About the Scott Smith Award
The Scott R. H. Smith Class of 1975 Hockey Award for Excellence
Est. 2004
The Scott R. H. Smith Award is foremost an honor based on excellence – a tribute to the life and memory of Prep Hockey Alumnus, parent, and manager Scott Smith.
Scott was a lifelong role model, and through the establishment of the Award for Excellence, his memory will remain a source of inspiration for the Prep Hockey community. His selfless commitment to Prep hockey left an indelible mark on the lives of many.
Scott R. H. Smith, 1956-2003
“He was a giver, not a taker”
Recipients of the Scott Smith Award
2004 – Mark E. Winter
2005 – Kevin Charles
2006 – Peter Plamondon
2007 – Robert Kemp, Jr.
2008 – Rev. William Elliott, SJ
2009 – Rev. William L. George, SJ
2010 – John Hyland
2011 – Kathy and Phil O’Donoghue
2012 – John Marcus
2013 – Rory Hyland
2014 – Pete Plamondon
About The Scott Smith Alumni Game
by Matt Smith (Prep ’03 – Scott’s son)
Since 2003, the year my father passed, the Georgetown Prep alumni hockey game has been played in his honor. Kevin Charles, my former coach and good friend of my father’s, presented my family with the idea of naming the game and an award after my father. Each year, following the game the Scott Smith Memorial Award is presented to a person or family who puts their heart and soul into the Georgetown Prep hockey program.
My father always loved hockey, and he grew up playing at the Chevy Chase Club. He attended Landon from third grade until sophomore year, when he begged his parents to let him transfer to Georgetown Prep. His parents relented, and he couldn’t have been happier. He loved the sense of community that Prep provided, and while he didn’t come from a religious family, he cherished the prayers that were offered on one knee before sporting events. My father graduated from Prep in 1975, and in 1999, my freshmen year, he found himself back in the Prep community. He was always very involved in my games, as well as in my younger brother’s games at the youth level. He was active at all levels — coaching, running the scoreboard, or just driving to the middle of nowhere at 5 a.m. on a weekend morning for our games. It was inevitable that he would become involved with the Prep ice hockey program. During my four years at Prep, my father was a fixture at the hockey games, as he was constantly working behind the scenes to make sure that the season ran smoothly. At the time, Prep hockey had only one team and had never had a winning season. My father made it his dream to make the Prep hockey program a force in the Washington, DC area. It didn’t take long. My sophomore year (the 2000-2001 season) we had Prep hockey’s first-ever winning season, and my junior year we won the first-ever IAC hockey championship. Since my time there, the Prep hockey program has continued to grow and has transformed into the powerhouse hockey program that my father envisioned it to be.
The annual alumni game was my father’s little side project. He began organizing this game around 2000, collecting emails and hunting down past players. He organized a game over Thanksgiving break, knowing that the college students would be home and that the alumni would gladly take on the current Prep team. I believe it was also an excuse for him to lace the skates up again and show me, and my teammates, how it’s done. What started off as a small game of pickup in 2000, has become a hallowed tradition in the Prep hockey community.
Each year, the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, former Prep hockey players file into Cabin John ice rink for a game with the current team. And every year as I am reunited with old friends, and introduced to new, I can’t help but think of my father looking down, smiling, at this great tradition he helped start and viewing the flourishing Prep hockey program that he envisioned.
All alumni players are encouraged to participate in the alumni game. All participants have a great time competing and renewing friendships. Pete Plamondon (’77) is usually the elder statesman on the ice. Players typically include John Kemp (’09), Dan Gallagher (’08), Michael Marcus (’09), Joey Kemp (’05), Kevin (‘05), Brendan (’07), and Martin (’09) McNamara.
During the post game dinner, the Scott Smith Memorial Award is presented annually to a program participant that has assisted the hockey team and provided leadership through example. Past winners have included Fr. William George, S.J., and Bob Kemp.
Scott Smith and Georgetown Prep Hockey
Scott Smith loved Georgetown Prep Hockey. He believed that this tough and physically demanding sport brought young men together. He was committed to making Prep Hockey the very best. The Scott Smith Scholarship Fund continues his work.
Prep provides generous support to the hockey program – but it’s not enough. Thanks to the generosity of our alumni, players (past and present), families and friends of Prep Hockey we have been able to provide financial assistance to some of our young men, as well as help offset the rising costs of this great sport.
If you are unable to attend the Scott Smith Memorial game or dimmer, please consider making a donation: $25, $50, $100, or any other amount. Your gift is appreciated by every player who takes the ice!
Georgetown Prep Hockey 