RAVENNA — Frank Coletta was not born in Ravenna, but he and wife Mary Jane have lived in the same home there for 70 years.
He volunteered many hours promoting youth sports in the small town, which in turn helped produce quality athletes for Ravenna’s successful high school sports programs.
The man of many hats, now 94 years old, is being recognized for his efforts. Coletta will be receiving the Gene Young Distinguished Service Award as part of the 2023 Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame induction class. He’ll be among those honored during a ceremony and banquet this Saturday (June 10) at VanDyk Mortgage Convention Center in downtown Muskegon.
“I should feel humble, but I’m really proud to receive something like that because it keeps the Coletta name visible,” Coletta said. “My dad (Charlie) would have been super proud. He came from Italy. He couldn’t even talk English.
“I said, ‘Pa, how did you ever get by?’ He said, ‘You don’t have to learn how to talk. You just follow what everybody else does,'” added a chuckling Coletta, who has no such issues communicating. “I never have been at a loss for words.”
Coletta is still quite sharp and moves around well for a man of his age.
Born in Muskegon in 1928, Coletta graduated from Muskegon Heights High School in the mid-1940s. He worked for 40 years at Sealed Power, where he met his wife.
Frank and Mary Jane Coletta have three sons — Tom, Tim and Joe — who were all sports-inclined and turned out to be strong athletes and/or coaches.
Coletta was involved in many groups in Ravenna, including:
Ravenna Village Council member for 18 years.
Ravenna Board of Education member for five years.
Ravenna Summer Recreation board president for 25 years.
Very proud contributor of time and energy as a member of the Lions Club toward the completion of the youth baseball and softball complex at Conklin Park in Ravenna.
Worked on a committee to bring Rocket football to Ravenna youth.
Ran the clock/scoreboard for Ravenna High School home football games for 45 years. Prior to the fall of 2005, Coletta was the only clock operator the high school had known. The first fotball scoreboard was constructed by the Ravenna woodshop class — he ran that.
Ran the clock for Ravenna High School home basketball games for 10 years.
“Well, I enjoyed it for one thing,” Coletta said about staying in the thick of things. “I ran the clock to begin with in football and we didn’t have a booth then (at Conklin Park). I ran the clocks for years. Basketball was tougher than football because it’s steady action.
“The boys growing up, Tom, Tim and Joe, they were playing sports and we had a lot of good athletes here over the years — a lot of good athletes.”
Tickets for the 2023 Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame banquet cost $50 and may be purchased by CLICKING HERE. Social hour begins at 5 p.m. with dinner at 6 and the awards presentation to follow.
Watch the video at the top of the story to hear from Coletta.
