May 9th | Trumbull Marriott | 7:30 - 9:30 am

Donate

Welcoming Remarks with SHCC Executive Director, Amanda Meeson

Introduction by Master of Ceremonies Noah Finz

National Anthem performed by Captain Robert Burroughs of Police Activities League of Stratford

Sterling House Spirit Award to Police Activities League of Stratford, Presented by SHCC Director of Operations, Catherine Proto

Sterling Athletics Spotlight with SHCC Vice Chair of the Board of Directors Bill Lesko

Sports Media Panel & Audience Q&A moderated by Sahar Abdur-Rashid

Our Hosts

Master of Ceremonies

Noah Finz

President of Finz Creative Programming & Former Host CT Sports Now, Vantage Sports Network

Noah Finz spent 30 years in sports broadcasting including 18 years as the Sports Director at WTNH. He left the station in 2015 to start an exclusive sports network for Frontier Communications, Vantage Sports Network.
The network worked to highlight local sports while teaching students how to collect and produce local sports content for the network's flagship program, CT Sports Now.
In 2020, Noah ventured into residential real estate and practices in lower Fairfield County.

Panel Moderator

Sahar Abdur-Rashid

Director of Communications Major League Soccer

Sahar Abdur-Rashid joined Major League Soccer (MLS) as director of communications in April 2023. A member of the sports communications department, Abdur-Rashid oversees communication efforts for on-field components of the game including Competition, Regular Season and Playoff schedules and formats,and Match Day Operations while also supporting the league’s publicity efforts.
Previously, Abdur-Rashid served as an account supervisor at FleishmanHillard, a global public relations and marketing agency. As an integrated media and marketing specialist for brand and consumer properties, Abdur-Rashid played a key role in building communications campaigns, implementing executive thought leadership platforms, executing sponsorship activations, and providing counsel and management of brand reputation for global clients across a variety of verticals including sports & entertainment, DEI, consumer lifestyle, food and beverage, technology, and gaming in local, national, and international media markets.
Prior to her time at FleishmanHillard, Abdur-Rashid spent eight years at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). In her duties as assistant director of media coordination & statistics, external operations Abdur-Rashid managed media operations at notable Division I Championships including the Women’s College Cup, Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Championship, Women’s Volleyball Championship and Women’s College World Series. She also served as a liaison to athletic communication departments and was responsible for statistical and historical compilation. In 2017, she founded and launched a DEI grant program (NCAA Inclusion CoSIDA grant). The initiative sponsors six recipients from Division I, Division II, & Division III levels of athletic communications to visit the association’s national office, attend the industry's annual convention & participate in a year-long mentoring program.
A native of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, Abdur-Rashid is a graduate of Temple University (Pa.) with a bachelor’s degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management, with a specialization in Sports and Recreation Management along with a minor in Journalism, Public Relations, and Advertising. She obtained a master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in Sports Business from Saint Leo’s University (Fla.).

Our Panelists

Meghan Culmo

UConn Analyst SportsNet New York

From the time she could walk, Meghan had a ball in her hand, any type of ball, following her 3 brothers around. The sport that captivated her soul was basketball. A winner every step of the way, Meg was a captain or a leader on every team and never had a losing record. Culmo was a part of the first Big East Championship and NCAA Tournament team. And takes great pride in being a pivotal piece of the foundation to help build what is now the University of Connecticut Women’s Basketball powerhouse/dynasty.

After an All Big East Career, Culmo joined Geno Auriemma’s coaching staff and was a part of the program’s first National Championship team, going 35-0. Culmo then joined the broadcasting world and has been a color analyst on radio and tv for the past 24 years. She has worked on many networks including, WTIC AM 1080, MSG Network, Connecticut Public Television, Yes Network, ESPN and SNY, among others. She enjoys being around the game, the players and coaches and truly enjoys articulating what is happening during a broadcast to the serious basketball fan as well as to the sports novice.

Meghan has been in the business world for the past 25 years as well. A relationship-maker, she has been a lobbyist and consultant across many industries throughout Connecticut and this country. Basketball, however, is her first love and she couldn’t stay away. She started the Meg Culmo Basketball Camp in West Hartford the summer of 2021 with two successful weeks. She looks to build on it over the course of the winter and following summers as well. Teaching the game to the next generation is a gift. And she considers herself lucky to be in the position to give back to the game from which she has gotten so much.
.
Prior to joining SNY in December of 2022, Chelsea spent about one year and a half at the New England Sports Network (NESN) as a reporter and host after working as a Weekend Sports Anchor at local station WKTV in Utica, NY for just under two years.
Chelsea recently graduated with a Master’s degree in Strategic Communications and Public Relations at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Visual Communications at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, CT where she played four years of NCAA Division III women’s basketball before attending the Connecticut School of Broadcasting where she received a Certificate in Broadcast Training.
Born and raised in Bridgeport, CT, Chelsea is proud of where she comes from. She loves her family and loves all sports especially soccer and basketball. Her true passion is the growth and development of women in all aspects of sport.

Chelsea Sherrod

Reporter & Host SportsNet New York

Chelsea Sherrod is a Sports Reporter and Host at SportsNet New York, home of the New York Mets broadcasts since 2006. Chelsea hosts shows and reports on New York and tri-state area professional sports teams like the New York Mets, Yankees, Jets, Giants, Rangers, Islanders, Devils, Knicks, and Nets as well as coverage of the UConn Women’s Basketball team and much more.
Prior to joining SNY in December of 2022, Chelsea spent about one year and a half at the New England Sports Network (NESN) as a reporter and host after working as a Weekend Sports Anchor at local station WKTV in Utica, NY for just under two years.
Chelsea recently graduated with a Master’s degree in Strategic Communications and Public Relations at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Visual Communications at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, CT where she played four years of NCAA Division III women’s basketball before attending the Connecticut School of Broadcasting where she received a Certificate in Broadcast Training.
Born and raised in Bridgeport, CT, Chelsea is proud of where she comes from. She loves her family and loves all sports especially soccer and basketball. Her true passion is the growth and development of women in all aspects of sport.

Bob Heussler

Sportscaster WFAN Sports Radio

Bob Heussler is a veteran radio and television sportscaster with over 35-years of experience working in New York and Connecticut. He was an update anchor for the country’s first all-sports radio station – New York City’s WFAN – for 30 years and remains with the station on a part-time basis. Heussler has a long association with the Fairfield University men’s basketball program as their radio and television play-by-play announcer, and was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2024.
Heussler was the radio and television play-by-play announcer of the WNBA’S Connecticut Sun for 17 years, beginning with their inaugural season in 2003. He remains a back-up play-by-play radio announcer for the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets. Heussler was a sportscaster for the Connecticut Radio Network for over 15 years, serving as the radio play-by-play announcer for UConn basketball and football and providing coverage of the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament and PGA Greater Hartford Open.
He is a former network anchor for ESPN Radio and remains an anchor with the CBS Sports Radio Network on a part-time basis. He is a former sports director at WICC in Bridgeport, has been an instructor of student broadcasters at Yale and Fairfield and was the longtime director of public relations at Milford Jai-Alai. A graduate of the University of Bridgeport, Heussler currently resides in Stamford.

Erik Dobratz

Reporter Sports Team 8

Erik Dobratz has been a part of Sports Team 8 for more than 20 years. He can be seen during News 8’s 6pm and 11pm newscasts.

Erik joined News 8 back in 1998 as a writer for the news department. He went on to produce the noon and then the 5pm newscasts. In 2002, he was asked to produce Pilot Pen sports coverage for News 8. When the tournament was over, the Sports Department came calling.

Erik worked as a sports producer for several years, until he made the move to sports reporting in 2011, where he has been working with Sports Team 8 ever since.

Erik’s years of behind the scenes access to Connecticut’s biggest sporting events made him a natural addition to the on-air team. He has traveled to Atlanta and New Orleans to cover UConn for the Women’s Final Four. Erik has also produced numerous golf and tennis specials for News 8, as well as the Emmy nominated production of Huskies All Access, Inside Huskies Football, and the MyTV9 High School Football Game of the Week. In fact, he made his on-air debut with Sports Team 8, doing color commentary for the MyTV9 High School Football Game of the Week.

Prior to joining News 8, Erik worked for WLIS/WMRD radio in Middletown and the CBS Radio Network in New York City. He has a degree in Journalism and Political Science from the University of Connecticut. Erik currently lives in Hamden with his wife and two children.

The Sterling Spirit Award

This award is a tradition given annually at our Celebrity Breakfast fundraiser to recipients who show a strong dedication to the spirit, mission, and values on which we were founded. PAL’s intentional commitment to youth programs and athletics in our community embodies this award! We are thankful to have PAL as a steady, loyal partner in this work – food, toys, camp visits, PEP training, and of course – their longstanding collaboration in our athletics programs.