John Degenaer Jr.

IRON MOUNTAIN — Each year, the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association selects a recipient for the James E. Tretheway Distinguished Service Award, given to an individual who has worked to benefit opportunities for Upper Peninsula student-athletes.

For 2021, the recipient is John Degenaer Jr. of Norway. A 1973 Norway High School graduate, Degenaer started going to every Norway varsity football game, both home and away, when he was a teenager and has not missed a game since 1970.

He was asked to join the “chain gang” for Knights home football games by Larry Gagnon Sr. beginning in 1980 and graciously accepted.

When Bill Bell was Norway’s athletic director, Degenaer became the clock operator for football games, as well as for boys and girls basketball. The clock operator position was something Degenaer did for basketball and junior varsity football from 1989-2016, and he is still a fill-in as needed.

In 1997, the year of the first Friday night varsity football games at Ronberg Field in Norway, Degenaer began a job he holds to this day — sideline statistician. In fact, after having hip replacement surgery on a Tuesday a handful of years ago, Degenaer didn’t miss Norway’s home Friday night football game. He was seen at that game driving a golf cart around the track that surrounds Ronberg Field in Norway, tabulating his stats on paper and a clipboard.

Degenaer also served as clerk of the course for Norway’s home track meets from 1990-2016.

“Receiving this award is an honor for me,” he said. “By being involved in high school sports, it gives you the opportunity to see all the athletes, girls and boys, achieve their goals. Also, it was an opportunity to help make the events succeed with volunteers, which is enjoyable to me.”

Getting to help out the school and the community, and getting to do so while watching your children and or grandchildren participate in sports, would be a plus for anyone in Degenaer’s shoes.

“The most enjoyable times for me while I worked games were watching my son (John III) and daughter (Jodi) participate, and now my grandsons and granddaughters participate in sports, which is also an enjoyable experience,” Degenaer said.

He noted that a big influence on his staying involved in Norway sports was Dwight Castelaz, former coach, teacher and athletic director at Norway.

Trethewey was a founding member of the UPSSA, longtime editor of The Marquette Mining Journal and the first executive director of the U.P. Sports Hall of Fame.