Paul Camitsch, a Courage Center volunteer with the Sports & Recreation Program, was inducted into The Boys’ Club of New York (BCNY) All Sports Hall of Fame.

Camitsch, of Maple Grove, MN, is one of 15 honorees/inductees who was honored at the BCNY Hall of Fame Dinner in New York City on November 2, 2005. Along with Camitsch, some of the other honorees—who represent a variety of sports—include Jim Brown, Frank Gifford, Dan Jansen, Carly Patterson, Dot Richardson, Gayle Sayers and Frank Shorter.

This year’s event, put on by the BCNY which was founded in 1876, marks the 30th anniversary of the All Sports Hall of Fame Dinner. Honorees are individuals who have recognized the importance of sports in contemporary American society and its influence on children as a vehicle to promote and develop character, community and civility. The dinner is attended by more than 1,000 business, community and sports leaders.

Camitsch, who began his sports volunteer career in 1985, has refereed wheelchair basketball in the Minneapolis area for 30 years. During that time, he traveled throughout the North Central and adjacent conferences to recruit, train, evaluate and approbate referees and officials. In 1976, he started working at a number of National Wheelchair Basketball Tournaments and earned his International Wheelchair Basketball Federation License in 1981. Since then, he has refereed the 1988, 1991 and 1996 Paralympic Games and the 1986 and 1990 Men’s Gold Cup and 1994 Women’s Gold Cup.

In the last few years, he was acknowledged for his accomplishments:

1999—honored for his contributions to the NWBA Women’s Division;

2004—recognized by the Minnesota State High School League for his service to the sport of basketball; and,

2005—inducted into the National Wheelchair Basketball Association Hall of Fame.

Courage Center is a non-profit rehabilitation and resource center for people with physical disabilities, brain injuries, speech or vision impairments, or hearing loss. For more info, visit www.courage.org.