2017 Joe McGinn Recipient – Davina Hernandez

The Jack Hines Scholar-Athlete Banquet sponsored by the Bristol Sports Hall of Fame was held on March 30th at Nuchie’s Restaurant. Two hundred fifty Parents and Athletes gathered to honor juniors and seniors from the three area high schools for their academic and achievement success. To qualify a student must have a minimum 88 average and attain 3 Varsity Letters. Scholarships are awarded to a graduating Senior from each High School . Over the past 19 years the BSHOF has given out $60,000 in Scholarship and have honored more than 1,400 Athletes.
Each year the Hall gives out the Joe McGinn Award to an individual who exemplifies the traits of the late Bristol Eastern graduate who displays personal courage and determination. This years recipient is Davina Hernandez. Davina is currently the varsity Softball Coach at Southington High School after completing a successful career playing at Bristol Central, University of Massachusetts, and for the Puerto Rican National Team. Hernandez is an autism specialist, speech pathologist for Creative Interventions Birth to Three. She spoke about her battle with Lupus and about raising money to help find a cure. She explained how a bacterial infection from eating a pear in Venezuela triggered the lupus. It got so bad at one point she had to use a butter knife to pry open her mouth. Until she started developing kidney disease, many of her symptoms actually were more consistent with Crohn’s disease. Full body rashes, swelling, locked joints, confusion, memory loss, kidney damage, scarred vocal chords, barely able to walk, low doses of chemo, and more than 20 medications a day is what she faced each day. Davina Hernandez is truly deserving of the 2017 Joe McGinn Award.