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STAMFORD, Conn. The Fairfield County Sports Commission announced Saturday that Navy SEAL Brian R. Bill is the 2011 Chelsea Cohen Courage Award winner. Bill, a Stamford native, was killed in action Aug. 6 in Afghanistan. He will be honored at the commission's seventh annual Sports Night awards dinner on Monday, Oct.17, at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich.
The Cohen Award is sponsored by the Forever Young Foundation, a charity founded by Greenwich native and NFL Hall of Famer Steve Young. In 2006, the commission named the Courage Award in memory of Chelsea Cohen, a former Norwalk High soccer star who was the first Courage Award recipient in 2005. Cohen died in August 2006 after a courageous bout with a rare form of cancer of the nervous system. The award recognizes the person in the sports community who has shown inspirational strength in battling life-altering obstacles.
Forever Young will make a $2,000 donation in Bills name to the newly created Chelsea Cohen Fitness Academy.
Bill enlisted in the Navy in 2001. He was a graduate of Norwich University and of Trinity Catholic High in Stamford (1997). Bill played soccer and hockey at Trinity, and was a co-captain in hockey under Fairfield County Sports Hall of Fame coach Mickey Lione Jr. Bill, an avid sportsman, was a skilled fly-fisherman, skier and skydiver, and also was an accomplished mountaineer and tri-athlete who completed several marathons.
"We are extremely honored to accept this award on Brian's behalf," said Bill's mother, Pat Parry. "Personal fitness, sports competition, mental and physical toughness to conquer ever greater challenges in life were central to Brian's character. We are very proud of the daily courage he displayed in his military career, and being recognized with the Chelsea Cohen Courage Award by his home community is a truly special way to honor his legacy."
Last year's Courage Award was presented to professional golfer Ken Green, a Danbury native who was involved in a tragic auto accident that caused his lower right leg to be amputated. Previous winners are: 2009, James Hilaire of Stamford, a soccer goalie at the University of New Haven who suffered a traumatic head injury; 2008, Mike Myers-Keitt, a Norwalk native and Fairfield Prep graduate who now attends Monmouth University on a basketball scholarship; 2007, John Tartaglio, a Milford resident and Fairfield University graduate who, as a double amputee, has competed in triathlons and road races; 2006, Jason Maiella, a standout baseball player at Sacred Heart University who was the first winner of the award in Cohen's name.
The primary goal of the Cohen Fitness Academy (www.chelseacohenfa.com) is to offer Fairfield County youth access to the best available fitness trainers, coaches and health and wellness programs that provide opportunities to be active daily. The academy is designed to be the rallying point to engage important community stakeholders in children's health, nutrition and in the fight to combat childhood obesity. It also works to take that information and extend its reach throughout the area via the Sports Commission's Website (www.fairfieldcountysports.com).
Forever Young Foundation is a non-profit whose mission is to pass on hope and resources for the development, strength and education of children. Each year, through the efforts and vision of Steve Young, thousands of seriously ill, underprivileged and at risk children are given therapeutic, academic and athletic opportunities they would otherwise never receive. For more information, visit www.foreveryoung.org.
The Fairfield County Sports Commission promotes fitness, an active lifestyle and personal development through sports. Tickets for Sports Night are available on the Fairfield County Sports Commission Website.
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