The OBEN soccer club held its third annual dinner dance at the Sail Harbor in Bayville as the 1998 season ended. The event was held in honor of Lucille and Bob Wulforst.

The Oyster Bay-East Norwich Soccer Club was established in 1980. Lucille and Bob Wulforst became involved with the club almost from its inception. Between the two of them, the Wulforsts have volunteered their time and expertise for 15 years.

Lucille became active on the board of officers working with such past presidents as Dom and Sue Yezzi, Tom Reardon, John Anderson, Ed Laurie and John Palmer. She volunteered for numerous board positions, and served as registrar, secretary, treasurer, and vice president before becoming president. When Lucille was first elected president, it was for a one year term. This had been the set standard of the club. Due to her quality leadership, however, it was decided to change the term of the presidency to a two year term. Lucille became the first president to be elected for this two year tenure.

During her term, Lucille helped promote girls soccer. Her daughter, Leah, was coached from the earliest level, and developed into a premier soccer player. Lucille helped form the first girls travel team. This team, The Flames, quickly became a Division One team, and was highly successful. Leah has since been recognized for her achievements by being awarded a soccer scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania.

Lucille served as a Long Island Junior Soccer League registrar until 1997. She also served as a board member of LIJ as the intramural development coordinator.

Mrs. Wulforst presently works at C.W. Post College in charge of fitness and conditioning for physical education majors. She also teaches various sports at the college as well.

Bob Wulforst began his association with the OBEN Soccer Club as a coach. He helped coach both his son, RC and his daughter, Leah. Bob served a two year term as vice president and took over the presidency for two years directly after Lucille resigned.

Even during his term as president, Bob wanted to help coach. He worked with the younger children in the Big Cat division, and followed that age group up through the majors division. When it was time for a U10 boys travel team, The Lightning, to be formed, Bob helped coach and train them. He helped out in this capacity until 1997.

At the end of Bob's term as president, a new position was created on the OBEN board. He became a trustee, and served a term of four more years, giving his expertise to the new board of officers.

Bob has worked for Con Edison for many years, and holds a managerial position in Queens.

Lucille and Bob's dedication to the OBEN Soccer Club has helped to contribute to the club's improvement. Both have implemented the summer soccer camp through North American soccer. They were also instrumental in organizing the winter clinics by hiring professional trainers to work with the children. With their help, the OBEN Soccer Club was granted a charter from Long Island Junior Soccer to have travel teams participate in their league. The whole family pitched in whenever needed on numerous occasions. Bob's experience in lining the soccer fields has been essential over the years. Lucille helped referee games when needed, and both RC and Leah became licensed referees for the club. The Wulforts were always there helping out at the Oyster Festival each year as well.

Lucille and Bob were recognized as the "Volunteer of the Year" for the OBEN Soccer Club, and received plaques at a special Long Island Junior Soccer League Awards dinner. They were each selected by our board members for their outstanding achievements and accomplishments. Without their dedication and love for the game of soccer, the OBEN Soccer Club would not be what it is today.

A special thank you went to our board of directors and coaching staff for all their hard work.

It takes the efforts of many volunteers to pull off each season. Thank you to the club officers:

President, Dan Callaghan; vice president, Sal Albanese; secretary, Sevan Chakiryan; treasurer, Erin Silva; registrar, Ann Callaghan; LIJ registrar, Jack Zuckerman.

Intramural Coordinators: Girls Division - Rana Smith, Chris Callaghan. Mixed Division - John Dupre and trustee, James Murphy.

Thank you to the coaching staff for the spring season 1998 mixed division.

Kindergarten: To the Noga staff - Drayson, Tessa and Eugene.

Counties: Barry Palczewski - Pirates; Brian Rubenstein - Falcons; Bob Cassandro - Turfbusters; Wendy Smith, Erin Silva - Sierra Eagles.

States: Laura Corssen - Scorpions; John Dupre - Hawks; Chris Kovary - Falcons; Jeff Prey - Crusaders; Robert Kaplan - TNT; Tom Bradke - Rockies.

Regionals: Martha Fabbri - Team 1; Jim Sheehy - Team 3; Larry Rosenzweig - Team 2; D.J. Ciric - Team 4.

Travel Teams: Alan Williams - Lightning; Dan Callaghan - Hawks; Jim Sheehy - Wildcats; John Dupre - Eagles.

Girls Division: Counties: Sal Albanese - The Knights; Chris Callahan - The Sharks; Bob Del Rosso - The Barracudas; Bob Link - The Hurricanes.

States: Rana Smith, Mary Gay Townsend, Don Vogel.

Regionals: Chris Callahan - The Hurricanes; Ken Calligar - The Cyclones.

Travel Team: Sal Albanese - Tornadoes.

Registration for the fall season is now going on. Send information to OBEN Soccer Club, PO Box 508, Oyster Bay, NY 11771.

The evening was kicked off with cocktails followed by a sit-down dinner and dancing to the rhythm of a disc jockey. The 100 plus guests enjoyed the evening dining and dancing while supporting our club. Many prizes were raffled off including a color television, many electronic gifts, tickets to sporting events and many more prizes. This was our only spring fund raiser and it was a success as in prior years. Thank you all for all of your support.