the night was a perfect blend of celebration and remembrance.
The highlight of the evening was witnessing one of Red Key’s own Katherine Simmons ’08 (Women's Lacrosse) receive the Richie Moran Award, which is presented to a senior student-athlete who has distinguished themselves through "academics, athletics and ambassadorship." This was followed by the presentation of the Jeff Stenstrom Award to Morgan Hale '10 (Women's Lacrosse). The Stenstrom Award is "given to the student-athlete who best exemplifies leadership qualities through dedication and strength of character during her freshman year" and is voted on by the members of the Red Key Society.
This night marked the first official event for the 2007-08 class of the Red Key Athlete Honor Society.
