Nan Demuth
Contributor

A pioneer in woman's sports, Nan provided Geneva and DeSales High girls the opportunity to play sports before the days of Title IX. Nan graduated from Auburn High School in 1946 and went on to Cortland where she earned her bachelors and masters degrees. She started her teaching career in Corning before coming to Geneva in 1953 when her husband Ray was hired by Hobart. She was hired by Geneva High School in 1954 as a physical education teacher and also taught at Geneva Jr. High and DeSales before going on to Dundee where she taught kindergarten for many years.

Nan, as one of her former athletes Becky Achilles stated, was ''very determined that the girls get a chance to participate in sports and would not take no for an answer''. She started the AAU Finger Lakes Track and Field Club and brought the girls all over to compete. Geneva Sports Hall of Famer Roxanne Logue was one of Nan's finest athletes. Roxanne participated in the National AAU Junior Olympics where she made it to the finals in the 100 and 220 yard dashes and was rated as one of the top six sprinters in her age group. Nan started an AAU cross country team for the girls and organized volleyball and softball leagues. Ann Wenzel, another one Nan's athletes, spoke of how ''she did everything herself - she somehow got track uniforms, organized travel to and from track meets statewide, and sacrificed her personal time to make sure that Geneva girls had an opportunity to participate''.

Nan passed away in 2020.