LYNN — Harry Agganis All-Star Week kicked off Sunday with an opening ceremony highlighting individuals and their contributions. Five awards were presented.
The first was the Atty. Charles Demakis Heritage Award. Lynn native and Attorney General Charles Demakis proposed to The Daily Item that a scholarship in the name of Harry Agganis be established — leading to the creation of the Agganis Foundation. The award is presented to a person of Greek heritage who advances the foundation’s ideals of academics and ethics. This year’s recipient was Costa Sideridis, president and CEO of Ferro-Ceramic Grinding Inc., a company that manufactures advanced ceramic materials for industries including semiconductors, aerospace, defense, and electronics.
Sideridis also serves as vice president of the parish council and formerly chaired stewardship efforts at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Lynn.
The Dr. Elmo F. Benedetto Athletics Award was given to Mike Giardi, a longtime coach and educator. Benedetto founded the Agganis All-Star Football Game in 1956 and served as Lynn’s athletic director for 26 years. The award honors those who embody his commitment to student-athletes.
Giardi is the assistant football coach, head boys basketball coach, baseball coach, and a math teacher at Marblehead High School. A 1990 Agganis Foundation Scholarship recipient and football All-Star, Giardi was a standout athlete at Salem High, helping lead the football team to a state championship in 1989. He went on to play football and baseball at Harvard, earning Ivy League Player of the Year honors in baseball in 1994.
The David C. Weidner Media Award was presented to Mukala Kabongo, a reporter for the New England Football Journal and host of local cable shows After the Whistle and Athletes Corner. The award recognizes individuals who provide “ongoing, outstanding coverage and support of youth and amateur sports in general, and the Agganis All-Star Games in particular.”
Kabongo is a constant presence at games across Eastern Massachusetts, covering events through writeups, highlights, and interviews with coaches and student-athletes.
The Harold O. Zimman Foundation Award, which honors dedication to the foundation and its ideals of academics and athletics, was awarded to Andrew Demakes. Zimman, The Daily Evening Item, and the Boston Red Sox co-founded the Agganis Foundation.
Demakes, the former foundation president and current chairman of its board of trustees, is CEO of Demakes Enterprises, which includes Old Neighborhood Foods. Under his leadership, the foundation has doubled the amount of scholarship support, now awarding student-athletes $8,000 — $2,000 per year — toward their college education.
The final award was the Paul F. Cavanagh Community award. This award goes to the recipient who conveys Paul’s and the Agganis Foundation’s ideals of sportsmanship, education, and community. This year’s recipients were Rob and Christy Merryman.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Merrymans started a basketball league at Danvers Indoor Sports to provide youth with a place to play. Rob (Lynn Tech ’96) also hosts clinics at Lights Out Shooting Gym in Lynn, and the family organizes free summer basketball clinics and a JV high school league.
Off the court, Christy (Lynn English ’98) collects and donates prom dresses to local high school students.
The opening ceremony set the tone for a week celebrating not just athletic excellence, but also community, character and service — all values embodied by Harry Agganis. With each award, the legacy of the “Golden Greek” lives on through those who continue to uplift others both on and off the field.
