National Intern Day
7-29-21,
National Intern Day, a special day for the club and one in which we wanted to share with you.
Please excuse this late posting as the clock nears midnight, I thought it would be fitting to usher out the Marksmen day by saluting a dear friend of the club.
In the middle of our 2019 season, we welcomed an intern into our club, Devin Hamilton, a student at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island. Devin came to us after impressing our Sporting Director, Ryan Camara during his interview….genuine, enthusiastic and keen eye for attention to details were just some of the glowing accolades Ryan used to describe Devin after their interview. Needless to say, we hired him right away & he remains as one of the best decisions we’ve made as a club.
Right from the start Devin took to his duties with ease and showed a true enthusiasm to wanting to help our players and club grow. With each week that passed by in the fall months of 2019, Devin grew quickly to become an important member of the Marksmen. No task was too big or too small, taking pictures or video taping a practice, helping with match day operations, learning about the front office operations, you name it, he probably did it.
We wrapped up our 2019 season in early November and planned to hit the field again for preseason training in Feb of 2020. I informed Devin that he could enjoy the next few months off, he certainly earned them but to my surprise & delight, he declined and asked if he could continue helping me with some of the club operations. I took him up on his offer and for the next few months he and I spent many hours video conferencing about numerous club projects as well as having the pleasure of sharing some stories with each other. With the season getting closer and the pandemic now just starting to begin, it was clear to he and I that our season wouldn’t begin as planned. With new found time on our hands, I suggested to Devin to take the next month off to focus on school and for all of us to grasp what the future held with CoVid now bringing the country to a halt.
With club operations halted and Devin still remaining in school, I wound up letting our agreed upon monthly break turn into two months. The next contact we had with Devin was receiving news from his University that he had passed away. To say we were shocked would be an understatement. Although we wanted to honor Devin at the time of his passing, we wanted to respect he and his family’s privacy.
Although his time with ourselves was short, his impressions he left with us were long and our sorrow deep. I and everyone here at the club have chosen to share our experiences with Devin on this day in his honor. National Intern Day will now always be Devin Hamilton Day for the Fall River Marksmen FC. Additionally, we’re proud to announce that we will forever honor Devin Hamilton as the official 12th man of the Marksmen and we’ll be retiring the #12 from our roster.
Thank you for taking the time in allowing me to share our story & appreciation for Devin, he will be missed by us all here at the club but he’ll never be forgotten.
- Andre’ Ruette / Marksmen FC President
7-29-21 Devin Hamilton Day
