Saranac Lake, NY – This small Adirondack Mountain community gathered Saturday afternoon to present their hometown hero Billy Demong of neighboring Vermontville with a bronze plaque immortalizing the Olympic and World Champion as the first inductee into Saranac Lake’s Walk of Fame.
“In a village with so much history and so many people having gone on to do great things, it’s quite an honor to be the first inductee into what I believe will be a great group of people,” said the four-time nordic combined Olympian who captured both gold and silver medals in Vancouver.
Saranac Lake, a few miles from the 1932 and 1980 Olympic Village of Lake Placid, has produced numerous winter Olympians, including 2010 ski jumper Peter Frenette and Tim Burke, a two-time Olympian in biathlon.
The Walk of Fame was created by the local Board of Trustees as a way to recognize such notable community residents and celebrate its history.
Demong’s accomplishments are just a small part of that history. In March,2010 some 5,000 village residents welcomed home their Olympians with a parade followed by a celebration at the Town Hall. The same hall will now proudly display a solid bronze plaque featuring the words “William Demong, Olympic Champion,” on its front facade.
Village Mayor Clyde Rabideau presented Demong with the plaque and read a proclamation lauding Demong as an international athlete and community ambassador. Demong’s family – including wife Katie and their four-month-old son Liam – stood at his side.
“In some ways this is even more of a celebration than coming home last year,” said Demong as Liam squeaked in the background. “It’s one thing to speak to the entire town, but tonight is like speaking to a giant group of friends that I’ve known my entire life.”
Though he grew up in nearby Vermontville, Demong was very much a product of the surrounding community. By age six, he was skiing laps at the Village run Dewey Mountain Nordic Center with this father Leo. A few years later, he had begun jumping with former U.S. Ski Team coach Larry Stone’s program in Lake Placid.
His 1995 Saranac Lake High School running team went on to become cross country state champions. Three years later Demong, then 17, went to Nagano, Japan for his first of what is now four Olympic Winter Games. Saranac Lake cheered him then, and they did so again on Saturday.
“I’m very proud of Bill’s accomplishments as an athlete, but the thing I’m most proud of him for is the fact that he’s kept a level head and a kind spirit through all the success that he’s had,” said Leo Demong, a retired wildlife biologist. “It goes without saying that he has some fabulous athletic talents. But the biggest gifts he has are determination and dedication.”
“This means a lot to have the people he grew up with recognize that he had a humble beginning, and through a lot of hard work and tremendous support from our local neighbors and the sports venues we have, he has gone a long way,” added Demong’s mother Helen, who will retire in June after 34 years as choral director with Saranac Lake High School. “To have the village reach out to him and say, ‘We want you to be our first inductee,’ is a tremendous honor.”
An honor Demong takes seriously.
Two days prior to the Walk of Fame induction, he met with local residents to discuss ideas for a multi-use trail at the village-run downhill ski center of Mt. Pisgah. His Saranac Lake-based company Demong Designs recently contracted by the Village through a grant to design and construct the trail.
Last fall, he stood in front of a similar sized group to kick off a fundraising effort to build a new base lodge for the local nordic ski area at Dewey Mountain in Harrietville.
“All skiing things aside, I hope that when my journey comes to an end, I’ll be known as being a good person who helped to make a difference,” said Demong. “This is an incredible honor, and I hope to continue to be a part of all the great things this community is known for doing.”