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David Carpenter
Chairman/Sponsor
(9th Year)
David Carpenter is Chairman of the Stratford Brakettes organization and he is also the team's No. 1 fan. Dave stepped forward before the start of the 1996 season and he has kept softball’s greatest tradition alive through his sponsorship and his love for the team. He and his wife Dorothy are regulars at most Brakettes home games.
A high school baseball player and long time sports enthusiast, Dave joined New Jersey Zinc Company in 1963. It became Horsehead Industries, Inc. (HII) of New York City when he co-founded that company in 1981. Dave served as Vice President of HII until 1983 when he became Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. In 1989 he was promoted to President.
Horsehead Industries, Inc. is one of the country’s largest privately-held manufacturing companies. Its major operations include Zinc Corporation of America and Horsehead Resource Development Company. ZCA produces zinc metal and chemicals and HRD provides environmental and recycling services. Recently retired from his position as President and Chief Executive Officer, Dave has formed a new company, Riverside Management Group to develop new business opportunities.
He is a graduate of Alfred University (BA with a Chemistry Major) and has a Doctorate in Ceramic Science from the State University of New York. Dave and his wife Dorothy live in Westport. They have two children and four grandchildren.
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Bob Baird
General Manager/Coach
(17th Year)
Bob Baird enters his 17th season as the General Manager of the Brakettes, where he is responsible for all aspects of the team's operation. He also will assist manager John Stratton as a bench coach. Baird is Director of Athletics for Stratford High School and he returned to the scholastic coaching ranks this year, leading Stratford High to a 16-4 regular season record.and No. 4 rating in the CIAC Class L tournament.
Bob is a graduate of Stratford High School and the University of Bridgeport, where he served as Director of Athletics for five years. He was a sports writer/editor for 20 years and he covered the Brakettes in 15 National ASA tournaments. He coached women’s softball and basketball at the collegiate level, compiling a 105-30 record at Housatonic CC, where the Lady Hawks won three State and one New England Softball Championship. His basketball teams had a 98-17 record with three State titles and as many NJCAA Region 21 tournament berths. During his two-year tenure as assistant coach at Sacred Heart University, the Lady Pioneers finished third and fourth in the NCAA Division II World Series. Baird was head coach at St. Joseph High School for four years and he led the Cadettes to a 76-25 record and three league championships. Baird remains active in youth sports, coaching the Boys Varsity basketball team at St. James School in Stratford to the 2004 New England Regional championship. A native of Stratford, Bob and his wife Joy have six children.
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John Stratton
Field Manager
(27th Year)
John Stratton now enters his 27th season with the Brakettes. Since 1995 Stratton has served as manager of the ball club. He has done a great job in rebuilding the team, evidenced by consecutive ASA National championships. In the last nine years, Stratton has piloted the Brakettes to a record of 489-56 (.897). Stratton also served as interim manager in 1976 when Ralph Raymond (two-time U.S. Olympic Head Coach) suffered a heart attack. John led an entirely new team to the National Championship.
In the "off-season", John is the pitching coach for Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. At FAU, Stratton works for Joan Joyce, the former Brakettes pitcher and National ASA Hall of Famer. A graduate of Stratford High School and the University of Bridgeport, Stratton retired as a physical education instructor in the New Canaan school system after 35 years. Regarded as one of the top pitching clinicians in the nation, he has been inducted into both the Connecticut ASA and Collegiate Halls of Fame, while his wife (Rosemary) “Mickey” was the first Brakettes player inducted into the National ASA Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. John and Mickey are the parents of one son, John Jr., who was an All-American baseball player at Jacksonville State (AL) and a former minor league catcher.
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Patty Fernandes
Coach
15th year
Patty Fernandes begins her 15th season with the Brakettes. This is the fifth straight season where her duties are confined solely to coaching third base. A graduate of Illinois State University, Fernandes has been the head softball and volleyball coach at Southern Connecticut State University for the past 15 years. She led her Lady Owls to the 2000 New England Collegiate Conference championship and she was named the NECC Coach of the Year. In addition to her coaching, Patty is one of the top rated women's college basketball referees in the East, working the majority of her schedule in Division I conferences.
Patty is a graduate of Stratford High School and the school’s first female inducted into its Athletic Hall of Fame. During her Brakettes’ playing days, Fernandes was known as a fine defensive outfielder with super speed. She was a member of the 1978 World Championship team on her first tour with the Brakettes (1977-81). Overall, she has played in 249 games, compiling a career .257 batting average.
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