Port Washington Youth Activities has announced the induction of three new members into the PYA Hall of Fame at its annual Gala on the night of Friday, April 21 at the North Hempstead Country Club in Port Washington.
The 31st edition of the PYA Gala will honor Cory Drewes and Eric Trenaman for their long-time volunteer efforts, and former PYA athlete Ken McIlhenny. These three individuals, each in their own way, have helped to continue to shape and grow the organization, which was founded in 1963.
With her background as a 4-year varsity softball player at Yale University, Cory Drewes began as a volunteer head coach at PYA in 2011 in both the girls softball and basketball programs.
She coached for 11 years and was the softball commissioner for 5 of those years. Cory joined the board in 2016, and since then has been active on the Information Technology and Public Relations committees, and helped spearhead PYA’s newest fundraising events – the Softball Bash in May, and the recently completed Hoopfest.
Eric Trenaman has been involved with PYA for 17 years, beginning with the intramural baseball program where he was a head coach for 13 years and commissioner for 4 years. Part of that time was also spent leading PYA Legends travel baseball teams.
A former Johns Hopkins University quarterback and pitcher, he took two Legends baseball teams to the Williamsport state championships.
Eric also coached in both the boys and girls basketball programs for a total of 15 years, with 5 of those years as commissioner. He has been a board member for over 10 years, and more recently has co-Chaired the Softball Bash.
Ken McIlhenny is entering the Hall of Fame as a former PYA athlete. He was a youth lacrosse player for 10 years in the travel programs up to high school, and then played in the summer leagues through his graduation from Schreiber High School in 1976, where he also played soccer and club ice hockey.
He subsequently joined the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD and became a career officer. In 2004, he began coaching in the Leonardstown, Md., girls high school program at the junior varsity level, and in 2009 became the head varsity coach up to 2018 when he moved to Pensacola, Fla., coaching the girls varsity high school team there.
Most recently he moved over to coach the neighboring Gulf Breeze High School girls varsity team, as well as running the “LaxChix” and “LaxManiax” regional elite girls travel and summer programs.
On the night of April 21st, these new inductees will join 76 other Hall of Fame members as past PYA honorees. The Gala will kick off with a cocktail hour at 7:30 PM, and a buffet dinner from 8:45 PM to 11:30 PM. There will be a silent auction, and a liquor ring toss too. The price is $185.00 per person (including open bar) in advance and is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
There are also several sponsorships available to fit all budgets. Please mark your calendars now, and direct any inquiries and reservations to Brandon Kurz, PYA executive director at (516) 944-7921. You can also visit the PYA website link at www.pyasports.org/gala for more information about the Celebration, and to register to attend the event.
