by Chris Tully, for Monticello-Goshen USHWA chapter
Goshen, NY — A few seats still remain for the Monticello–Goshen Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association’s 59th annual awards banquet to be held on Sunday (Dec. 3).
Banquet chairman Shawn Wiles noted, “We have enjoyed one our greatest responses in recent memory, bolstered largely in part to this year’s deserving and popular slate of honorees.”
With 200 tickets sold we have been fortunate enough to add another table to the banquet hall set up.
The schedule for this year’s festivities is as follows:
- Doors open with a cocktail hour and open bar starting at 6 p.m.
- Banquet seating begins at 7 p.m. with the horse awards being presented
- Dinner served at 8 p.m., followed by the primary honorees being presented their individual awards
- In addition, John Manzi, the driving force behind the chapter’s success for the last several decades, will be presenting the directors of Goshen Historic Track with the chapter’s annual donation of $3,000
The activities of the Monticello-Goshen chapter, largely through advertising sales and banquet participation, have allowed the organization to make sizeable annual donations to both the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame, as well as Goshen Historic Track.
This year, in addition to the year-end awards for horses and horse people from the local tracks, the Monticello-Goshen chapter will also honor Ray Schnittker (Lifetime Achievement Award); Herbie Burns (John Gilmour Good Guy Award); Dave Hanson (Excelsior Award); Crevani Farms (Cradle of the Trotter Breeders Award); Tim Masters (Amy Bull Crist Distinguished Service Award); Joseph Lee (Amateur Driver); Brandon Parker (Rising Star Award) and Carole Macedonio (Award of Appreciation).
Tickets for the gala event are still available and can be reserved by contacting Shawn Wiles at 845.794.4100 extension 458 or email: swiles@empireresorts.com, or contact Chris Tully at 845.807.7538 or email: tullytrot@yahoo.com.