NEWS RELEASE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF STATE HIGH SCHOOL ASSOCIATIONS. PO Box 690, Indianapolis, IN , FAX /

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1 NEWS RELEASE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF STATE HIGH SCHOOL ASSOCIATIONS PO Box 690, Indianapolis, IN , FAX / NFHS Awards Citations to Eight Athletic Directors FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Bruce Howard INDIANAPOLIS, IN (November 30, 2005) The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) will award NFHS Citations to eight high school athletic directors December 17 in Orlando, Florida, at the 36 th annual National Conference of High School Directors of Athletics. NFHS Citations are presented annually to outstanding athletic directors in recognition of contributions to interscholastic athletics at the local, state and national levels. State associations nominate athletic directors for NFHS Citations, and the NFHS Board of Directors approves recipients. This year s award winners are Donna Blumer, CAA, athletic director at St. Petersburg (Florida) Dixie Hollins High School; Christine Bullard, district athletic and activities director for Jefferson County Public Schools in Golden, Colorado; Joel Eskelsen, CAA, activities director for Big Piney (Wyoming) High School; John Evers, CMAA, director of athletics at Newburgh (Indiana) Castle High School; Ed Lockwood, CMAA, athletic administrator for Fargo (North Dakota) Public Schools; E. David Nelson, CMAA, director of student athletics at Poquoson (Virginia) High School; Michael O Day, CMAA, director of athletics at South Burlington (Vermont) High School; and Joni Pabst, CAA, assistant principal of activities for Tucson (Arizona) Sahuaro High School. Citations will be presented at the conference banquet at 6:30 p.m. December 17. Following are biographical sketches on this year s NFHS Citation recipients: Since 1989, Donna Blumer has been a teacher and athletic director at St. Petersburg (Florida) Dixie Hollins High School. A 16-year member of the Florida Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (FIAAA), Blumer has served on the association s board of directors every year of her membership. The first female president of the FIAAA, she has also been a state conference speaker, presider and moderator. Within the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA), Blumer has served on the public liaison advisory committee since 1997, and has been chairperson since She also has been district tournament manager for the sports of football, basketball, swimming, volleyball,

2 cross country, softball, baseball and track, and regional tournament manager for football, basketball and baseball. Blumer, who has been a member of the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) since 1989, was a speaker at the 1993 national conference, and a member of the 1995 Blue Ribbon Panel. Blumer has also been published in the Interscholastic Athletic Administration, and was a member of the Florida Host Committee at the 1996 and 2005 national conferences. Before coming to Dixie Hollins, Blumer was a physical education and health teacher at St. Petersburg (Florida) Riviera Middle School. She also served as athletic coordinator at Riviera, and coached volleyball and track. During her career, Blumer has received many honors. Among these, she was named FIAAA State Athletic Administrator of the Year in 2000, and she received the NIAAA State Award of Merit in Christine Bullard, the district athletic and activities director for Jefferson County Public Schools in Golden, Colorado, is closing in on 30 years as an athletic administrator. She has held the position since 1993, supervising 21 schools in what is the largest school district in Colorado. As a regular attendee of the national conference, Bullard was Colorado s delegate to the NIAAA Delegate Assembly from 1988 to 1992, and from 2004 to the present. She also served on the NIAAA Professional Development Committee from 1990 to 1995, and currently serves on the organization s Ad Hoc Awards Committee. In addition, Bullard currently serves on the NFHS Field Hockey Rules Committee. Bullard s service to the Colorado Athletic Directors Association (CADA) is extensive. She has served on the executive committee/board of directors since 1982, including two terms as president in and , and a term as secretary in From 1982 to 2004, Bullard served on the CADA Awards Committee, including the last 10 years as committee chair. Bullard is currently a Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) Executive Committee member, and has served on various CHSAA committees, including budget, tournament, soccer and field hockey. Under her direction, Jefferson County has hosted numerous district, regional and state tournaments, including the state track and field championships every year since 1976 except for four years. In 2004, Bullard was recognized as athletic director of the year by the Colorado High School Coaches Association and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association. Joel Eskelsen, who is the activities director for Big Piney (Wyoming) High School, has had a distinguished career in Wyoming as both a coach and athletic administrator. In addition to his 25 years as an activities director, Eskelsen has won several coach of the year awards for football and track.

3 Eskelsen s service at the national level includes five years on the NIAAA Board of Directors, including a term as president in He has served as the Wyoming Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (WIAAA) state liaison to the NIAAA for the past 10 years and, during his presidency, he was instrumental in the search for the first NIAAA executive director. In Wyoming, Eskelsen has helped create an outstanding working relationship among the WIAAA, the Wyoming Coaches Association and the Wyoming High School Athletic Association. He served on the WIAAA Board of Directors for 18 years, and, as president of the Wyoming Coaches Association, he was instrumental in combining the athletic directors conference and the coaches conference. Locally, Eskelsen has been president of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference for eight years, where he has been the conference coordinator for regional championships in basketball and track. Eskelsen was twice awarded an NIAAA State Award of Merit (in and ), and was a recipient of the NIAAA Distinguished Service Award in He also was inducted into the Wyoming Coaches Association Hall of Fame. John Evers has served as the director of athletics at Newburgh (Indiana) Castle High School since During his 29-year career as a teacher, coach and athletic director, he has earned great respect and admiration at the local, state and national levels. Within the Indiana Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (IIAAA), Evers has served on its board of directors, strategic planning committee and leadership training committee. He has also been the IIAAA president and conference director, liaison to the NIAAA, past president and secretary. In 2005, he received the NIAAA State Award of Merit. Evers has also been active within the NIAAA, completing 19 leadership training courses and attending nine NFHS national conferences. He has also served as the Indiana delegate to four NIAAA delegate assemblies, and has been a presenter at three national conferences. A member of the NIAAA Publications Committee, Evers has been published in the Interscholastic Athletic Administration (IAA) numerous times. Prior to becoming athletic director at Castle, Evers was the head football and assistant wrestling coach at Rockport (Indiana) South Spencer High School. From 1978 to 1990, he served as Castle s assistant track and field, football, and baseball coach, while teaching life sciences, biology, health and physical education in the district. Evers also taught and coached seventh-grade football and eighth-grade track and field at Castle Junior High School. Evers received both his bachelor s and master s degrees from the University of Evansville (Indiana).

4 Ed Lockwood has spent more than 30 years as an educator in his home state of North Dakota. Beginning in the early 1970s as a coach, Lockwood is now the athletic administrator of the Fargo Public Schools. An NIAAA member for 20 years, Lockwood has attended 12 national conferences and served as North Dakota s delegate to the NIAAA National Delegate Assembly three times. From 1999 to 2002, he served on the NIAAA Communications, Issues and Resolutions Committee, and in 2004, was selected to serve on the NIAAA Strategic Planning Committee. He is also on the national faculty for Leadership Training Courses 509 and 590. Lockwood s service to the North Dakota Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NDIAAA) includes a term as president from 1997 to 1999, vice president from 1995 to 1997 and state awards chairman from 1985 to He also was the association s liaison to the NIAAA from 2000 to 2004 and he serves as the NDIAAA liaison to the state coaches association. Lockwood served on the NDIAAA Reorganization Committee, which helped institute two annual conferences, an NDIAAA Hall of Fame and Leadership Training Courses taught at the state level. Lockwood, who has served on the North Dakota High School Activities Association (NDHSAA) Board of Directors since 2001, assumed its presidency this fall. He has also served on several NDHSAA committees, including football reorganization, citizenship and sportsmanship, and football playoffs. In 2003, Lockwood helped create and manage the first combined girls and boys basketball state championships in state history. Among Lockwood s honors, he was named 2001 athletic director of the year by both the National High School Athletic Coaches Association and the North Dakota Coaches Association. For the past 20 years, Dave Nelson has been one of the key leaders in interscholastic athletics in the state of Virginia. After a highly successful high school coaching career, Nelson currently is director of student athletics and a government teacher at Poquoson (Virginia) High School. An athletic director for 20 years, Nelson has 14 different sports for girls and boys at Poquoson, and his school s teams have garnered 60 district titles, 34 regional titles and three state championships. Nelson coached boys basketball for 15 years and girls basketball for nine years at Poquoson, and he has compiled a cumulative record of At the state level, Nelson has been a member of the Virginia Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Executive Board since He was president of the VIAAA from 1991 to 1993 and has been a presenter at the VIAAA state conference every year since On behalf of the Virginia High School League, Nelson has been a leader in establishing coaching education and training new athletic directors across the state. He has served two terms on the VHSL Executive Committee and

5 has also served on the VHSL Policy Committee, Steering Committee, Appeals Committee and Sports Advisory Committee. Nelson also has devoted countless hours to the Virginia Coaches Association, serving on its executive board from 1983 to Despite his full schedule within the state, Nelson has been an active NIAAA member for many years. He served on the organization s Communications, Issues and Resolutions Committee, including a term as vice chair. Nelson also was involved with the Strategic Planning Committee and has been a presenter at the National Conference of High School Directors of Athletics. Among his awards, Nelson was VIAAA Athletic Director of the Year in 1992 and was selected to receive the VIAAA John C. Youngblood Lifetime Achievement Award in Heavily involved in athletic administration at the local, state and national levels for 20 years, Michael O Day has been director of athletics at his alma mater, South Burlington (Vermont) High School, since Prior to his current duties, O Day was a math teacher and coach at Keene (New Hampshire) High School from 1976 to 1982, and then was athletic director at Missisquoi Valley Union High School in Vermont for one year before accepting the South Burlington position. O Day has made significant contributions to both the Vermont Principals Association (VPA) and the Vermont State Athletic Directors Association (VSADA). He currently chairs both the VPA Football Committee and VPA Gymnastics Committee, and has served on the VPA Tennis Committee for two years. O Day has been a member of the VSADA for 22 years and has served on the Executive Board since He served terms as the organization s vice president and president as well, and he has been coordinator of the state s athletic directors conference since At the national level, O Day has been an NIAAA member since 1983 and has served as Vermont s liaison to the NIAAA for 14 years. He earned his CAA status in 1990 and the CMAA designation in He has attended every National Conference of High School Directors of Athletics since 1987, has been a workshop presenter and moderator, and was a member of the Blue Ribbon Panel in He also served as the state s NIAAA Leadership Training Program coordinator for five years. O Day, a graduate of the University of Maine, Orono, with a master s from Western Carolina University, has been named Vermont s athletic director of the year on two occasions. He also has received the NIAAA State Award of Merit twice and the VSADA Distinguished Service Award. As assistant principal of activities for Tucson (Arizona) Sahuaro High School, Joni Pabst has quickly risen to the top of the athletic administrator profession. She came to Sahuaro in 2005 after seven

6 years as assistant principal at Tucson (Arizona) Santa Rita High School and eight years as physical education department chairperson at Tucson (Arizona) Cholla High School. Pabst s service to the NIAAA includes the NIAAA Strategic Planning Committee and a term on the NIAAA Awards Committee from 2000 to She has been the Arizona delegate to the NIAAA Delegate Assembly five times and was a participant on the NIAAA Blue Ribbon Panel in At the state level, Pabst served as president of the Arizona Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (AIAAA) in and is currently the AIAAA treasurer. She also serves on the AIAAA Conference Planning Committee and the AIAAA Sponsorship Committee. Pabst has directed Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) Class 4A state championships in track and field, cross country and girls golf on several occasions, and currently serves on the AIA Executive Board. Among her many honors, Pabst was awarded the NIAAA Distinguished Service Award in 2003, and the NIAAA State Award of Merit in In 2003, she was named AIAAA Class 4A Athletic Director of the Year and in 2002, earned the AIAAA Distinguished Service Award. Pabst is also an accomplished volleyball and basketball coach, and cross country official. In 2001, she was named the NFHS Girls Cross Country Official of the Year for Arizona. ### MEDIA CONTACT: Bruce Howard or John Gillis,