NIAAA to Present Eight Distinguished Service Awards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bruce Whitehead

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (November 10, 2008) - Eight individuals who have made outstanding contributions to interscholastic athletics have been named recipients of the 2008 Distinguished Service Awards given by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA).

These individuals will be honored December 15 in San Diego, California, during the luncheon at the 39th annual National Conference of High School Directors of Athletics conducted jointly by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and the NIAAA.

The Distinguished Service Award is presented annually to individuals from within the NIAAA membership in recognition of their length of service, special accomplishments and contributions to interscholastic athletics at the local, state and national levels. Nominations are submitted by state athletic director associations, screened by the NIAAA Awards Committee, and selected by the NIAAA Board of Directors.

This year's winners include Michael Colby, CMAA, associate director of eligibility for the Florida High School Athletic Association; Don Dalton, CAA, retired athletic administrator for Burlington (Wisconsin) High School; Jim Davis, CAA, director of athletics, physical education and student activities at Belmont (Massachusetts) Public Schools; Terry Hanson, CMAA, athletic director at Gresham (Oregon) Sam Barlow High School; Karl Heimbach, CMAA, athletic director of Rockville (Maryland) Colonel Zadok Magruder High School; Leslie Moore, CAA, director of athletics and student activities of Denver (Colorado) Public Schools; Craig Perry, CMAA, associate director of the Minnesota State High School League; and Cindy Riley, CAA, director of athletics for Tucson (Arizona) Desert Christian High School.

Following are the biographical sketches of this year's award winners:

Michael Colby, CMAA, started his teaching career in 1973 at Hialeah (Florida) Miami Lakes High School. In 1980, he became the head coach of the bowling and tennis teams before ascending to the position of athletic business manager in 1986. He was appointed director of athletics in 1994, a position he held until earlier this year when he became associate director of eligibility of the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA).

In addition to his professional dedication to student-athletes, Colby has been steadfast and active at the state level as a member of both the Florida Athletic Coaches Association and the Florida Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (FIAAA). An FIAAA district director from 1993 to 1998, Colby currently serves as both the organization's treasurer and Webmaster. Colby also served two terms on the FHSAA Athletic Directors Advisory Committee and was a member of the FHSAA Representative Assembly.

At the national level, Colby is a lifetime member of the NIAAA, earning the Certified Athletic Administrator (CAA) designation in 1997 and the Certified Master Athletic Administrator (CMAA) in 2002. A certified CAA test administrator since 1998, he has been a national Leadership Training Faculty Member since 2000.

Colby's dedication and involvement in athletic administration has led to numerous recognitions. In 2003, he received a Meritorious Service Award from the FIAAA and a Citation from the NFHS.

Even in retirement, Don Dalton, CAA, is still busy as ever with his six children and 10 grandchildren. However, before he retired and moved to Wautoma, Wisconsin, Dalton invested 37 years of dedicated work at Burlington (Wisconsin) High School as a teacher, coach and athletic director.

As a football, wrestling and track coach for the Demons, he served as a strong role model for the athletes and stressed that open and honest communication among athletes, parents and teachers helps keep all aspects of education and total career development in proper perspective.

During his football coaching career, Dalton made "Friday Night Football" a school and city event enjoyed by all of Burlington. He compiled a career record of 202-57-1 in leading his teams to 22 conference championships and to several trips to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) state playoffs. Dalton also coached the South Team in the 1990 Shrine Bowl.

A charter member of the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association, Dalton served with great distinction as the organization's district representative, vice president and president. At the local level, he was instrumental in starting the Burlington Coaching Association in 1972.

As an athletic director, Dalton was highly involved with the Wisconsin Athletic Directors Association, serving a term as its president in 1998. He still serves as an instructor at the annual WIAA new athletic directors workshop. At the national level, Dalton has been influential as an NIAAA state coordinator for leadership training and has been chair of LTC 502 since its inception.

When Jim Davis graduated from Plymouth (New Hampshire) State College in 1985 with a degree in physical education, he had laid the educational foundation that has enabled him to make significant contributions to the athletic administration field.

Following teaching and coaching stints at two New Hampshire schools, Davis earned his master's degree at Fitchburg (Massachusetts) State College. From there, he became district athletic director in three school systems, culminating with his current position as director of athletics, physical education and student activities of the Belmont (Massachusetts) Public Schools.

Responsible for more than 55 athletic teams and their coaches, Davis was instrumental in getting nearly 80 percent of the student body to participate on at least one sports team.

One of the first challenges Davis faced at Belmont was an underdeveloped health and wellness program. As a means of addressing that, he shepherded a project that included a $20,000 grant that funded classroom and lab components of the high school, as well as the professional development necessary for staff.

A member of several organizations, Davis currently is president of the Massachusetts Secondary Schools Athletic Directors Association (MSSADA) and served as president of the Middlesex League in 2005-06. He currently serves on four Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association committees, including the State Tournament Management Committee. Davis has developed extensive sportsmanship programs with the Middlesex league and spoke on this topic at the 2006 national conference in Anaheim.

As Davis works toward becoming a Certified Master Athletic Administrator, he continues his involvement in the NIAAA as an LTC instructor and a CAA exam administrator. He has attended 10 national conferences and has been a member of the NIAAA Delegate Assembly six times.

In 2006, Davis was inducted into the Plymouth (New Hampshire) State University Athletic Hall of Fame. He was also honored by the MSSADA as the District B Athletic Director of the Year in 2006 and with an MSSADA Distinguished Service Award in 2008.

Terry Hanson, a lifelong Oregonian, is the athletic director of Gresham (Oregon) Sam Barlow High School. After graduation from Willamette (Oregon) University, he did extensive graduate work at the University of Oregon.

From 1985 to 1991, Hanson taught and coached football and boys basketball at Waldport (Oregon) High School before becoming the athletic director for two years. In 1992, he moved to Sam Barlow High School as a teacher and coach. Hanson became athletic director in 2001, a position he still holds today. Among his accomplishments as athletic director, Hanson led a successful fund-raising effort to install an artificial football/soccer field at Barlow in 2005.

Much in the same sense that he's a tireless worker within the school setting, Hanson has been highly involved with athletic directors organizations. An NIAAA member since 2001, Hanson is a certified LTC instructor. A Certified Master Athletic Administrator since 2007, he is one of just four athletic administrators in Oregon to hold that distinction. In 2008, Hanson was named both 6A and state athletic director of the year.

Hanson has served on the Oregon Athletic Directors Association (OADA) Executive Board since 2003, including a term as president in 2007-08. Prior to becoming president, he served as OADA vice president, during which time he planned and organized two state conferences. In addition, Hanson created both the OADA and Sam Barlow High School Web sites. He also provides a unique service to Oregon athletic directors by administering a daily listing of open dates through a "list-serve," a free e-mail subscription service with more than 600 users.

Twenty-six years of Karl Heimbach's life have been loyally dedicated to teaching social studies and coaching soccer at the high school level. However, Heimbach's career took a substantial step forward nine years ago when he became athletic director at Rockville (Maryland) Colonel Zadok Magruder High School. Since rising to that position from the assistant athletic directorship, Heimbach has been able to make substantial contributions at the local, state and national levels.

At Magruder High School, Heimbach has been instrumental in providing professional development opportunities for all coaches having 100-percent membership in the NFHS. As a testament to the value and impact of his efforts, several of his coaches have been selected state coaches of the year, and he was named section winner by the NFHS. Heimbach was the driving force that helped to raise $100,000 in the past nine years to refurbish the facilities of Magruder High School, including dugouts, scoreboards, irrigation systems, storage trailers, mowers and team record boards. Those fund-raising efforts also helped establish the school Hall of Fame.

At the state level, Heimbach was selected by the Maryland State Athletic Directors Association (MSADA) as the District 2B Athletic Director of the Year in 2005, and the following year was named State Athletic Director of the Year. He has served on the MSADA Executive Council since 2000 and currently is the organization's president. Heimbach helped create, organize and instruct at the "New and Aspiring Athletic Director" workshop, which is now in its fifth year, as well as the successful "Summer Institute," now in its sixth year. Within the NIAAA, Heimbach is a member of the Endowment Committee; is an LTC Instructor for 501, 502, 608 and 619; and has presented at the national conference.

Leslie Moore retired in June after 10 years as district director of athletics for the Denver (Colorado) Public Schools (DPS) and 39 years overall with the DPS. She was responsible for 11 high schools and 24 middle schools, as well as approximately 400 coaches and 6,000 student-athletes. Prior to being named director in 1998, Moore was a coach, teacher, coordinator and district supervisor with the DPS.

In these capacities, she positively impacted the lives of numerous young people in that multi-cultural district by tirelessly encouraging the involvement of minority students and helping promote their participation opportunities.

Moore's commitment has been repeatedly demonstrated by the many leadership roles she has assumed during her career. In 1990, she became a member of the Colorado Athletic Directors Association (CADA) Board of Directors and in 1993 was elected CADA treasurer, a position she still holds today. In 1996, Moore was chosen president of the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) State Board of Control and Executive Committee, the first woman in 75 years to be elected to that position.

At the local level, Moore serves on the board of directors for the Girls in Golf Program and is commissioner of the Denver Prep League Athletic Board of Control. The district Title IX coordinator for the DPS, Moore also is chair of the nominating committee for Sportswomen in Colorado.

Moore's national involvement includes service as NIAAA state liaison, and as a national conference delegate, moderator and speaker. From 2004 to 2007, Moore was a member of the NIAAA Board of Directors, and was a member of the NIAAA Credentials Committee from 1998 to 2004, including a stint as chair.

Among her numerous recognitions, Moore received an NFHS Citation Award in 2001, and was named Colorado high school athletic director of the year in 1996.

Craig Perry's distinguished career in high school athletics deservedly warrants statements such as "exemplifies the very best in athletic administration" from his colleagues. Now an associate director of the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL), Perry has been able to demonstrate leadership abilities and insight that have taken him from a coach and athletic director in North Dakota to the pinnacle of his profession as a state association administrator and a highly involved member of the NIAAA.

Before joining the MSHSL, Perry served 11 years as the Grand Forks (North Dakota) Public School district athletic director. While there, he was tournament manager of 51 North Dakota High School Activities Association state tournaments and 44 regional tournaments. In addition, Perry served the North Dakota Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association as its vice president and president, as its delegate to the NIAAA and as the state Leadership Training Program coordinator.

Perry's involvement with the NIAAA is equally extensive and impressive. He has led national conference workshops four times, was the representative on the NFHS Coaches Education National Board, was a Professional Development Committee member, and has been an NIAAA Publications Committee member for eight years. He also served a term on the NIAAA Board of Directors.

Perry is very involved with the NIAAA Leadership Training Program, serving as a national faculty member and course chair, where he reviews materials and scripts for current and potential courses.

When Cindy Riley, CAA, was inducted into Tucson (Arizona) Flowing Wells High School Sports Hall of Fame in September for her high school playing career, she was being honored in just one area of her athletic involvement in the state of Arizona. As the director of athletics at Tucson (Arizona) Desert Christian High School since 1986, Riley has devoted herself to the development of student-athletes and to state and national programs that help further high school interscholastic activities.

Within the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA), Riley has been the Ethics and Sportsmanship Committee chair since 2005 and in 2006-07 was the AIA 2A Conference president. Riley began her involvement with the Arizona Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (AIAAA) as its secretary from 1995 to 1998 and served as president of the AIAAA board from 1999 to 2001. At the national level, Riley serves on the NIAAA Awards Committee and has attended the NIAAA Delegate Assembly as the Arizona representative seven times.

In addition to her numerous committee memberships and executive board positions, Riley has received several awards and honors in recognition of her contributions to high school activities. Her first acknowledgement came in 1987 when she was named Arizona Daily Star and Tucson Citizen Division I Softball Coach of the Year. In 1999, Riley was named 1A Conference Athletic Director of the Year, and the following year, she was honored as 2A South Athletic Director of the Year. In 2001, she earned an NIAAA State Award of Merit.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL INTERSCHOLASTIC ATHLETIC ADMINISTRATORS ASSOCIATION (NIAAA): The NIAAA is the largest national organization for high school athletic administrators with more than 7,000 individual members. The NIAAA consists of athletic director organizations in the 50 states plus the District of Columbia and provides an efficient system for exchange of ideas between the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and state athletic administrators organizations as well as individual athletic administrators. The NIAAA, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, strives to preserve the educational nature of interscholastic athletics and the place of these programs in the curricula of schools. The NIAAA is a full and equal partner with the NFHS.

About the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)

The NFHS, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the national leadership organization for high school sports and fine arts activities. Since 1920, the NFHS has led the development of education-based interscholastic sports and fine arts activities that help students succeed in their lives. The NFHS sets direction for the future by building awareness and support, improving the participation experience, establishing consistent standards and rules for competition, and helping those who oversee high school sports and activities. The NFHS writes playing rules for 17 sports for boys and girls at the high school level. Through its 50 member state associations and the District of Columbia, the NFHS reaches more than 18,500 high schools and 11 million participants in high school activity programs, including more than 7 million in high school sports. As the recognized national authority on interscholastic activity programs, the NFHS conducts national meetings; sanctions interstate events; produces publications for high school coaches, officials and athletic directors; sponsors professional organizations for high school coaches, officials, spirit coaches, speech and debate coaches and music adjudicators; and serves as a national information resource of interscholastic athletics and activities. For more information, visit the NFHS Web site at http://www.nfhs.org/.