In a enterprise the place many people can show a cranky aspect once in a while, Joe Reardon was the exception to the rule.
Nothing happy Joe greater than getting an project to cowl a cross-country meet, an indoor observe occasion or an outside observe festivities. It wouldn’t matter whether or not the occasion was in his yard or 100 miles away, Joe was more than pleased to report on the younger women and men excelling and did so with a smile on his face.
The information that Joe lately handed away unexpectedly on the age of 59 surprised the observe and cross-country world. As quickly as his beloved sister Ellen posted the tragic information on Facebook, coaches, reporters and faculty officers had been fast to specific their condolences to the Reardon household (Joe is survived by a son Jack and daughters Elizabeth and Katie) and adopted up with a fast anecdote about Joe and what made him so beloved on the observe circuit.
“Joe was a genuine person who everyone respected,” mentioned Woburn observe coach James Fletcher. “He had a great awareness for the sport, whether it was cross country or track. He just knew when the right time was to talk to a coach or an athlete.”
Joe joined the Herald household in 2000, introduced aboard by former Herald High School Sports Editor Jim Clark. Now employed by the MIAA, Clark vividly remembers sitting down with Joe and being blown away by his observe data.
“It was a crazy time for me as I just got hired and I was in the process of hiring 8-9 people,” Clark mentioned. “I just remembered Joe’s knowledge about track and cross-country and I knew that would be such a valuable asset. Over the years, Joe showed that he was willing to do whatever was needed.”
Several years later when Clark moved on to turn into a duplicate editor on the Boston Herald, I slid into his position as highschool sports activities editor. As anybody who holds that title at any newspaper can attest, it’s not a simple job. The greatest benefit I had, nevertheless, was having Joe Reardon on the employees.
The luxurious of having the ability to hand over the observe and cross-country duties to Joe made my job that a lot simpler. As good a employee as he was, he was twice the particular person and that’s been made abundantly clear previously few days. His co-workers spoke fondly of their time on the Herald working alongside Joe.
“I can still remember Joe helping guide me through covering my first track and cross country meets when I was at the Herald,” mentioned Greg Dudek, now working for NESN. “He knew everything about the sport and always put the student-athletes first. Joe was an incredibly kind man who will undoubtedly be missed.”
“I worked with Joe for six years and we did hundreds of track, cross-country and other high school events together for 24 years,” mentioned Jamie Pote, who’s a employees author for the Eagle Tribune. “He was a great friend. I will miss his humor and our talks on music, movies and sports.”
Lowell athletic director Scott Ouellet spent a few years teaching observe. He was continuously amazed on the quantity of data Joe possessed. As one coach joked years in the past, “Joe has forgotten more than we will ever know on our best day”.
“For me, a reporter who covers basketball or hockey games, they have to know two teams and 10-15 kids,” Ouellete mentioned. “At a observe meet, there could also be 100 girls and boys groups and so many a whole lot of youngsters, but Joe all the time knew which groups to observe, which occasions had been the featured ones and which story traces to go after and he nailed it.
“Joe had that knowledge and always took pride in doing a good job.”
In addition to his tireless work masking meets, Joe was all the time looking out for a particular story, that student-athlete who handled adversity, overcame bodily challenges and different obstacles to realize success.
“Joe had that special ability to touch upon the personal aspects of the athlete and bring them into the limelight,” Fletcher mentioned. “He loved to write about athletes and learn why they were special in their own way. He was great at finding the human element and telling their story.”
Rest in peace my good pal Joe.
Relatives and buddies pays their remaining respects this Thursday from 3-6 p.m. on the Cartwright-Venuti Funeral Home on 845 Washington Street in Braintree. Following the providers that night, there can be a gathering at Campanale’s Restaurant in Braintree by which all are invited.
Source: www.bostonherald.com