ORANGE – If the Mahar School Committee votes in affirmative on Jan. 11, spectators at Senators football games next year might buy their hot dogs and candy at the Larry Fisher Snack Shack.

Booster Club President Charles “Joey” Verhey approached the committee Thursday evening with a request to name the concession stand after the longtime varsity girls basketball coach who was also a Booster for 43 years. Verhey read from an email he sent to Committee Chair Peter Cross, asking members to help enshrine Fisher’s legacy in the community. Cross also advised the club to inform Fisher of their intention.

“I’m flattered,” Fisher told the Greenfield Recorder when told about the Boosters’ request. “It’s a nice gesture on their part.”

Cross told Verhey there is a procedure that must be followed in regard to the matter. The committee was not permitted to vote Thursday and must wait until at least the meeting in January. Elizabeth Teahan-Zielinski, superintendent of the Ralph C. Mahar Regional and Union 73 school districts, mentioned the public request starts a mandatory public-comment period.

“There could be other people who say, ‘Hey, I think the snack shack should be named after Gumby,’” she said. “They have a right to present that and the reasoning why, and then the School Committee will deliberate.”

School Committee member Patricia A. Smith received confirmation from Teahan-Zielinski that the concession stand is not currently named after anyone.

“That’s good, because I don’t want to kick somebody else off,” she said to some light laughter. “That wouldn’t be cool.”

Fisher told the Recorder he left the Booster Club in August because he felt “it was time for some more younger blood to come in.” He said he had been treasurer for 24 years and was previously the club’s president and vice president.

“It was great – a lot of camaraderie,” he said, adding that the club dispensed about $300,000 to Mahar sports team over his 43 years.

Fisher was also the girls basketball coach for 19 years, including two at the helm of the junior varsity squad. He stepped down in May 2021.

The Recorder previously reported Fisher finished with a 228-108 record, winning the Franklin County League six times. His teams qualified for the postseason each year of his tenure. He also brought the Senators to the Western Mass. semifinals in 2008, 2013 and 2017, and reached the Western Mass. Div. 2 championship game in 2012.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.