Two Aberdeen High School alumni have joined other notable alumni, such as Cal Ripken Sr. and Cal Ripken Jr., in the school’s hall of fame during a special ceremony Monday morning in the school’s auditorium.
Brian Simmons, class of 1975, and Amy Wood, class of 1982, were inducted into the hall of fame.
Both Simmons and Wood received proclamations from Harford County Executive David Craig, the Harford County Council and the Maryland General Assembly.
“I’m honored to be here. I’m also a bit surprised,” Simmons said. “Aberdeen High School is a great memory to me. It’s a great chapter of my life.”
During his time at Aberdeen High School, Simmons was an active member on the football, track, weight lifting and wrestling teams. He was also in the National Honor Society and was named Aberdeen’s Scholar Athlete his senior year.
“I’m a bit surprised because it reads probably better than it was. They exaggerated how great of an athlete I was,” Simmons said, referring to his biography in the induction’s program.
Councilman Richard Slutzky, also known as “Coach,” presented a proclamation on behalf of the county council to Simmons.
“Brian represents the epitome of those who work hard and are dedicated,” Slutzky, who coached Simmons on the wrestling team, said. “He never gives up and does everything he can to serve his community.”
After graduation, Simmons earned an associate’s degree from Harford Community College, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and his master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University.
Simmons became the director for the Army Evaluation Center in January 2007 where he directs the evaluations for more than 550 weapons programs through an 800-person workforce and a $140 million budget.
Simmons told Aberdeen High School students in the audience to “find something that you like to do and think of the greater good in your community.”
Like Simmons, Wood was also an athlete during her time at Aberdeen High School where she played field hockey.
During her freshman year, Wood played on the 1978 field hockey team, which won the Class A state championship.
“Thank you Aberdeen High School for this honor,” Wood said. “It’s a little bit of a surprise. Growing up, I always loved to play sports. I not only wanted to be an athlete at Aberdeen, I wanted to be a scholar athlete.”
Wood attended the University of Connecticut, where she played field hockey while earning a bachelor’s degree. She is currently head coach of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase, or B-CC, field hockey team.
“I love field hockey. I love sports,” Wood said. “I found out I could make a huge positive impact in young players’ lives. I tell kids they are destined for greatness if they believe in themselves. As a coach, I use my field as a classroom.”
Under Wood’s leadership, the B-CC team has won 10 state championships in 1994 through 2002 and again in 2004. She was named All-Metro Coach of the Year in 1994 and “The Washington Post” Coach of the Year in 2004.
“[My players] leave not only as great field hockey players, but they leave as great people,” Wood said. “It is not necessarily athletics, I just use that. It can be music, it can be art. It can be anything you love as long as you use it.”
Slutzky, who remembered Wood as a “5-foot-1 redhead, 102 pounds at the time, carrying this huge stick,” said she has become “larger than 5-foot-1” to some of her students.
“If you work hard and you’re dedicated, you can accomplish your dreams,” Slutzky said before presenting Wood with her proclamation from the county council.
Other Aberdeen High School Hall of Fame members include: Cal Ripken Sr., Cal Ripken Jr., Michael Griffin, Irvin Pankey and E. J. Henderson in 2006; Charlotte Cronin, A. Dwight Pettit and M.G. Mitchell Stevenson in 2007; Ralph Baker, Violet “Vi” Ripken and Steven Wise in 2008.