Hall of Fame Inducts the Class of 2008
Lee Staples '63
Lifetime Achiever
Dr. Lee Staples has been involved in community organizing for the past 40 years as an organizer, supervisor, staff director, trainer, consultant, coach and educator with a wide variety of grassroots change groups. His work has addressed social issues related to welfare rights, public and private housing, childcare, mental health, labor (hospital workers), public health, community building, ethnic, violence, youth development, neighborhood, and statewide community organizing. He has delivered training programs for social change organizations across the United States, as well as in the Balkans, Denmark and Israel.
Currently Dr. Staples is a Clinical Professor at Boston University School of Social Work where he teaches, practices, consults and publishes in the areas of grassroots organizing, task group dynamics, leadership development, and collective empowerment. He sits on the Executive Board of the Chelsea Collaborative which does community organizing that focuses on affordable housing, environmental justice, immigrant rights, parent involvement in public schools and youth violence. He consults with a wide variety of social change organizations; participates on a number of professional boards, committees, and academic associations; and has presented scholarly papers at numerous national as well as international conferences. He recently public the 2nd edition of Roots to Power: A Manual for Grassroots Organizing (Praeger 2004), and with his colleague Melvin Delgado, he has just written Youth Led Community Organizing: Theory and Action (Oxford 2008). At present he is doing research for a forthcoming book on the, International Clubhouse Movement which develops community support for recovering mental patients.
He has been married to his wife Louise for 39 years and has two children: Joshua (24) and Rebecca (20).
Sherman Rounsville '60
An outstanding student athlete at Fairhaven High School, Sherm earned eight varsity letters in four sports. He was also the President of the Student Council, a member of the National Honor Society and President of the Key Club. He was elected to serve as an International Trustee of the Key Club International and the President of the Senate for Massachusetts Boys' State. He received the Harvard Book Club Award for overall achievement and the Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Award for the highest academic achievement in the sciences.
During his sophomore year Sherm was undefeated in the 100 yard dash in dual meets. He was also outstanding in the 220 and 440 as well as the shot put. He was a member of the record setting mile relay team with Geoff Purvis, Mike Deforge and Jeff Lewis when Fairhaven won the Class D Mass. State Relays at Belmont High School with a time of 3:32.7. Sherm was the team captain his senior year, and notably FHS only lost four dual meets during his four year Track career.
Sherm was a starting forward on the 1959-1960 Basketball Team that was a Tech Tourney Class A semi-finalist. The other starters on that team were Tom Mendell, Mike Fitzgerald, Paul Bernard and Augie Oliveira. In one of the season's more memorable games FHS beat a heavily favored NB Voke team in the first round of the Tech Tourney. Sherm was instrumental in holding the great hoopster Martin Gomes to 13 points, and Sherm shot 5 for 5 from the field and 6 for 6 from the foul line. The unsung hero of the team, Sherm was "a bear off the boards, and pumped in those valuable points, especially away from the hoop".
Sherm went on to graduate from Bowdoin College where he lettered in Track. He later worked for Hoechst Celanese in international marketing of plastic films and resins, a field in which he became an industry expert and leader. As an inventor Sherm was granted two patents and currently runs his own consulting firm. His father, Sherman Rounsville, Class of 1920, was inducted into the FHS Hall of Fame in 2007.
Michael Camacho '72
A three sport athlete, Mike played baseball, basketball and football earning a total of eight letters. In football he was the starting tight end on the 1971 Capeway Conference Co-Champion Football squad. He was the favorite receiving target of Hall of Fame quarterback David Almeida.
Playing basketball for three years Mike earned Capeway Conference All-Star honors and a selection as Perfection Player of the Week. His 1971 basketball team finished 2nd in the Capeway Conference and advanced to the second round of the Tech Tourney.
Mike's strongest sport was baseball, and he came into his own during his junior year. As the starting first baseman he was the team's second leading hitter during the regular season with a .317 batting average, and he led the team in hitting during the post season tournament with a blistering .421 batting average. Mike hit a two-out walk-off single on a 2-2 pitch, his third hit of the game, to drive in the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning to beat Foxboro in the Class B Eastern Mass Baseball Tournament. The team finished the season by winning the Capeway Conference with an 11-1 record and finishing 2nd in the Class B State Tournament.
Switching to be the catcher on the baseball team for his senior season, Coach Cadieux said "Mike has done it all. He is a real team leader now and his work both behind the plate and with the bat has been excellent". During his three years on the baseball team Mike earned Capeway Conference All-Star honors, was named to the Standard-Times All Suburban Team, as well as the Small School All-Scholastic Team in both his junior and senior seasons.
Off the court and playing fields Mike was a member of the Key Club, the Huttlestonian staff and the Spray staff. He attended Providence College and served in the United States Army, and then worked for the U.S. Postal Service for many years. Currently he resides in Myrtle Beach, S.C, where he works in the golf industry. He earned his professional card and participates in many golf tournaments around the country and in Europe.
Scott Young '77
Scott played football all four years, earning South Coast Conference and Standard Times All-Star honors and a selection as the Perfection Player of the Week. Switching from quarterback to running back during his senior season, his team was the Southeastern Mass. Division I Champions. In his debut performance Scott managed to gain 172 yards in 16 carries and he scored three touchdowns in a 27-0 victory over Durfee. In their 9-0 victory over Attleboro Scott had 181 yards on 26 carries with 75 of the yards coming in the final 7 minutes of the game devouring the play clock and sealing the win.
One of the finest half-milers ever at FHS, Scott was undefeated in dual meet competition in the 880 event, earning Standard-Times and Southcoast Conference All-Star honors. Winning a share of the Southcoast Conference Division II Track crown his senior season, Scott also posted several firsts in the javelin and the 220. His most memorable individual performance came in a dual meet against New Bedford High School. All he did was upset a pair of Class A Indoor Track State Champions in winning the 220 and the 880. Young took the 220 in a time of 23.5 besting Class A champ Carlos Vieira by a yard. Then, in the race of the day, Scott beat NBH's Mark Thornhill, the Class A "600" champion, with a blazing 1:59.2 effort in the 880. Thornhill led almost all the way, with Young right on his heels, then at the head of the stretch, the smooth running Blue Devil pulled up even with the NBH star and they simultaneously kicked for the finish. Scott's lean at the wire won the race for him by 1/10 of a second.
After attending Tabor Academy, Scott went on to the University of New Hampshire on a four year football scholarship. He currently resides in New Hampshire, and works as a Local 7 Iron worker in Boston. He has three children and two grandchildren. His father, Harry L. Young, Class of 1942, was inducted into the FHS Hall of Fame in 2001.
Beth Souza '96
The expression "an athlete for all seasons" could not be more appropriate when describing Beth Souza. During her four years at FHS Beth played volleyball, basketball, softball and track earning a total of eight varsity letters. For her exceptional dedication to sports she received the Mildred Parkinson Tunstall Memorial Award.
Beth's accomplishments are many. In Volleyball she was a Southcoast Conference All-Star in both her junior and senior seasons, after having receives Honorable Mention as a sophomore. She was also a 1995 Standard-Times All-Star after having received Honorable Mention in 1994.She was recognized as the Standard-Times Player of the Week after having 20 assists in one match. She was the Captain of the Volleyball Team during her Junior year and her coach Laurel Hellyar proclaimed that Beth was "the best". Her most memorable moment came in the 1995 Dighton-Rehoboth match when she served 15 straight points with the help of her teammates and had three aces included in the run.
Beth was the Captain of the Softball team in both her Junior and Senior seasons, and she earned South Coast Conference All-Star Honorable Mention three times.
Beth was also awarded the MIAA Outstanding Sportsmanship Award in 1995. She also received the Outstanding Female Athlete Award at FHS from the YMCA and JC Penney on behalf of the Woman's Sports Foundation & National Girls and Women in Sports.
Beth earned a B.S. in Sociology with a concentration in Criminology and a minor in Psychology from Bridgewater State College. She played varsity Volleyball in college for four years, and was team Captain during her junior and senior seasons. She was selected for the 1999 MASCAC All-Conference 2nd team. Beth currently works as a social worker for the Dept. of Social Services, and she has a daughter, Ashley.
Coach James P. Mahaney '68
After graduation from Fairhaven High School in 1968 Jim Mahaney enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was honorably discharged in 1972. After working on the waterfront and local manufacturing for awhile he decided to take advantage of the G.I. Bill and matriculated at Southeastern Massachusetts University (now UMass-Dartmouth) and received a B.S. Degree in Business Management.
During his years in college Jim began to assist the Fairhaven High School Hockey program and took over as Head Coach in 1974. Coach Mahaney's FHS Hockey Team had its share of success earning Southern Mass. Conference Division III titles in 1975 and 1981, as well as a Co-Championship in the inaugural year of the South Coast Conference in 1985. Coach Mahaney's teams were well known for their hard work, hustle and sportsmanship. His players were outstanding ambassadors for FHS. Coach Mahaney's players always traveled to games wearing shirts and ties, and he created a tradition of his teams visiting the St. Luke's Hospital Children's Ward on Christmas Day each year.
Jim began coaching with the FHS Football program in 1981 as a Freshman Coach, and later as an assistant with the Varsity. In 1982 he became the Assistant Boys' Spring Track Team and he took over as Head Coach in 1983. His Pole Vaulters won the State Class D Pole Vault Title in 1986 and 1987.
A desire to move into school administration resulted in Jim being forced to give up the Hockey position in 1987 to pursue his Masters Degree at Bridgewater State College. It soon became apparent that he would have to give up the Spring Track position as well in order to devote his time to the pursuit of his advanced degree.
As an educator Jim has taught at Hastings Middle School, then moved to FHS in 1984. He assumed the position of Vice-Principal at Hastings in 1988 and then was promoted to become Principal of that school in 1999. He left the Fairhaven system in 2001 to become the Principal of the newly constructed Normandin Middle School in New Bedford.
Coach Mahaney is a free lance writer and an educational consultant. He is currently looking forward to retirement and spending more time with his family: wife Carole, his three daughters Beth, Jennifer and Jamie, and his grandchildren Erin and Andrew.