2026 Veteran Awards
Our thanks to the Veterans Committee and its chair, Valerie Asher, for these bios.
William "Bill" Walker Jr.
While William H. Walker, Jr - known as Bill to his many friends - with his long reach and analytical engineer’s mind was a natural epeeist, his curiosity and love of adventure led him to compete in all three weapons during decades of fencing. However fencing was not his first or even his second sport. After playing football at Bellevue High School, he entered the University of Washington where he became a varsity rower. His interest in fencing was piqued after graduation by a pair of fencing swords that he found at his brother’s house.The brothers sparred for fun, miraculously avoiding injury; and in 1973 Bill found his way to Salle Auriol in Seattle, where Leon Auriol became his first coach. HIs first fencing career lasted until 1984 and included a stint on the Oregon State University team while he was in graduate school. In 1984 he moved to the San Francisco Bay area to work for a start-up, and left both fencing and the Pacific Northwest behind.
In 2008, after his wife’s death from colorectal cancer, he returned to fencing looking to meet people and improve his fitness. Entering the growing field of Veteran fencing in the US, he made friends all over the country and began bringing his equipment with him on business trips. In 2010, when Marx Fencing offered the first “Fencing and Fine Wine” camp in Bordeaux, Bill was an enthusiastic participant. He returned year after year to fence and dine with his camp friends and persuaded many others to join the group. Through Michael Marx, he met Cody Mattern and became an at-large member of Northwest Fencing Center. With Cody as his coach he had multiple podium finishes and finally earned a place on the 2020 US World Veteran team only to have World Championships canceled by the COVID pandemic. However when asked about his favorite fencing memory, he didn’t focus on his individual results; he gave that honor to anchoring his vet team “The Vetuation” at the 2014 NAC in Minneapolis. His spirit as a fencer is captured by this description from his nomination for this award: “a generous opponent and consummate sportsman, always quick with a word of encouragement and good advice to opponents and teammates alike.”
In 2018, Bill’s passion for fencing, his informal leadership in the Vet fencing community, and his deep professional skills from his business career led USA Fencing President Don Anthony to nominate him for chair of the Veterans’ Committee. Prior to his appointment, the Vet Committee Chair was always a member of the US World Veteran Team. Bill understood that as the sport was growing USA Fencing and the committee needed to serve the interest of all Veteran athletes, not just those at the top of the point standings. Under his leadership the committee surveyed the vet community for the first time, to better understand its make-up and needs. He advocated for vet fencing with the Tournament Committee, addressing scheduling issues and worked to bring a second team event into the NAC schedule. For over a year, when Veteran fencing was suspended by the pandemic, his optimism and leadership kept the committee engaged and focused on returning to competition. When we returned to competition, he helped establish Veteran “Town Hall” events to engage the entire community. These Town Halls are now annual events that help bring Vet athlete concerns directly to the committee. In addition to his four years as Vet Chair, Bill also served USA Fencing more widely as a member of the Marketing Resource Group and a Trustee of the US Fencing Foundation
Off the piste, his engineering background led to a long and successful career in executive management for multiple technology start-ups and as the senior director of advanced technology for a large, privately held defense contractor. Serving as Vice President at Fairchild Imaging he helped the company expand into new markets. He also found time for other hobbies. He loved cooking, motorcycles (he had 17), music (he owned and played 15 guitars, a banjo, a bass, a viola, and a violin), and learning languages.
Bill’s devotion to his very large fencing family was matched by his devotion to his real life family . He was even happier when he could bring the two together. For many years his friends would fly into Seattle to fence in “The Battle in Seattle”, which was often the same weekend as his mother’s birthday. His mother, Jean Walker, was delighted to have “the boys” stay at her house and “the boys” were equally happy to be a part of her birthday celebration on Saturday night. When he met his beloved wife Denise, he asked his fencing family to come together to witness their commitment at their 2019 wedding.
The Veterans Committee presents this Lifetime Achievement to Bill Walker in recognition of his commitment to Veteran fencing: as an athlete, as a personal mentor, and as a leader in our community. One of his many friends wrote this to him: “While you’ve given me lots of technical advice over the years, I think the most valuable thing you’ve shown me is your attitude. When I’m discouraged by defeat or frustrated by my lack of progress, I often think about how gracious, generous, and positive you’ve been on and off the strip . . . I think about a comment you made to me once: that we’d better be doing this for the love of it because there’s not much reason to do it otherwise.”
Vet 40 Fencer of the Year: Holly Buechel
Holly Buechel currently fences Vet 40 Women’s Epee and represents Cornell University, where she is coached by Ariana Klinkov and Daniel Bass. She began fencing in 2000 at Oak Knoll High School in New Jersey with Derek Hoff. She was looking for a winter sport and tried fencing when she couldn’t attend the mandatory winter camp for the basketball team. As an aficionado of adventure video games, she loved the light and sound when she hit her opponent - it was like being inside her own game. She took to the sport immediately and in 2002 was New Jersey high school girls’ epee champion, working with Yefim Litvan. In college she fenced for the University of Pennsylvania with Iosef Vitebskiy and was a two time NCAA All-American. She began to fence internationally and in 2004 was Junior Pan-American champion. Continuing to fence both nationally and internationally after college, she represented the New York Athletic Club from 2002 to 2018. She helped NYAC win three women’s epee team championships and in 2011 won team silver at the World University Games.
In 2021, three years after she stopped fencing, Tim Morehouse asked her to try out a coach he was thinking of hiring. She liked the lesson with coach Ahmed Abdallah and when he offered her the chance to continue working with him, she accepted. Returning to competition, she won silver in Division l-A at Summer Nationals in 2024 and began fencing Vet events the next season.
A dual major in Fine Arts (with a concentration in animation) and Visual Studies, after graduation Holly began working in post-production in film, leading her to pursue a Masters Degree in film editing. While working for an impressive array of clients in the industry, she acquired the skills that would allow her to make her own films. To date she has made two well-received films, both drawing on her passion for fencing: Speed of Fencing, a short film and Fencing for the Edge, a documentary following the journey of a New Jersey high school girls’ fencing team. To fund her fencing she began working as a referee in 2007 and now works both nationally and internationally. Having achieved the highest N1 rating in the US she is now working on her FIE license. In addition to film editing and refereeing, Holly works as Director of Operations for the Cornell University fencing team and as Self-Direction Specialist for Unity House, a non-profit supporting adults with disabilities. Somehow with four different jobs Holly has found the time to train and continue her career as a world-class fencer. In all of these endeavors she has the support of her family: her parents Frederick and Kathy, her younger sisters Bonnie and Kelly, and of course her husband and coach, Daniel.
The Veterans Committee presents the Veteran 40 Fencer of the Year award for 2024-25 to Holly Buechel, During her outstanding debut season as a veteran fencer she earned two national gold medals and then went on to win both individual gold and team silver at the Veteran World Championships in Bahrain.
Vet 50 Fencer of the Year: Julie Seal
Julie Seal currently fences Vet 50 Foil and Saber. She started her own club, Valkyrie Fencing, in Utah, where she is coached by Mark Stasinos. She is both a marketing professional and a fencing coach. In 2022, she was accredited as a Fencing Master in both foil and saber by the US Fencing Coaches Association, making her one of only seven female Fencing Masters in the US. The following year, she added her certification as a Fencing Master in epee, completing her qualification as Maître d’Armes. In 2023, she also became the first fencer ever inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame.
Julie began fencing in 1991 while a student at Brigham Young University. After being cut from the softball team, she wanted to take a clogging class (by her own admission, because there were cute boys in the class), but it was full. Fencing was the only PE class she could get into. Within a decade, Julie was an A-rated, nationally ranked fencer in all three weapons, winning gold in both Division 1 foil and saber, as well as silver in Division 1A epee. She also competed internationally, representing the US at the Pan American Games. Her competitive career slowed in the early 2000s after her children were born, and in 2007, she stopped competing and gave away most of her equipment. However, in 2017, at the age of 45, she decided to enter the Vet 40 competition at Summer Nationals when they were held in Salt Lake City. Her reentry to national competition was marked by gold medals in both foil and saber—a feat she has gone on to repeat at multiple national championships. In 2023, Julie made history by becoming Veteran World Champion in both foil and saber. That same year, she also helped the US earn multiple team medals: gold in Vet Women’s Saber and silver in Vet Women’s Foil. Julie’s support team includes her husband, Richard; her children, Gracie, Max, Cameron, Ayda, and Bubba; as well as her son-in-law, Jakob.
The Veterans Committee presents the Veteran 50 Fencer of the Year Award to Julie Seal in recognition of her outstanding record during the 2023–24 season. For the third year in a row, she qualified for the Veteran World Championships in both foil and saber. She won gold in all three national events and bronze at Worlds in individual Vet 50 Women’s Saber, as well as earning two silver and one bronze medal at national events in individual Vet 50 Women’s Foil. She then went on to help Team USA earn gold in both the foil and saber team events.
Vet 60 Fencer of the Year: Lydia Fabry
Lydia Fabry currently fences Vet 60 Women’s Saber and Epee and represents Avant Garde Fencers Club in Los Angeles and Fortune Fencing in Monrovia, CA. She is coached in saber by Michael Costin. Off the piste, she worked in digital marketing where she helped businesses find their missed opportunities - an analytical process she has applied to her own fencing. Her support system includes her daughter Natalie and her late son Thomas, both of whom were fencers, and her granddaughter Logan who she hopes to introduce to “the fun and beauty of fencing.”
Lydia began fencing in 2001, at her daughter’s high school in Santa Fe, New Mexico as one of the few parents who stayed to watch practice. She began as a foil fencer, but the coach made her try saber - as “punishment” for poor footwork. With few opportunities to fence in New Mexico, she founded the club that became High Desert Fencing Club, recruited a coach, attended Coaches College herself, and learned to ref and run tournaments from Gerrie Baumgart. Her multi-faceted fencing experience includes: parent, athlete, coach, club owner, tournament organizer and referee.
Prior to competing as a veteran fencer, after one year of saber, Lydia made it to the finals in a Division II national event, where she faced a young Becca Ward. Although she lost to “a kid” she earned her B. The “kid” went on to become an Olympic medalist.
Lydia took a seven year break and returned to fencing in 2010-2011 and won her first of many medals at the 2011 World Veteran Championships in Croatia. She has gone on to win multiple national medals in both saber and epee and has been on 10 US Veteran World Teams. Internationally she has earned eight individual medals (four gold, three silver, and one bronze) and seven team medals (five gold, one silver (epee) and one bronze).
The Veterans Committee presents the Veteran-60 Fencer of the Year Award for 2024-25 to Lydia Fabry. Her outstanding season results include two golds and one silver from the regular US season and gold medals in both her individual and team events at the 2025 World Veteran Championships in Bahrain.
Vet 70 Fencer of the Year: Jennette Starks-Faulkner
Jennette Starks-Faulkner currently fences Vet 70 foil, epee and saber. She represents Connecticut Fencers Club and Marx Fencing Academy. Her coaches are Slava Grigoriev for foil, Michael Marx for epee and James Carter for saber. She also credits an impressive roster of past coaches: Denise O’Connor (who taught her to fence), Lajos Csiszar, Henry Harutunian, Sean McClain, Martin Bloomer, Hank Powell, Taro Yamashita, and Alex Gioella (saber).
Jennette started fencing in 1972 at Brooklyn College. The year before, her twin brother Jeffrey came home with a fencing bag and told her “Girls don’t fence.” Starting college as a physical education major, she signed up for a fencing course taught by Olympian Denise O’Connor.. She fenced for four years for the Brooklyn College team. After graduating she joined Nikki Franke at Temple University as an assistant coach while continuing her own athletic career, winning both individual and team medals at national championships. In 1979 and 1982 she won the invitational Olympic Trials. However in 1984, when she failed to secure a spot on the Los Angeles Olympic team, she retired from fencing and started her family. Her gear was relegated to the basement, and for the next 20 years she rarely spoke about her fencing. She became a computer programmer and an IT professional, raising two daughters, Lesley and Sydney with her husband Grady.
In 2006, her Brooklyn College teammate Anne-Marie Walters called her and asked her to come back to fencing. Anne-Marie was fencing Vet NACs and wanted a roommate and a partner for warming up. That season, Jennette won her first Veteran national championships and went to Australia with the US team, where she won her first World Championship medal. Over the past 19 years she has won 14 Veteran national championships in foil and as well as one each in saber and epee. In 2012, at the age of 58 she re-earned her A in Division 1A Summer Nationals. She has been on 19 US Veteran World Championship foil teams, and has also qualified in saber every year since 2014. Last season she qualified in all three weapons. Her individual international medals include: five gold, two silver, and two bronze in foil, one gold, one silver and two bronze in saber, and one bronze in epee. Her team medals include four gold, three silver, and one bronze in foil, two gold in saber, and one bronze in epee.
Outside of her own fencing, Jennette has supported the sport as club owner, coach, and referee. As a coach she has worked with children, high school students, and collegiate athletes. She has also refereed both high school and college matches throughout New England. She served on the Execcutive Board of the National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Associaction (NIWFA), of the oldest women's sports associations in the U.S.
The Veterans Committee presents the Vet 70 Fencer of the Year award to Jennette Starks-Faulkner in recognition of her outstanding performance during the 2024-25 season. During the regular season she took home two silver and one bronze medal in saber, two gold and one silver medal in foil, and one gold, one silver, and one bronze medal in epee, qualifying for the US World Veterans Team in all three weapons. She then went on to take home medals in all six events at Veteran World Championships in Bahrain, with gold medals in individual foil, team foil and team saber and bronze medals in individual saber and epee as well as team epee. This record breaking Veteran athlete will add further accolades this summer, when she will be inducted into the USA Fencing Hall of Fame.
Vet 80 Fencer of the Year: Frank Hewitt
Frank Hewitt currently fences Vet 80 Men’s Epee and represents the Cabrillo Academy of the Sword in San Diego, CA where he was coached for many years by the late Maestro Edwin “Buzz” Hurst. After a career as a naval officer, which included command of two ships, he retired from the Navy in 1988 and began a second civilian career as a defense contractor and entrepreneur using his extensive understanding of electronic warfare and systems engineering. He is supported in all his endeavors by his wife Jeanne and his daughters Jamie and Cori. His training partners include his grandson Jack Moraga, who fences Y12 epee.
Frank began fencing in 1963 at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. All members of the Brigade of Midshipmen were required to play a sport. Head fencing coach Andre Deladrier, who also served as 1960 US Olympic Head Coach offered all incoming plebes the chance to try fencing. He was particularly interested in students who had no previous fencing experience because he didn’t want to correct bad habits from high school fencing programs. After a year on the freshman team, Frank spent his remaining years as a member of the varsity team. His results earned him honors as an NCAA First Team All-American in Epee in 1967 and a place in the US Naval Academy Hall of Fame. His deep connection to the Naval Academy continued with a stint as Assistant Coach in Epee while assigned as a Company Officer in 1973, and he regularly returns to fence the current midshipmen at the annual alumni meet. Since learning to fence his only breaks from the sport have been while on active Sea Duty as an officer of the US Navy.
As a competitor, Frank continues to fence in Senior Opens, Combined Veteran events, as well as in Vet Age events. With multiple national podium finishes, he earned spots on four US Veteran World Teams: 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. His international results include one individual medal (bronze) and one team medal (gold).
The Veterans Committee presents the Veteran 80 Fencer of the Year Award to Frank Hewitt in recognition of his outstanding performance during the 2024-25 season. He took gold in all three Vet 80 Men’s Epee events and also took 3rd in Vet 70 Men’s Epee at the January NAC.
