Remembering Bill Gonillo
Brian Fitzsimmons
Issue date: 9/27/07 Section: Sports
Our friendship started my freshman year as an Athletic Communications department work-study. It conceivably could've began when Seth Kaplan, the Pitt Center's event staff director, would order pizza for his workers and leave the remains in my boss' office.
The men's basketball team opened their 2004 season against Albany on Nov. 19 and a couple minutes into the game, that's when I saw a jolly man lugging a News 12 camera over his burly shoulder. With his free hand, he patted me on the back and said, "Hey kiddo, where do they keep the pizza around here?"
I was a new face trying to break into the Fairfield County sports. I would later learn that he was Fairfield County sports.
Bill Gonillo worked as the sports anchor for News 12 Connecticut for the past 12 years and redefined what many perceive as hard work. He would be at every sports game. Whether it be a Sacred Heart basketball game, Fairfield University soccer game, an Amity high school baseball game or a charity golf tournament, he would be there lugging that camera around and joking with everyone in sight.
That was classic Bill Gonillo.
He taught me how to enjoy work. This past weekend, Bill, a diabetic, was found dead in his home. On Monday, News 12 reported it was from natural causes, but at 44 years young, it was way too soon.
It was a tradition for him to brighten everyone's day. He sure did that for me for the past three and half years I had the pleasure of knowing him. We worked along side each other at Sacred Heart events, Fairfield University games, Bridgeport Sound Tigers and Bluefish games, last year's MAAC basketball tournaments and in various other places. During all those times, it became a routine for him to smile at me and call me 'kiddo.'
Two weeks ago at the women's soccer game at Campus Field, he approached me and gave me a high-five. We greeted each other and talked about how stoked we were for the college basketball season to come. Bill was always great at making everyone - no matter who they were - feel like one of the guys.
The men's basketball team opened their 2004 season against Albany on Nov. 19 and a couple minutes into the game, that's when I saw a jolly man lugging a News 12 camera over his burly shoulder. With his free hand, he patted me on the back and said, "Hey kiddo, where do they keep the pizza around here?"
I was a new face trying to break into the Fairfield County sports. I would later learn that he was Fairfield County sports.
Bill Gonillo worked as the sports anchor for News 12 Connecticut for the past 12 years and redefined what many perceive as hard work. He would be at every sports game. Whether it be a Sacred Heart basketball game, Fairfield University soccer game, an Amity high school baseball game or a charity golf tournament, he would be there lugging that camera around and joking with everyone in sight.
That was classic Bill Gonillo.
He taught me how to enjoy work. This past weekend, Bill, a diabetic, was found dead in his home. On Monday, News 12 reported it was from natural causes, but at 44 years young, it was way too soon.
It was a tradition for him to brighten everyone's day. He sure did that for me for the past three and half years I had the pleasure of knowing him. We worked along side each other at Sacred Heart events, Fairfield University games, Bridgeport Sound Tigers and Bluefish games, last year's MAAC basketball tournaments and in various other places. During all those times, it became a routine for him to smile at me and call me 'kiddo.'
Two weeks ago at the women's soccer game at Campus Field, he approached me and gave me a high-five. We greeted each other and talked about how stoked we were for the college basketball season to come. Bill was always great at making everyone - no matter who they were - feel like one of the guys.
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