Six high school athletes will be honored at the 38th annual Sports Awards Breakfast being held by the Orange/West Orange chapter of UNICO.

The sports breakfast will be at 10 a.m., Sunday, Feb. 26 in the new cafeteria at West Orange High School.

The breakfast, which is sponsored each year by UNICO, the Italian-American service organization, honors "unsung heroes" from local high schools, and pays tribute to the late Brian Piccolo, the famed Chicago Bears running back who died of cancer at 26.

The event has raised over $300,000 since its inception.

This year's keynote speaker will be Eric LeGrand, the former Rutgers University athlete, who became paralyzed from an injury sustained while playing football.

This year’s student honorees include: Rachel Zimmer and Matthew Shaw from West Orange High School; Devlin Formey and Thomas Lynch of Seton Hall Prep; and Sammi Jay and Dylan Karpel from Golda Och Academy.

Past sports celebrity speakers include Wayne Crebet, Carl Banks, Warner Wolf, Lou Lamoriello, Jerry Izenberg, Gov. Richard J. Codey and, Brian’s Piccolo’s brother, Don Piccolo.

Besides student athletes, adults from the community are honored with the Ben L. Spinelli award, which recognizes a person who helps promote teamwork among youth.  This year, UNICO will recognize Bruce and Linda D’Amato for their many years of dedicated service to the community.

“We wanted to honor those individuals that embody the spirit of teamwork and selflessness,” said Ben Spinelli, who was the driving force to start the breakfast and serves as master of ceremonies. “It is a great community event that is looked forward to annually.”

For additional information please contact Rob Parisi, at 973-325-3372 or rdparisi@rdparisiassociates.com.  Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and can be purchased at the door.