The Deer Park community celebrated homecoming by paying homage to its past, as the district invited Deer Park High School’s Class of 1964 to serve as grand marshals of the pre-game parade and also renamed the football field in honor of former board member and booster club president Al Centamore.
    
High School Principal Jim Cummings announced that the district wanted to honor the school’s original graduating class in recognition of the building’s upcoming 50th anniversary. “Some things have changed over the years, but what has never changed is our strong Deer Park community,” Principal Cummings told the sizable crowd that turned out for the game between the Falcons and the Huntington Blue Devils. “I think today is a great example of that. The amount of people that were on this parade route was fantastic. We thought it was a fitting tribute to recognize members of our first graduating class and invite them to serve as grand marshals. It’s important to hold onto some of the great things from our past and our rich tradition. That’s what makes a community strong.”
    
Additionally, Superintendent Eva J. Demyen was pleased to announce the football field renaming in honor of Al Centamore, a lifelong Deer Park resident and former district board member. “We wanted to show our appreciation for Mr. Centamore’s lifetime of commitment and his thousands of hours of volunteer work for the Deer Park community,” Ms. Demyen said. “His presence has been instrumental in this community for the past 50 years. He is a former Deer Park student, he raised his entire family here, his children are graduates of our great school district, he was on the school board for almost two decades and he is a past president of the booster club.”
    
District student-athletes, musicians and club members walked together in the annual parade and showcased the class floats inspired by this year’s theme, cartoon shows. The homecoming court waved to onlookers, and Nicolette Tortorici and Dan Keller were named homecoming queen and king.