June Ferestien was inducted into the USTA New England Hall of Fame in Newport, RI on June 14. Ranked No. 1 in New England in multiple age divisions, she was ranked 10th nationally in Girls’ 18s singles in 1979. At Newton North HS, she led the girls’ tennis team to back-to-back state championships in 1980 and 1981 while playing undefeated at No. 1 singles. She reached the U.S. Open Junior Championships semifinals in 1980 and achieved 10th in ITF junior world ranking. Competing professionally on the WTA Tour, she ranked 81st worldwide. “Tennis shaped every bit of me,” she said. “It taught me patience, discipline, focus and that there are no shortcuts to achieving excellence.” Newton’s Garden City Women’s Doubles Open prize-money event is named the June Ferestien Cup in recognition of her commitment to expanding opportunities for women and girls in tennis.
Christopher Conkey has been appointed to the board of directors of The Village Bank. For the last 15 years of his career in investment management, he had the role of global head of public markets at Manulife Investment Management. He also serves on the board of Homeless Prevention Council, a non-profit in Orleans, MA.
Avi Jobanputra of Newton Scouting America Troop 205 was awarded scouting’s highest rank, Eagle Scout, on May 30. He joins fellow Troop 205 members Griffin Dandrea, Nicholas Foran, and Djaden Terwal, who earned and celebrated their Eagle Scout rank in separate ceremonies earlier this year. Troop 205, started in 1911, is among America’s oldest continuously chartered scout troops. The rank of Eagle Scout is achieved by fewer than 4% of Scouts nationwide and requires years of commitment, leadership, and service as exemplified in a significant project to improve the community. For his project, Avi collaborated with Newton Public Works to assess the more than 50 fire hydrants in Oak Hill Village to find those needing maintenance, and then he planned a project, organized supplies, and recruited volunteers to scrub away rust and repaint more than 30 hydrants.
Newton North HS sprinters Oliver Smith, Logan Smith, Will Balerna and George Rumkin will run the 4×100-meter relay at the Nike Outdoor Nationals — the high school national championship — at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, June 18–21. The quartet booked the trip with a time of 42.22 at the MIAA Division 1 Championships on May 30, the second-fastest time in Newton North HS history. It trails only the school-record 42.16 set by the Tigers’ 2025 relay at that year’s D1 meet — a gap of just 0.06 seconds.
Brenda Walkey, Michelle Wong, and Ann Murray were celebrated during a Red Sox game at Pan-Mass Challenge Night at Fenway as they cycled in the PMC Living Proof Bike Parade, cheered by the crowd. They are among the 60 members of the PMC Living Proof Community (riders and volunteers who are undergoing or have undergone treatment for cancer).
Emily Scheff and Jack Thurmond were named to the Dean’s List of the University of New England for the spring semester.
Ed. Note: We have updated this post with the correct photo of Christopher Conkey.