Piccolo Awards go to a pair of evenly matched young contenders

REHOBOTH BEACH — Why Brian Piccolo? Why is this award named after him?

Because he is a perfect model to follow.

Student nominees for the Brian Piccolo Award must demonstrate the admirable character traits exhibited by him: courage, friendship, loyalty, teamwork, dedication, sense of humor and anti-bias.

There are many Italian-American athletes who can be role models for today’s youth. Yet in Brian’s short life he left a legacy with which few can compete.

This year’s nominees — Jessica Evans (Cape Henlopen High School) and Madison McGee (Indian River High School) are friends, although they compete in athletics for different high schools. Their applications were so equal that the UNICO award committee chose to donate $1,000 to the athletic departments of both high schools. This was made possible by financial support from the Delaware Commission on Italian Heritage and Culture.

The nominees also received gift bags full of books on Italian heritage and immigration, movie tickets, gift certificates from Nicola Pizza, mini-golf passes from the Sea Shell Shop and more, and of course a copy of the movie “Brian’s Song,” made in the 1970s, which showed that even Hollywood admired Brian Piccolo.

The event was attended by many UNICO members, family and guests. A committee made up of members from both the Delmarva and Rehoboth Area Chapters prepared a delicious home-cooked Italian meal. A raffle with items donated by UNICO members and local businesses concluded the day’s events.