Speakers pay tribute to Ogdensburg's Carlisle at dedication of new youth athletic center

Jun. 29—OGDENSBURG — Brian Deasy first came to the north country in 1990 looking to break the bonds of alcohol addiction at Hamilton Hall of the St. Lawrence State Psychiatric Center.

He got sober and he had a dream of becoming a caddy on the PGA Tour.

He had a dream and he had a car but he had to get to Dallas to try to get on a bag at a Senior PGA Tournament.

But he had no money at all.

So he approached attorney Preston Carlisle, who he met through his son, Rick Carlisle, during many, many golf outings.

"I went to see Preston, I told him about my dream. He wrote me a check for a $1,000 and off I went to Dallas," he said.

Deasy, who is now retired after a long and successful career as a caddy on the PGA Senior Tour, returned to Ogdensburg from his home in Mechanicville on Monday, as one of many people to honor Preston Carlisle as the Ogdensburg Boys and Girls Club dedicated the Preston C. Carlisle Youth Athletic Center.

Carlisle's on-going support of youth and the Ogdensburg Boys and Girls Club matches the fervor he showed on the court where opponents had to work extremely hard for every bucket and to get past his punishing picks and box-outs.

DREAMS, GREATNESS

"This building is all about dreams and greatness," said Dr. Hal Cohen, the former Canton Central basketball great and Syracuse University captain who spoke of how Preston Carlisle motivated him to achieve his dream of becoming a major college basketball player.

"Mr. Carlisle told Rick and I to take the Dale Carnegie Course ("How to Make Friends and Influence People") to prepare ourselves. We took the course and it really helped us," said Cohen, who made the trip from his retirement home in Florida for the event and enjoyed a reunion with his high school coach Jerry Hourihan.

"Mr. Carlisle has done so much for me and among those things was lending my wife and I his condo for our honeymoon," said Cohen, which drew laughter from the audience.

The athletic center is the realization of a joint vision between OBGC Executive Director Tom Luckie and Rick Carlisle, who calls his father the major reason that a Lisbon Central standout achieved his dream of becoming a major college player, who hit a shot to propel Virginia to the NCAA Final Four, and a professional player, who became an NBA champion with the Boston Celtics.

He took that dream to another level as a highly respected, longtime NBA coach, who led the Dallas Mavericks franchise to its first and only world championship. He is currently the head coach of the Indiana Pacers, attempting to turn the franchise back into an Eastern Conference contender.

"My father is a great man. As I get older I realize more and more how he could see what myself and others could be and how to dream. And then he helped us get where we wanted to go," said Rick Carlisle, "When I was young he did everything he could to get me in pickup games with the guys he played with. And those games were very important for me because you have to play against better people to get better."

HUMBLE PHILANTHROPIST

Preston Carlisle downplays his lifetime of philanthropy and support for youth.

"When I was a young lawyer I just did what I could. As time went on I just wanted to help people and was able to do it," he said, "I am just absolutely amazed to be part of this and to be here with my wife (Joan), our children, our grandchildren and great grandchildren. When they told me about the gym I told them to make sure it was full-sized gym. It is and it is great."

Preston and Joan Carlisle recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary and Rick Carlisle was quick to inject "I would be remiss if I didn't note how much my mother means to me and our family. She is the patron saint of patience."

With his wife's constant support, Preston Carlisle said he is feeling great after 13 surgeries.

"I don't get around that well but I am doing well. I play bridge everyday on the computer," he said.

Rick Carlisle said that the athletic center is going to continue his father's legacy of support for youth for decades.

"This gym is going to offer young people the opportunity to get better for decades. This structure is a symbol of our investment in the future of our youth. Not just in Ogdensburg, but the whole north country. I just want to thank everyone for coming. So many of our basketball brethren are here and it is great to see them all," he added.

Luckie spoke of how the building was a dream come true as the start of a new era for the club, which started in a old telephone company building and then moved to its present location in 1975. "We have been so fortunate to be serving youth for 58 years. We are getting up to 150 youngsters a night and this new facility is going to allow us to do so much more for years to come," Luckie said. "I want to thank the generosity of the Carlisle family and so many people who stepped up to back the project. We raised $430,000 in donations and the contractors have overcome a lot of hurdles. And we are so happy to honor what Preston Carlisle has done for youth. It is great to see so many guys here tonight who used to play in the original gym. If we would have had this dedication 30 years ago I know games would have broken out by now."

IMPRESSIVE PROJECT

Anne Marie Tanzella who serves as the Director of Organization Development for the Boys and Girls Club of America, emphasized the magnitude of the project and how impressed she was to see two gyms at the club in a city where the high school has the Golden Dome fieldhouse/ice arena.

"Ogdensburg is so lucky. There are clubs that have million dollar budgets and they don't have two gyms. It is amazing what this can mean for kids, it will have such an impact," she said. "In the club in the town where I grew up we had an arts and drama club. Recently, I went to a Broadway show in New York City to see one of the performers who started in that club. I am so happy for the Ogdensburg club. It has so much to do with Tom (Luckie). He is so humble and so dedicated to his club, his staff and the children of the community."

Rick Carlisle offered his perspective from the view of his childhood eyes.

"Growing up we were so happy to have the gym in the club to play in," he said.

"And this gym has air conditioning," said Carlisle with a smile, "Air conditioning — no way. There are so many people who made this possible and I want to thank them all. Especially my father who came here from Westchester County and found refuge in Ogdensburg. Just as it says on the plaque, which will be placed in the gym he is a proud north country resident."