LAKE PLACID — The Lake Placid Hall of Fame Committee invites the public to celebrate the three new inductees to the Lake Placid Hall of Fame. The 40th annual induction event will be held on Saturday, Nov. 4 at the Mount Van Hoevenberg North Lounge.

The inductees for the 2023 class are Russell Banks, Richard “Armando” Persico and Sally Warner.

The event will begin at 6 p.m. with drinks and hors d’oeuvres. Tickets are $50 and are available at the Olympic Center box office by calling 518-523-3330 through Thursday, Oct. 26. They are also available online at lakeplacidolympiccenter.com.

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Russell Banks

Russell Banks (Photo — Naj Wikoff)

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Banks was twice a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in fiction, first for “Continental Drift” and then for “Cloudsplitter.” He has had his books translated into over twenty languages and was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1996.

Banks, a former resident of Keene, based five of his novels in our region: “The Sweet Hereafter,” “The Reserve,” “Rule of the Bone,” “American Spirits” and “Cloudsplitter.”

“Cloudsplitter” stimulated a reconsideration of abolitionist John Brown, new research, the founding of John Brown Lives!, the official friends group of the John Brown Farm State Historic Site and the revitalization of the annual John Brown Day tribute. In addition, Banks, as the lyricist, based the opera “Harmony” on his wife, the poet Chase Twichell’s ancestor Harmony’s near ruined engagement to the composer Charles Ives by family friend Mark Twain; an opera premiered by the Seagle Festival in Schroon Lake.

Banks was a co-founder of the Lake Placid Film Festival, the Adirondack Center for Writing and John Brown Lives! and remained an active supporter and participant of all three since their founding. In addition, his short story “The Fisherman” was adapted into a play presented at the Recovery Lounge (Upper Jay Art Center).

Banks died on Jan. 7, 2023, at the age of 82.

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Richard “Armando” Persico

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Persico, a long-time resident of Lake Placid and lover of the Adirondacks, was a United States Army veteran and an accomplished environmental and land use lawyer. He was the principal author of the Adirondack Park Agency Act and served as the Agency’s first executive director. He guided the agency through its early years when it was reviled by many Park residents and celebrated by environmentalists.

Persico was appointed deputy commissioner and general counsel of the state Department of Environmental Conservation, where he oversaw the enforcement of the state sweeping environmental laws, including the Love Canal cleanup and PCB removal in the Hudson River. While at the DEC, he was instrumental in permitting construction of the 1980 Winter Olympic venues and was called on to help solve vexing transportation problems at the start of the Games. He was then tapped to write legislation creating the Olympic Regional Development Authority and once enacted, he was appointed as its first general counsel. While at ORDA, he secured approval for the construction of the U.S. Olympic Training Center, one of only two in the country and drafted and secured passage of a constitutional amendment allowing trail expansions at the Whiteface Mountain Ski Area.

In 1987, Persico retired from state service and practiced law for 10 years in Lake Placid with in his friend and long-time associate, Thomas Ulasewicz. He also served as the Lake Placid village attorney.

His environmental and land use achievements have been recognized by the New York State Bar Association and the state Senate.

Persico died on Aug. 5, 2021, at the age of 88.

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Sally Warner

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Warner was “born and raised in Lake Placid,” as she so proudly told everyone. Her pride and love for the town was evident at her 80th birthday when former Mayor Roby Politi presented her with a key to the village.

Sally was a competitive athlete. At age 13, she was invited to the U.S. Eastern Amateur Ski Association, finishing ninth overall at the Junior Nationals. She graduated from the Lake Placid High School in 1954, capping her ski career by winning both Alpine events, and was honored as the Winter Carnival queen. After high school, she graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder with a degree in history (adding a master’s degree in education later). She also met her future husband Mark, and together they had two children, Christopher and Katherine, returning to Lake Placid in 1968.

Warner’s greatest achievement was as a teacher. For nearly 30 years, she devoted herself to teaching at elementary and middle schools in Lake Placid and Saranac Lake. She also taught downhill skiing at several local ski areas and cross-country skiing at Cascade Ski Touring Center. As a Life Master in Bridge, she also taught others how to play the game.

In addition to education, Warner’s thirst for civic responsibility led her to become town councilwoman from 1996 to 2008. As the first woman elected to the town board, she became an inspiration for others who followed. She was also actively involved in the community, as a member and past president of the Kiwanis Club, vestry of the Episcopal Church, Lake Placid School Board, Business and Professional Women’s group, Library Board, Zoning Board, Mercy Care and the Lake Placid-North Elba Historical Society.

In 2002, she won Business Woman of the Year for her See the Sights with Sally tour business, where she shared her love and passion for the Adirondacks with all who visited. Hundreds of bus tours and individuals referred to her as Lake Placid’s “Mrs. Ambassador.” An Adirondack 46er, an accomplished golfer, an avid walker, and a dog lover round out Warner’s life.

Warner, who was born in 1936, died on Nov. 8, 2022.

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Hall of Fame

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The Lake Placid Hall of Fame began in 1983 and has inducted over 140 individuals, as well as the members of the 1948 U.S. Olympic four-man bobsled team and the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team.

To be considered for induction into the Lake Placid Hall of Fame, individuals should be past or current residents of the Olympic region or have some significant connection to the area. Carefully selected by Hall of Fame Committee members, all nominees must have made significant sports, cultural or civic contributions to the region, or their endeavors must have enhanced the area’s historical heritage.

The 2023 Lake Placid Hall of Fame Committee includes Nancie Battaglia, Bob Birk, Mark Gilligan, Doug Hoffman, Emily Kilburn-Politi, Butch Martin, Don McMullen, John Morgan and Tricia Preston.

For more information on the Lake Placid Hall of Fame, visit tinyurl.com/2tnwpdv4.