 By Karen Sharpe
Margaret “Peg” Connery-Boyd ’84 has a special appreciation for Boston Red Sox left fielder, Manny Ramirez.
Not because Ramirez is one of the Sox’s best sluggers. And not because of his antics on the field. No, Connery-Boyd’s “heart belongs to Manny” because his portrait was the first one she drew—in what has become a Major League Baseball-endorsed coloring and activity book business.
A few years ago, when the family was on a road trip, Connery-Boyd came up with the idea of a baseball-themed coloring book to keep her three boys amused. A Bay State native and the daughter of huge Sox fan and youth coach Francis “Hawk” Connery, she found the Boston team to be an easy choice of subject.
Connery-Boyd is now the chief artist and captain of the Hawks Nest Publishing team, which was named in honor of her father.
“I have my father to thank for my love of sports and the example he set in being passionate about his work as a coach and a youth leader,” says Connery-Boyd. “He loved the Red Sox.
“Additionally,” she continues, “all of the members of my extended family contributed to the creation of the Red Sox book, especially my nephew Brendan Fitzgerald. So, the name of our company is a tribute to my father, who passed away in 1994, and to the family ties and faith that were so important to him and to my mother.”
The book is somewhat of a Holy Cross family collaboration as well: Brendan Fitzgerald, the co-author and creator of the puzzles and activity pages, is the son of Jack Fitzgerald ’72 and the brother of John Fitzgerald ’00—and Connery-Boyd’s husband, Jim Boyd, is a 1984 graduate.
“Jim has allowed me the freedom and support to pursue my dream as an artist,” says Connery-Boyd. “He bought me my first easel and set up lights in the attic so that I could see. He has been great.”
An English major at Holy Cross, Connery-Boyd says her College experience helped nourish her creativity and willingness to undertake new projects.
“The biggest benefit on the whole as a student at Holy Cross was the practice of exploring new ideas and thinking out of the box,” says Connery-Boyd. “Also, I gained a lot of experience in taking creative and passionate ideas and organizing them into concrete deliverables.”
Before her venture into the world of coloring books and Major League Baseball, Connery-Boyd spent time in the corporate world and, also, as a consultant. That experience helped her negotiate the licensing agreement with MLB Properties as well as the MLB Players Union.
“I went through a series of proposals and negotiations that took about six months,” says Connery-Boyd. “The bottom line is that both organizations were receptive to our books because they reach out to children, and they depict a true love of baseball and respect for the players.”
Her three sons, Kevin, Ian and Colin—aged 15, 12 and 9—have her respect, too; Connery-Boyd cites the startup of her business and artistic development as a learning experience for the whole family. Her children helped her with fact-checking and critiqued her drawing (“Mom, David Ortiz does not hold his bat that way”) and the book’s puzzles.
“On the whole, they’re pretty proud and excited that the Red Sox book is finally out in the world and at our local bookstore after all that hard work,” she says. “However, as Red Sox fans, they are less enthused about the Yankees’ and Mets’ books, which will be released in October.”
See Connery-Boyd’s MLB coloring books at
www.HawksNestPublishing.com.
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