Long time contributor Bill Clark passes

USATF New England lost a contributor and friend as Bill Clark (Waltham MA) passed away on October 18. His long-time profession was as a teacher at the Arlington School in Belmont for 32 years.

A "trackie" from his days at Newton High School and U.Mass, Clark was one of the original vice presidents when The Athletics Congress - now USA Track & Field - became a separate sport governing body separate from the Amateur Athletic Union in 1980. He served multiple terms as a vice president and as track & field chairman.

On the club and competitive end, Clark was track & field coordinator in the early years of the Greater Boston TC and later founded and coached the elite level Commonwealth AA. His specialization in sprints and hurdles led him to coaching positions at several high schools as welll as at Bentley College and Boston University.

Clark was on the founding games committee for GBTC invitational, the first non-collegiat meet at Harvard's Gordon track, which served as the USATF-NE championship meet, and later developed the Commonwealth Invitational. 

The successful long time outdoor Twilight Series (originally held at Northeastern) was his creation, and he hosted major indoor events such as the USA World Championship qualifier 200m / 400m races as well as the first sub-4:00 mile run by a master (age 40+) - Ireland's Eamonn Coghlan - in 1992.. 

On the national  level, Clark was a long time convention delegate from New England, founded and chaired the US Meet Directors Association, and always presented a strong voice for progressive ideas and the local aspects of the sport in the organizaton. 

He will be missed.