Laurel Bonn and Evan Spagnoletti Capture Dellecave Awards
June 13, 2023
Seniors Laurel Bonn and Evan Spagnoletti are Huntington High School’s recipients of this year’s Guy “Butch” Dellecave Award, which is presented to one graduating male and female from each Suffolk high school who possess “outstanding accomplishments on the field of play, in the classroom and within the community.”
Ms. Bonn and Mr. Spagnoletti were joined by their families at a Sunday morning awards breakfast at Villa Lombardi in Holbrook, which drew of crowd of more than 400.
Guy “Butch” Dellecave was on the faculty of the Connetquot School District for 30 years. He was also one of the top rated basketball officials in Suffolk and the state and directed the Smithtown basketball summer league for 35 years. One of the main proponents of the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame, he founded the Dellecave Education Institute for Professional Development, which provided classes, workshops and seminars for administrators, teachers and coaches. Mr. Dellecave passed away suddenly on August 27, 2000.
The 23rd annual awards program recognized 106 seniors from across Suffolk. Mr. Spagnoletti was one of six finalists for the male countywide award. He was asked to stand before the crowd as his credentials were read for the audience.
The Dellecave Awards are presented by The Economic Opportunity Council of Suffolk, Inc. and the Butch Dellecave Foundation, Inc. The 106 award recipients were chosen on the basis of outstanding athletic ability as well as having displayed exceptional character and integrity.
During the breakfast, master of ceremonies Robert Schwender requested that each of the award recipients stand up and hug their parents for all they have done for the teenagers.
An All-State field hockey player and a lockdown defender on the Blue Devil lacrosse team, Laurel Bonn combines athletic excellence with academic mastery as valedictorian of Huntington High School’s Class of 2023 with a weighted grade average of nearly 105. She also deeply cares about others and has used her position as a leader in the classroom and on the field to help children and economically challenged families.
An influential leader on the field, Ms. Bonn has captained teams in both sports, leading Huntington field hockey to its most successful season ever with 14 wins and a Suffolk Final Four appearance and spearheading a revival for the Blue Devil lacrosse team under a new coaching staff.
While excelling on the field, Ms. Bonn has aced just about all of Huntington’s most challenging Advanced Placement and honors courses. She’s been inducted into multiple academic honor societies, participated in the Science Olympiad and served as treasurer of the Environmental Club, working with classmates to make the Huntington community greener, cleaner and more healthy.
Giving back to the community through the Environmental Club; by sharing her love for field hockey and lacrosse by training and coaching elementary and middle school students and through National Honor Society initiatives such as Adopt a Family has been an important part of Ms. Bonn’s high school experience.
A paid chemistry lab assist for a Huntington High School science teacher, Ms. Bonn somehow even finds the time to work at a local pottery studio. The teenager’s interests also include painting, baking and playing sports.
Ms. Bonn plans to study biology at the University of Georgia in preparation for a career in dentistry.
A five-time All-State swimmer, Evan Spagnoletti also volunteered to play on Huntington High School’s varsity Unified basketball team, patiently and lovingly working with a variety of co-ed players with special needs and moderate to severe disabilities who nevertheless thoroughly enjoy participating in the Blue Devil athletic program.
A College Board National Hispanic Scholar, Mr. Spagnoletti has been recruited to swim on the University of Pennsylvania’s NCAA Division I team. He intends to major in biology with minors in hospital management and neuroscience. “With this unique track, I will be able to graduate with a degree from the Wharton School and the College of Arts and Sciences and then continue on to a career in either the medical field or hospital administration,” he said. “I plan to one day become the CEO of a hospital and help out those in need by bringing equity into the healthcare world.”
Treasurer of Huntington’s Science and Math Honor Societies, the teenager is the founder and president of Operation Thanksgiving. Despite various entities striving to meet the needs of families at Thanksgiving, Mr. Spagnoletti was worried they would fall short, so he took matters into his own hands, organizing a food drive, motivating classmates and community members to donate and collaborating with the Huntington High School principal to meet the goal of collecting hundreds of items and getting the goods into the hands of those who needed it the most.
Mr. Spagnoletti even captured honors from the International Music & Arts Society for his piano solo at Lincoln Center. A First Star Leader for his church, the teenager raked leaves for the elderly, painted the church and led younger kids in team building activities.
The Huntington senior participated in a two week summer research intern program at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, engaging in experiments with college professors and lab scientists.
The founder of NHC (Noah’s Camp Box), Mr. Spagnoletti collaborated with the Helping Hand Rescue Mission on a multi-year community service project focused on the distribution of STEM toys to underprivileged children in the local community.
A Huntington High School New World club mentor, Mr. Spagnoletti has volunteered to work with English as a new language students who recently immigrated to the United States and Huntington UFSD. He has helped in ENL classrooms and mentored one-on-one to help students successfully assimilate into the high school.
During his high school swimming career, Mr. Spagnoletti has been All-County in six separate events and All-Long Island and All-State in four different events. He helped lead Huntington to the 2022 Suffolk team championship.
An Advanced Placement Scholar, Mr. Spagnoletti is the recipient of the President’s Award for Educational Excellence.