BOP - Thursday Night the Girls Overwhelm St. Genevieve, All of Errion Gym Honors Mr. Dennis Boaz - 25 Years a SAINT!

The Lady Saints overwhelmed St. Genevieve in the Thursday Night Edition of B.O.P. while all in attendance took time to say thanks to a long time, loyal SAINT - Mr. Dennis Boaz who will be retiring at the conclusion of the current school year following 25 years of "SAINTHOOD!" A large contingent of the Boaz "Clan" was on hand to add to the celebration. Principal Mike Schabert gave a tribute at half-time and recognized his years of service in the classroom and accomplishments in athletics - soccer, track, cross country and football. The crowd broke into applause several times while the PIT chanted his name. President Gina Maguire presented Mr. Boaz with a handsome memento of those 25 years, the Lady Saints provided a signed basketball along with a gift basket and the game went on. At game's end he made one final PIT stop to the cheers and ovation of our sensational students who keep the tradition of the PIT loud and spirited along with a drumline second to none. Go SAINTS!

Text of the tribute by Mr. Schabert, Principal:

Ladies and Gentlemen, Students, parents, St Anthony Alumni, today we recognize in a special way one of our long-time teachers and coaches, Dennis Boaz. Mr. Boaz will be completing his 25th year at SA and 40th year overall in the education profession and will be retiring at the end of the year.
I want to welcome the family of Mr. Boaz, joining him today is his wife Patricia, his daughters Kristen Boyer and Kathleen Feenstra and his son Steve and their families.

In the short time I have gotten to know Mr. Boaz, it is easy to see why he has stayed in education for so many years. He is a wealth of information and has shared much of that with me. Among the many things I have learned about Mr. Boaz is 1) his devotion to his family, 2) his proud Scottish-Irish heritage and 3) his love for fishing.

These three loves have shaped Mr. Boaz’ tenure with us at St Anthony because St Anthony is an extension of his family and part of his heritage and he never hesitated to fish while he was here, fishing for knowledge, fishing for athletes he would coach, and fishing students who needed a little extra help and support.

Mr. Boaz has been one of the most dedicated members of the school community. His presence at athletic contests, school event, and willingness to do anything asked of him will be surely missed by all. I am grateful for his support and dedication and he has helped me tremendously.

As a coach, Mr. Boaz has much to be proud of. He coached Cross-Country, Soccer, Track, and Football and helped our student-athletes achieve many individual and team successes. A number of his teams made the playoffs, won league championships, and individual CIF championships. As a teacher, Mr. Boaz exemplified being a team player by teaching many different subjects including biology, physical science, us and world history, religion, economics, and health. And I’m sure all would agree his classes were memorable.

I think the most important quality of Mr Boaz is his sincere concern for each individual student. Numerous times, Mr Boaz would go out of his way to help a student from challenging situations by finding food for the student and their family. He would find help for students having trouble in life.

So in conclusion, his three loves of family, heritage and fishing, will continue. He has left a legacy and will always be a part of the SA family, I hope he will include SA as part of his heritage now Scottish-irish-saints, and may he enjoy the many long days ahead on the lake or the ocean fishing. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in honoring Mr. Dennis Boaz.