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Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks argues with NBA official Ronnie Nunn as Dikenbe Mutombo of the Atlanta Hawks looks on 20 May, 1999, during the first half of the second game of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. Nunn will be inducted in the Danbury Old Timers Hall of Fame in September.
JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images
DANBURY — The Danbury Old Timers will induct 10 people into its Hall of Fame during its annual awards banquet Sept. 24 at The Amber Room.
The 2026 class includes athletes, coaches, sports officials, community leaders and military veterans with ties to the Greater Danbury area.
Tickets are $60 and can be purchased by contacting Frank Acri at [email protected] or at Pembroke Pumping and Iovino Brothers Sporting Goods in Danbury. The deadline to purchase tickets is Sept. 11.
This year's honorees are Arlindo "Al" Almeida, Harry Hansen Jr., Danny Hayes, Christie Scalzo Koukopoulos, Patrick Lawlor, Wayne Lounsbury, Hans Otto, Ronald "Ronnie" Nunn, Farley A. Santos and Terrie Peck Schmiedel.
Arlindo "Al" Almeida
Standout soccer defender at Henry Abbott Technical School and helped the team qualify for the CIAC tournament during the 1976-77 season. He was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2011 and has served as its president since 2012.
Almeida continued playing soccer while serving in the Army, including two years with his Army post team. His Baumholder Army Base team finished second in the All-Army Europe Championship.
He later spent 16 years coaching youth soccer in Brookfield and Danbury.
Almeida also had a lengthy military career that included two deployments to Iraq. His honors include the Legion of Merit, three Bronze Stars, two Meritorious Service Medals, five Army Commendation Medals with a Valor Device and the Combat Action Badge.
He served as command sergeant major of the Warrior Transition Battalion and later the 99th Regional Support Command.
Almeida has also served on the Danbury Board of Education and has been involved with several veterans and community organizations.
Harry Hansen Jr.
Competed in baseball, basketball and cross country at Henry Abbott Technical School from 1972-75 and continued playing baseball and basketball at Waterbury State Tech.
His athletic career later included decades of softball and basketball in Danbury industrial leagues, bowling and auto racing.
Hansen competed at the Danbury Racearena in 1981 before racing modified stock cars at Stafford Motor Speedway, Waterford Speedbowl and Thompson Speedway from 1984-2015.
He is in his 53rd year as a volunteer firefighter with Mill Plain Independent Hose Company No. 12 in Danbury, where he has served as president, secretary, lieutenant and captain.
Danny Hayes
Served in the U.S. Army from 1988-91 and was deployed to Iraq during Operation Desert Storm as part of a six-man Special Operations team attached to the 3rd Armored Division.
Hayes received a Bronze Star for his actions during the ground war.
He later devoted much of his career to serving veterans in Danbury. Hayes has been manager of the Danbury War Memorial for the past five years after serving 13 years as its executive director. He has also served as Danbury's executive director of veterans affairs for 10 years and as the Soldiers, Sailors and Marines Fund representative for Western Connecticut.
Hayes has received numerous military, civic and community honors. He also received civilian awards from the Danbury police and fire departments after pulling a woman from a burning vehicle before it was engulfed in flames.
Christie Scalzo Koukopoulos
Played soccer and basketball at Danbury High School from 1983-86, serving as captain of the basketball team as a senior and starting at point guard for two seasons.
She later played basketball at Central Connecticut State University.
Koukopoulos continued competing after college, including women's tackle football from 2006-11. She played cornerback, wide receiver and special teams for the Connecticut Cyclones, Northeast Nitro and Connecticut Wreckers.
She also founded a team in the Nutmeg Women's Soccer League and competed in bodybuilding competitions.
In 2015, Koukopoulos was selected to participate in "American Ninja Warrior," completing the first two obstacles of the course.
She earned a degree in physical therapy from the University of Connecticut and worked in the profession for 29 years.
Patrick Lawlor
Developed his passion for golf after becoming a caddie at Ridgewood Country Club at age 11.
Lawlor played three years of varsity golf at Danbury High School and received a caddie scholarship from the Connecticut State Golf Association in 1979. He later received a scholarship to play at the University of Tampa.
At 15, Lawlor was the top junior qualifier for the New England Public Links Tournament at Sterling Farms in Stamford. He also won the inaugural Frank McCarthy Tournament at Richter Park and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Connecticut Juniors Tournament.
Lawlor later competed in triathlons and qualified more than once for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii.
He became an NFL agent in 1999 and represented more than 40 players, including Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu and Justin Jefferson. He later became a baseball agent.
Lawlor has taught sports law at Florida Atlantic University for 15 years.
Wayne Lounsbury
Competed in soccer, basketball and baseball at Henry Abbott Technical School from 1964-67.
His soccer and basketball teams both won state championships in 1966. Lounsbury played outfield and first base in baseball and was named the team's MVP in 1967.
He later competed in the Danbury Industrial Softball League, played industrial league golf and bowled in leagues at Danbury Bowlarama.
Lounsbury also spent years coaching T-ball and youth basketball. In 1995, the city of Danbury issued a proclamation recognizing his 15 years of coaching service at St. Peter School.
Hans Otto
Played football at Danbury High School from 1974-76 and was the starting center on the Hatters' 1976 FCIAC championship team.
Danbury defeated previously unbeaten Trumbull 10-6 in the championship game at Boyle Stadium in Stamford. Trumbull entered the game 9-0 and ranked No. 1 in the state.
Otto later attended Dean Junior College, where he was a two-year starting center and served as co-captain during his second season. He also played goalie on the lacrosse team.
After college, Otto returned to Danbury and served as an assistant football coach at Danbury High in 1979 and 1980.
He was inducted into the Danbury High School Hall of Fame in 2022 and serves on its board of directors. His father, Jack Otto, a captain of the 1953 Danbury football team, was inducted by the Old Timers in 1998.
Ronald "Ronnie" Nunn
Nunn turned a basketball career into a long tenure as an NBA referee and officiating administrator.
Nunn officiated 1,134 NBA regular-season games, 74 playoff games, two All-Star games and four NBA Finals games from 1984-2003.
He later served as the NBA's director of officials from 2003-08 and director of referee development from 2008-11.
Nunn's basketball career also included work as an assistant coach at Pace University, an officiating consultant for FIBA Europe and the National Basketball League of Australia, and a specialty coach with the New York Knicks.
He was inducted into the George Washington University Hall of Fame in 1997 and has also been inducted into the Brooklyn Basketball Hall of Fame and New York City Basketball Hall of Fame.
Farley A. Santos
Santos has held several public and community leadership positions in Danbury.
Santos served on the Danbury Board of Education and Danbury City Council and currently represents the city's 109th District in the Connecticut General Assembly.
He serves as vice chair of the legislature's Banking Committee and chair of its Fraud Prevention Task Force. He is also a member of the Veterans and Military Affairs, General Law and Government Oversight committees.
Santos also serves as an economic and community development adviser to Danbury Mayor Roberto L. Alves.
A graduate of Henry Abbott Technical High School and member of its Hall of Fame, Santos has served in leadership positions with the Danbury Police Activities League, Connecticut Education Foundation and other community organizations.
Terrie Peck Schmiedel
A three-sport athlete at Danbury High School from 1983-86, Peck Schmiedel competed in soccer, basketball and softball.
As a senior, she captained all three teams.
Schmiedel continued her softball career at Central Connecticut State University, where she played for four years on a partial athletic scholarship and served as captain as a senior.
She also played for the Danbury Mad Hatters softball team, helping the team win a championship in 1988.
Schmiedel later spent more than a decade coaching high school softball and five years as an assistant coach at Western Connecticut State University.
She coached the Danbury junior varsity team from 2019-22 and joined Pomperaug as an assistant varsity softball coach in 2023.
Schmiedel is also a breast cancer survivor and has been cancer-free for more than 12 years.