WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Bay State Games presented the Berkshire Hero Award on Saturday evening to two staunch supporters of the annual Winter Games.

 

The 2020 recipients are Nate Cariddi from Williams College and Sue Briggs of the Williamstown Chamber of Commerce. The two recipients received their awards during the Bay State Skate Figure Skating Show, which took place at the college's Lansing Chapman Rink on Saturday. 

 

Nate Cariddi is the groundskeeper lead at Williams with responsibilities including the ice rink. Cariddi has served as an important contact between the Bay State Games and the college. He and his crew also put in a lot of extra work and care during the figure skating competition to ensure that all participants have a first-class experience. 

 

He  has had a long association with Bay State Games as he was a member of the Summer Games West Region Baseball team when he was in high school.

 

Briggs is the executive director of the Chamber of Commerce and has been a strong supporter of the Bay State Games for many years. She has worked to engage Williamstown businesses to support the Bay State Games through offering local discounts and putting up promotional posters in their storefronts. 

 

She has also helped to enhance the Bay State Games participant experience by providing athletes and their families with information on Williamstown and the lodging, restaurant and attraction options in the area.

 

The Berkshire Hero Award was created in 2008 to recognize individuals, businesses, facilities, and organizations within Berkshire County that go above and beyond to ensure that the Bay State Winter Games are a success.

 

The figure skating competition was held over the weekend but the games return on Feb. 28-March 1 for masters hockey at the Peter W. Foote Vietnam Veterans Ice Skating Rink in North Adams.

 

The Winter Games began in 1985 when then Executive Director Doug Arnot and Dalton native Carrie Crane created the Olympic-style winter sports festival. The Winter Games have been held every year since but one. The Berkshires was chosen as an ideal location for the Winter Games because of the quality of the facilities and the willingness of the region to support the event. It has grown to include nearly a thousand participating athletes from all New England states in a

wide variety of winter sports.

 

For a list of past Berkshire Hero recipients, click here. For results from ice skating competition, click here.