Vermont Lake Monsters owner Ray Pecor to receive Vermont Sports Hall of Fame’s David K. Hakins Award
BURLINGTON, Vt. -- The owner of Vermont's lone affiliated minor league baseball team since 1994, Raymond 'Ray' Pecor Jr. is the inaugural David K. Hakins Award inductee into the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame. The board of directors of the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame made the announcement today, October 22, 2013.
The Hakins Award recognizes a business leader or an organization for exceptional promotion and development of sports, athletics and recreation in the state of Vermont. It is named in memory of the late David K. Hakins, a businessman who was a founding member of the VSHOF and the inspirational first president of its board of directors.
“This is an honor and I am proud to receive this award,” Pecor said after he was informed of his selection.
“As you know, I love the sport, our community and our state. I am very proud of what we have been able to accomplish with the facility,” said Pecor, referring to Centennial Field. “It could not have happened without the support of the University of Vermont, the fans and the business community … and the media has been very supportive.”
David Hakins’ wife, Jane, said, “It’s such an honor to see Dave’s name attached to an award whose recipient shares his passion for business development and promotion.
“He loved working with the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame from its infancy and would be humbled to see the work given such respect,” she said.
Justin Martin, chair of the Hall’s board of directors, said, “This award was created and will forever make the name Dave Hakins synonymous with the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame.
“Dave's ability to bring together the sporting world and the business world was a gift he helped share with our executive committee. Ray Pecor is the perfect first recipient of this award as his leadership in the community of Vemont has spurred both economic development and a passion for sports,” Martin said. “His work to revitalize Centennial Field and keep minor professional baseball here in the State of Vermont and at the same time be a business leader is something Dave Hakins would truly admire.
“Congratulations, Mr. Pecor, we are honored.”
The longtime owner of the Lake Champlain Transportation Company and several other successful businesses, Pecor returned minor league baseball to the Green Mountain State after a five-year absence by purchasing a New York Penn League (Class A, short season) franchise prior to the 1994 season. First affiliated with the former Montreal Expos, the Vermont Expos opened that year with record crowds at Centennial Field and went on to capture the league championship in 1996. Now the Vermont Lake Monsters and an Oakland Athletics affiliate since 2011, the team in 2013 celebrated its 20th campaign and saw its two-millionth fan walk through the turnstiles.
In addition to rejuvenating professional baseball in Vermont, Pecor personally spearheaded the $2 million-plus renovation of historic Centennial Field, which hosted its first baseball game in 1906. Since 2012, his funding has given the ballpark new and improved lights, new dugouts, a greatly improved playing surface, the state's first video scoreboard and new seating while reinforcing the concrete of the grandstand that was built in 1922. All the improvements have modernized the ballpark for players and fans while keeping its historic feel.
Pecor previously owned and operated a Triple-A International League franchise in Ottawa, Ontario, and is currently a partner of the Lehigh Valley (Pa.) Iron Pigs, also in the International League.
For more than four decades, Pecor has made tremendous contributions in the areas of transportation, entertainment and downtown revitalization that have been critical to the economic development of the state. Never seeking the spotlight, Pecor and his family have quietly been longtime benefactors to many community causes throughout the Green Mountain State. He ahas anonymously assisted fledgling businesses and other organizations in need of advice or financial support in the area. Pecor to this day serves on the boards of many local businesses, educational and non-profit organizations boards as well.
A native of Burlington and a graduate of Burlington High School, Pecor also attended the University of Vermont and was awarded a Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree in May of 2013. A longtime member of UVM's Board of Trustees and Alumni Council, Pecor received the school's Alumni Achievement Award in 1997.
Pecor is the 12th member of the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of ’13, joining U.S. Olympic skiers Barbara Cochran and Billy Kidd, BFA-St. Albans football standout Ollie Dunlap, baseball players Ray Fisher and Ralph Lapointe, high school basketball coach Jean Robinson, long-time Vermont Fish & Wildlife commissioner Ed Kehoe, field hockey star Gretchen Scheuermann, Middlebury College hockey record-setter Phil Latreille, basketball star Keith Cieplicki and Charles Adams, the first VTSH Board of Directors’ historical inductee. For more information on the Class of 2013 inductees, log on to
The Class of ’13 will be honored on Nov. 17at the DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton on Williston Road. A reception will be held at 4 p.m. with the dinner and induction at 5 p.m. The event is in conjunction with the VSHOF’s designated charity, Prevent Child Abuse Vermont.
Tickets for the second annual event are $75 per person and tables of 10 are available. Information on the dinner and tickets is available atwww.vermontsportshall.com/dinnerinfo.html.
For more information on the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame, log on to the Hall's official website at www.vermontsportshall.com
