Friday, June 17, 2022
The Boilermaker Road Race recognized two long-time volunteers and a media member for their contributions to the race Thursday, June 16.
The 2022 Les Diven Media Award for exceptional race coverage was presented to John Clifford of the Daily Sentinel. The Peter J. DeStefano Volunteers of the Year awards were presented to long-time volunteers Jack Atkinson and Sherwood “Bud” Berthold.
Clifford, a photojournalist at the Daily Sentinel since 1992, received the award for his outstanding coverage of the race for the past 30 years. Officials noted that his work has been instrumental in chronicling the race to readers across the Mohawk Valley and the world. Clifford is also a member of the Rome Arts Hall of Fame.
Atkinson, a volunteer since 1994, served the race as the media truck coordinator and driver. He spent many years arranging trucks for the media, altering the cab of each truck in order to safely transport the media as they film and cover the race. Atkinson also took charge of driving the main media vehicle ahead of the race, allowing unprecedented coverage of the lead pack. Jack was employed by National Grid for more than 42 years.
Berthold has served as the head of the ham radio operators group since 1998. His crew of 30 volunteers use separate frequencies from EMS, Police and Boilermaker officials, ensuring that they can communicate in any crisis situation and guarding against any communication breakdowns. Ham Radio operators are located at the start and finish line, at each water and aid station, medical tents and at the command center. Bud was employed by General Electric for 20 years, Mohawk Data Sciences for 15 years and Motorola for 5 years. He also spent 33 years in service with the US Navy.
