The Upstate New York Chapter of the NWHOF is proud to present Reverend Arthur Jones and Dana Charpentier as honorees at this year’s ceremony at the Double Tree Hotel in East Syracuse on September 25, 2022. Dana Charpentier will be awarded with the Lifetime Service Award and Reverend Jones will be the recipient of the Outstanding American Award. Charpentier was an official in Section II of the state and has had a distinguish career in officiating and working in administrative positions for his section. The Reverend Jones has been a wrestler all of his life and has taken the life lessons learned in wrestling to his community and church. Reverend Jones’ two sons, Arthur and Jon, were New York State wrestling champions. Arthur and his other brother Chandler became excellent football player in the NFL and son, Jon, is a champion wrestler in the UFC. A brief bio on Dana and Arthur is provided below.

REGISTER HERE

Arthur Jones 

Pastor Arthur Jones, this year’s Outstanding American award winner, started his wrestling career at a very young age. Arthur’s father was a wrestler and expected young Arthur to follow in his footsteps. He recalls that the neighborhood kids would draw a line in the dirty and if anyone walked across it, a wrestling match would ensue. Arthur would always be willing to meet the challenge of any of his peers and could whip all challengers except for one, Johnny Boon. Putting down Johnny’s shoulders for the mandatory count was next to impossible. Arthur remembers very well that his father would not be pleased with negative results and let him know in no uncertain terms that that failure was unacceptable.

At the beginning of his middle school years his mother felt that Arthur should be more concerned with church affairs rather than athletic endeavors. However, he was able to persuade his mother to allow him to participate in the sport that he would soon learn to love. Pastor Jones’ first coach in organized wrestling was Hall of Fame (2007) coach, John Spencer at East Rochester High School. Jones credits Spencer with helping him get his wrestling career started in the correct direction. Later in high school Arthur would wrestle for another Hall of Fame (2003) member, Frank Marotta at Madison High School. Reverend Jones pays tribute to the coaching that Marotta supplied him. At Madison he was an exceptional wrestler winning a city championship and going 24-2-1 in his senior year. Marotta stated, “Arthur was an outstanding wrestler with great strength, speed and knowledge about the sport. He might have had a problem making weight on occasions but he always made it.” Pastor Jones stated that he always wanted to be a state champion but fell short of that when he was defeated in the sectional finals. However, two of the Reverend’s sons, Arthur and Jon, would later become state champions wrestling for Union-Endicott High School. Furthermore, Arthur credits wrestling at the “Carter Street Club” in Rochester and going to the RIT wrestling camp under the direction of Earl Fuller helped to sharpening his skills. Arthur had the upmost respect for Coach Fuller.

Arthur stated that some of the most important lessons that he learned from wrestling was there was always going to be “ups and downs” in life. You are challenged each day and a wrestler keeps going on no matter how difficult the journey may be. Additionally, Jones contends that wrestling makes you mentally tough. Sometimes your biggest opponent is yourself and you have to believe in yourself. Pastor Jones maintains that wrestling has taught him many life lessons and he has applied them throughout his life. Wrestling is a passion that he has been grateful for and that passion has been a big part of his life. 

He has taught his sons and family these lessons and the results are quite obvious. Art and Chandler have play collegiate football at Syracuse University and eventually gone on to the NFL to make a name for themselves. Jon is a UFC fighter who many people claim maybe the best fighter in the history of the sport. 

Donna Lupardo, Member of the New York State Assembly had this to say about the Reverend Jones, “I have seen firsthand the Reverend’s care and compassion for our entire community, but especially that of people in underserved communities. This work has led him to leadership positions on the boards of human service agencies and advocacy organizations, and has earned him numerous awards and honors.” 

Arthur Jones has always been thankful for everything in his life and has served his God and community to the best of his ability.   

Dana Charpentier

Dana has been involved in wrestling since the 6th grade in Whitehall, NY. Dana recalls that the mats that they used back in those days were the old horsehair mats that had to be tied together with a rubber top put on them. The rubber or vinyl top resulted in many mat burns to the face and other parts of the body. You did not want to stay on the bottom very long or get ridden but a good top wrestler. After moving to Hudson Falls, Dana was part of the first team that Hudson Falls had in wrestling. The first season was rough but before he graduated they were holding their own against the likes of South Glenn Falls.

Follow high school Dana served in the United State Navy for four years and then returned to Adirondack Community College to further his education. There he wrestled and embarked on his career in officiating high and college wrestling. Dana credits John Mulligan for having a great impact on his officiating career. John served as Dana’s mentor and helped to guide him to an outstanding career in refereeing in the Empire State. In Dana second year as an official the coaches of Section II recommended Dana for the sectionals and helped launch his career. In 1990 Dana received his first assignment to the NYSPHSAA championships at the Onondaga War Memorial in Syracuse. Dana had many recollections of the state championships but the biggest remembrance was the 1993 Sirrell Gissendanner and Mitch Clark match. Dana officiated probably one of the best matches in the history of the tournament that evening. Charpentier would later go on to officiated the championships seven times and was always rated in the top tier. 

Dana feels that the best single rule that has improved the sport is that officials are calling stalling much more now. He strongly believes that calling stalling makes the sport more exciting for the spectators and helps to ensure that the wrestler who works the hardest gets rewarded for their efforts. When Dana reported to a match to referee, the coaches tell their wrestlers that this official will call stalling and you better wrestle. Dana professional demeanor and his honesty were two of the biggest qualities that Dana possessed. He believes that a match is all about the wrestlers and athletes and that the official is there to ensure that the rules are abided to. Dana had the courage to make the correct call no matter the circumstances. And perhaps the best thing that could be said about him was that the coaches trusted Dana to do the right thing. 

The sense of community was one aspect of the sport that Dana liked the most about wrestling. He states, “people who are involved with the sport, speak the same language.” Thank you, Dana, for all you have done to advocate for wrestling.