The McCaslands, who have lived and worked in Lake Placid for over 65 years, were frequent contributors to the program — volunteering with fundraising, coaching and coordinating games and schedules from the 1960s to the late 1980s — managing to do all of this while raising five children.

It was a herculean devotion to a program they love to this day. Now in their 80s, their son, Dave, said receiving the association’s community member volunteerism award was the honor of a lifetime.

“They were floored; they couldn’t believe it. They were very excited,” he said. “It was a great night for them, a lot of stories were told when we went out to dinner afterward. … It was a lot of fun memories and it was great to see them smile the way they did.”

Dave added that it was never just about winning for his parents. It was the life lessons that come with sports, making sure every kid had their fair share of play time and the gear to play regardless of their family’s means and, in so doing, looking out for the community. It’s something that carries through to this day.

“There are people to this day who still stop and see my mom and dad, or if they see them on the street, or if they see them in the grocery store, they will come up to them, talk to them and give them a hug,” he said. “They’ve always looked out for the youth of the community and it’s something that I think to this day, they both still kind of do that. They’re older now, but if somebody needed something, my mother or father would help them.”

Edward and Kay were often seen with a group that worked the popcorn machine at games to help with fundraising. When Edward wasn’t doing that, he was often coaching. Kay ran all sorts of other fundraisers, such as potlucks, spaghetti dinners and bazaars.

It was time-intensive, but Dave said it was worth it for them, knowing that the funds raised meant that all kids who wanted to were given the opportunity to play. Dave had no idea how they were to pull it all off, giving so much back to a community they love dearly.

“How they found time to do that with all of us doing sports at the same time? I have no idea,” he said. “But they managed to do it. It was important to them for other kids, kids who weren’t their own, to be able to participate in and enjoy sports. The old adage is, ‘It takes a village to raise a child,’ and that’s how my mom and dad were.”