Staff, students and alumni participate in the Acumen Stadium personal-seat program

St. Clair College president Patti France has the best seat in the house at the new Ace Acument Stadium. The chair, five rows up from the field on the 55-yard line, reads, in yellow lettering, “President Patti France 2015,” which was her first year on the job.

St. Clair College sports fans who attended a varsity soccer or (formerly AKO) Fratmen football game during the inaugural season of the stadium may have noticed that many of the 1,500 seats are sponsored and personalized.

The cost for a personalized seat is $250. If the price tag is too high, then one option may be chipping in $50 with five friends, as several chairs indicate (One chair had the names of Christy, Jeff, Punj, Alexis and Gabe).

According to the order form, each sponsored seat is allotted 30 characters including spaces for your name and message.

John Fairley, vice president of St. Clair College, sponsored, a seat for “Harry Fairley: Husband – Father  Friend” and “Lois Fairley: Wife – Mother – Nurse.”

Suzanne Speller sponsored a seat for her son “Mark Speller #67”, a six-foot, 300-pound offensive linemen for the Fratmen, who also played for E.J. Lajeunesse high school, the Essex Ravens football club, and in Windsor Minor Football.

“He has played, loved, and breathed football all of his life,” said Mrs. Speller in an email. “I thought it would be a good tribute to a player who has so much passion for the game.”

Mark Bonkowski also wanted to do something unique, inscribing two chairs with “Sharyn Briscoe ‘I’m No Angel’” who is his wife as well as “Kate (TWP) Briscoe ‘I’m No Angel’”, who is his 16-year-old granddaughter.

According to Bonkowski, many years ago the St. Clair College hockey team ran an advertising campaign with the slogan, “I May Be a Saint but I’m No Angel.” Attached was a photo of a hockey player with a black eye. Bonkowski said he borrowed the phrase, “I’m No Angel,” as a symbol of “how tough both these ladies are.”

“Sharyn has put up with me for 38-plus years of marriage,” Bonkowski wrote in an email. “Kate is an extremely gifted student and athlete.”

Other notable seat sponsors include the St. Clair College Hockey Alumni Association, the Saints soccer alumni, the St. Clair Green Giants baseball team as well as the Saints softball, junior basketball, varsity tennis and women’s junior volleyball teams.

Even Noreena Johnson, the contact person for the seat-sponsorship program has her own “Noreenaj Go Saints!” seat.

“I might change it up in the future since I am the keeper of the seats,” said Johnson in an email, admitting she’s not really a sports fan and finds it ironic working in the athletics department. “But I still, of course, root for all our teams.”