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By Douglas McCulloch
Hometown Weekly Staff
High school football season might still be several months away, but the Westwood Gridiron Club was busy raising money for the team at its annual Nine and Dine fundraiser, which was held last Monday at the Norfolk Golf Club.
The Nine and Dine kicked off in the afternoon with a golf tournament at the Norfolk Golf Club with 40 people signed up to tee off. After the golf tournament finished, the party moved indoors with a dinner, with a combined total of about 85 people in attendance.
In addition to food, drinks and celebration, the dinner featured a silent auction and raffle, with a variety of prizes being raffled off and up for bid, including Red Sox tickets, cruises around Boston, a backyard BBQ package and more.
The Nine and Dine event is one of the Westwood Gridiron Club’s largest fundraising events, according to Westwood Gridiron Club President Bob Delaney.
The Westwood Gridiron Club is a non-profit group that helps to support the Westwood High School varsity, junior varsity and freshmen football programs, as well as the middle school football program.
Money the Westwood Gridiron Club raises goes directly to support the football teams, and is used for a number of things, including purchasing equipment, funding training camps for both players and coaches, hosting awards banquets and more.
“It takes a village to help out [the football team],” Delaney said. “I think it makes a difference. The sense of community we create is vital.”
Westwood High head varsity football coach Ed Mantie attended the dinner, and noted how important the Westwood Gridiron Club is for the football program.
“We are very lucky to have had an active and very good club for years,” Mantie said.
Mantie noted that he already has plans for what to do with the proceeds from this year’s Nine and Dine. The most important and largest purchase he hopes to make is a new end zone camera, as well as new gear.
“[The Gridiron Club] pays for any extra equipment we need,” Mantie said. “We’ve never gone wanting, and that’s all thanks to the Westwood Gridiron Club.”
During the dinner, ESPN Patriots reporter and Westwood resident Mike Reiss was the featured speaker, and gave a speech to the crowd before dinner began about his career and what he has learned from his years of covering the New England Patriots for ESPN.
Reiss began with his dream of becoming a baseball player, but realized in high school how difficult that would be. Seeking inspiration, his father, a sportscaster on WHDH, recommended pursuing a career in sports journalism.
That advice brought him to the Middlesex News, now known as the MetroWest Daily News, when he was still in high school, where he gained his first experience in sports journalism. He then went to UMass Amherst where he covered the UMass mens basketball team for the school newspaper.
After a tough job search fresh out of college, he eventually got his first job writing for the Patriots Football Monthly, an official publication of the New England Patriots. After that he moved on to the Boston Globe before settling in his current position as the ESPN Patriots reporter.
Reiss switched gears and discussed the top 10 things he has learned covering the Patriots, including head coach Bill Belichick’s careful attention to detail, putting the team first, and the most important lesson: “Do your job.”
After giving his presentation, Reiss noted how important it is for him to be out in the community he calls home helping to support Westwood’s sports teams.
“Our family loves the community, and so to come and support the club is something that I wanted to do,” Reiss said. “We want to see our community thrive.”
