HENRY L. ANDEL - 2007

A native Atlantan, Buck Andel played football for and graduated from Boys High.  He went on to graduate with a bachelor's and master's degree from Georgia Tech where he lettered in both baseball and football.  Mr. Andel was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II receiving a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and three Purple Hearts for his service.  From 1948 until 1969, he was the head athletic trainer of all sports including track, basketball, baseball and wrestling at Georgia Tech during which time he served 14 Bowl teams.  For 18 of those years, he was a key member of the staff of Bobby Dodd, legendary head football coach from 1945 to 1966.  He also worked as an athletic trainer for the 1960 Olympic Games.  He was one of the NATA founders and served on the original board of directors in 1950.  He also served as District IX Secretary from 1951to 1953.  He was honored with induction into the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame in 1968 and received a citation from the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.  He was and inductee in the inaugural Georgia Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in 2004 and received the NATA 50 Year Award in 2005.  Buck Andel passed away February 13, 2005 at age 83.

JOHN H. ANDERSON - 2008

John H. Anderson began his career as Head Athletic Trainer at Auburn High School in 1966 after completing his B.S. at Auburn University in 1963 where he lettered in track and field and cross country.  He subsequently completed an M.S. at Auburn University in 1967 before moving on to Troy University as the Head Athletic Trainer in 1967 where he remained until 1979.  While at Troy he completed an M.Ed. in 1969.  From 1979 through 1989 he served as the Head Athletic Trainer at Louisiana State University before returning to Troy in 1989 where he continues today as the Program Director for Athletic Training Education.  In this role he has received the Ingall’s Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching from Troy.

John has been member of the NATA since 1966 and became certified in 1970.  His credentials also include licensure as an EMT in both Alabama and Louisiana.  John has worked numerous international events including the 1976 Olympics in Mexico, the 1970 World Games, the 1983-1985 Olympic Sports Festivals, the 1987 Pan American Games, the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, and the 1983 World International Special Olympics. He also served as the Head Athletic Trainer for the Blue-Gray Football Classic 1971-1979 and has been the Head Athletic Trainer for the Alabama All-Star Football Classic from 1990 to present.

He has contributed through several service clubs including the Troy Exchange Club and the Troy Lions Club where he served as president in 1978.  He chaired the Alabama Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame Committee from 1990 to 1998.  He has served as the District IX representative to the NATA Memorials Resolutions Committee since 1999, and in 2000, he began serving as the Alabama representative to the SEATA History and Archives Committee which he has chaired since 2004.

John received the SEATA District Award in 2001 and the Education/Administration Award in 2007.  In 1990, he received the NATA 25 Year Award followed by the NATA Athletic Trainer Service Award in 1997.  He was also named NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer in 2006.  In 2005, John founded the Iota Tau Alpha Honor Society – an honor society for Athletic Training Education Majors which currently has 25 chapters and 500 members.

ROBERT M. "BOBBY" BARTON - 2007

Bobby Barton earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kentucky in 1968, a master’s degree from Marshall University in 1970, and a doctorate from Middle Tennessee State University in 1976.  He served as an athletic trainer at the University of Kentucky, the University of Florida and Florida International University, prior to going to Eastern Kentucky University as Head Athletic Trainer and Program Director in 1976.  He served as District IX Director and as NATA Vice President prior to being NATA President from 1982 to 1986.  He served on the NATA’s Placement Committee, Public Relations Committee, the 50th Anniversary Celebration and Convention Planning Committee as well as the NATA Research and Education Foundation Board of Directors.  He co-authored the Commonwealth of Kentucky's athletic training certification law and continued to serve his state, district, and national organizations in numerous professional endeavors.  He remained a practicing athletic trainer while earning professional rank at Eastern Kentucky University and served as Head Athletic Trainer for USA Basketball's World Championship Team at the 1995 World University Games.  He was awarded the SEATA Award of Merit in 1987, inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame in 1996 and received the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Distinguished Service Athletic Trainer Award in 1998.  He was presented with the Outstanding Football Trainer Award by the All-American Football Foundation in 1999.  In 2006, Bobby was the first athletic trainer ever inducted into the Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Trainers’ Society Hall of Fame.

MARTIN J. BROUSSARD - 2007

Marty Broussard's athletic training career spanned six decades at Louisiana State University.  An exceptional baseball and track athlete during his college days at LSU, Broussard took time out to serve as a student athletic trainer for the football team prior to earning his undergraduate degree in 1945.  He served as a U.S. Army medic during World War II  After playing professional baseball and serving as Head Athletic Trainer at the University of Florida and Texas A&M, he returned to LSU in 1948 at the same position.  He received both a master's degree in 1960 and a doctorate in 1967 from LSU.  In 1963, Broussard was named Athletic Trainer of the Year by the Rockne Foundation.  He was an athletic trainer for the 1955 Pan American Games and for the U.S. Olympics in 1960.  Broussard served on the board of directors for the National Athletic Trainers Association, an organization he helped create, and was named to the NATA Hall of Fame in 1978.  He was then named to the Louisiana Athletic Trainer's Hall of Fame in 1982.  Broussard was immortalized in LSU sports in 1998 when the University named its new, state-of-the-art multimillion dollar athletic training facility the Martin J. Broussard Center for Athletic Training.  Dr. Broussard died June 11, 2003 at the age of 84.

MARISA BRUNETT - 2011

Marisa Brunett, MS, ATC, LAT, is the Director of Sports Medicine for CORA Rehabilitation & Sports Medicine Clinics- Florida where she is responsible for developing, implementing, managing operations and marketing of sports medicine programs for outpatient rehabilitation clinics and outreach athletic training programs throughout the state.  She also continues to work in the field as an athletic trainer at the collegiate, clinical/industrial and high school settings. Marisa has been actively involved in SEATA, NATA, BOC, & ATAF for 25 years.

She has been an active member of SEATA, currently serving as the Chair of the SEATA Public Relations Committee.  Marisa served as an officer on the SEATA Executive Board as Vice-President from 2005-2010, as well as an Executive Board member from 2001-2005.  She has served as Chair of the SEATA Annual Symposium Oversight Committee and the Symposium Site Selection Committee.  Marisa has also served as a member of the SEATA Meeting Review Committee, Policy & Procedures Committee, Annual Symposium Fiscal Accountability Committee, the Mission & Vision Statement Task Force and the By-Laws Revision Task Force.  She has presented at the SEATA Annual Clinical Symposium & Members Meeting.  Marisa currently serves the NATA as the District IX member on the Public Relations Council, a member of the Honors and Awards Hall of Fame Subcommittee and is the incoming NATA Public Relations Council Leader beginning her term in June 2011.  Marisa has also served the NATA as a member of the Convention Program Committee Project Team, Governance Task Force, member of the Convention Committee Registration Team, District IX Host Committee Chair for the 47th Annual Clinical Symposium in Orlando, FL in 1996 and has served as Moderator at several NATA Annual Clinical Symposiums.  Marisa’s involvement with the BOC includes serving as an examiner, Test Site Administrator, member of the Test Development Group, Qualified Examiner’s Facilitator, and District IX’s representative on the BOC Exam Administration Committee.  She has served ATAF as Past-President, President, Vice-President, Executive Board member, Education Committee Chair and various committee member positions.  She has also presented at several ATAF Annual Clinical Symposiums on licensure in the state and PR.  She is currently on an ATAF project team working with Florida’s Division of Worker’s Compensation to have licensed athletic trainers recognized as Health Care Providers within their reimbursement manual.  Marisa also served as a member of the Gatorade High School Athletic Trainer Advisory Board.

Marisa has been actively involved in the licensure process in Florida since the passing of the initial licensure act in October 1995.  She served as an initial member of the Florida Department of Health’s Council of Athletic Training from 1996-2000.  In 2000, the Council moved to a Board, and she was appointed by Governor Jeb Bush to the Department of Health’s Board of Athletic Training where she served as Vice-Chair until 2002.  Marisa was re-appointed to the Board of Athletic Training by Governor Charlie Christ as a member in 2006 until 2009.

For over 25 years, Marisa has served her communities in various roles such as public speaker, Medical Coordinator, Host Site Athletic Trainer, Team Leader and Athletic Trainer for state, district, national and international sporting events.  Most recently Marisa served as the Local Medical Coordinator and the East Team Head Athletic Trainer for the 2011 Annual East West Shrine Game in Orlando, FL.  She also served as the Local Medical Coordinator and the West Team Head Athletic Trainer for the 2010 Annual East West Shrine Game in Orlando, FL.  She has been an Approved Clinical Instructor with the University of Central Florida Athletic Training Education program since 1998 and currently sits as a member of the Orange County Public Schools Athletic Trainer Advisory Committee.

Marisa earned a BS in Physical Education/Athletic Training from West Virginia University.  She completed her MS in Administration at Florida State University while also working as an athletic trainer for their Athletic Department.

Marisa has been recognized by her peers for her service and contributions.  In April 2008, Marisa was inducted into ATAF “Hall of Fame”. She is the recipient of the 2008 SEATA District Award, 2007 BOC “Dan Liberia Service Award”, 2002 NATA “Athletic Trainer Service Award”, the 2002 & 1997 ATAF “Athletic Trainer of the Year” Award, the1998 ATAF “Presidential Backbone Award”, and the1992 ATAF “Clinical/Industrial Athletic Trainer of the Year”.

MIKE CHAMBERS - 2007

Mike Chambers, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana was one of the first great leaders in Athletic Training History.  He pushed for NATA organization as early as 1938.  He served as the elected President of that meeting.  The meeting took place at the Drake Relays.  This effort was supported by Charles Cramer and the Cramer Company.  His first Head Athletic Trainer position was at Georgia Tech from 1927 until 1935.  During that period he participated in the Olympics and the 1929 Rose Bowl victory by Georgia Tech.  He returned to Louisiana to serve as Head Athletic Trainer at Louisiana State University in 1935, a position he held until early 1943.  He also worked several all-star games in the south.  One of his protégé’s was Marty Broussard, who became the Head Athletic Trainer at LSU.  Mike Chambers was honored by the LSU student body, when the first live tiger mascot was named “Mike the Tiger” in his honor.  He was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame in 1962 and the Louisiana Athletic Trainers’ Hall of Fame in 1994.

RON COURSON - 2011

Ron Courson has served as Director of Sports Medicine with the University of Georgia Athletic Association since May of 1995, after serving four years as Director of Rehabilitation at the University of Alabama.  Prior to joining the Alabama staff in 1991, he served as an athletic trainer/physical therapist with Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.  He received his undergraduate degree in education/physical education from Samford University, where he played soccer and ran track and field.  Courson performed two years of graduate work at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, and graduated with honors from the Medical College of Georgia with a degree in physical therapy.  A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Courson is additionally a national registered emergency medical technician-intermediate as well as a certified strength and conditioning specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Courson has been involved in many athletic training activities including work as an athletic trainer with the U.S. Olympic Team at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea; 1990 Goodwill Games in Seattle; 1987 World University Games in Zagreb, Yugoslavia, 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis and the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.  He served as the chief athletic trainer for the 1996 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials as well as the chief athletic trainer for track and field for the Atlanta Committee for the 1996 Olympic Games (ACOG).

Active in his profession, Ron has served as a member of the NCAA Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports Committee.  He is a past president of the Southeastern Conference Sports Medicine Committee as well as chairman of the College and University Athletic Trainers' Committee of the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) and NATA liaison to the American Football Coaches Association.  During his tenure at Alabama, he served as president of the Alabama Athletic Trainers’ Association and as chair of the Alabama Board of Athletic Trainers.  He currently serves as a member of the D1A Athletic Directors Task Force on Student-Athlete Development.

Ron serves as an adjunct instructor in the department of kinesiology at the University of Georgia, teaching in the athletic training education program.  He also serves as a clinical instructor teaching student physical therapists from various schools throughout the country.  He is active in research and education in the field of sports medicine, having authored a number of professional papers and text chapters.  He served as a co-author with the NATA on position papers for emergency preparation, exertional heat illness, management of sudden cardiac arrest and management of head and cervical spine injuries.  Ron presents frequently at regional and national sports medicine meetings.

Ron is married to the former Eileen O'Connell of Waycross, Georgia. Eileen is a physical therapist who attended the University of Georgia and the Medical College of Georgia.  Ron and Eileen have four children, John, Anna, Luke and Will.

DONALD JAMES FAULS - 2007

Don, an native of Ithaca, New York, left his position in 1954 as an athletic trainer with the St. Louis Cardinals Association to become the Head Athletic Trainer at Florida State University until his retirement in 1986.  Don Fauls was as much concerned about the Seminole athletes off the field or court, as he was when they were competing and practicing.  Don treated the whole person as much as he treated the injury itself.  He was a class gentleman from Ithaca College, however the nickname “Rooster” truly helped explained his fiery competitiveness for the Seminoles.  He worked as an athletic trainer for the U.S. Pan American team and was a member of the Olympic Training Selection Committee.  He was named to the NATA Hall of Fame in 1981 and The Athletic Trainers’ Association of Florida Hall of Fame in 1995.  Don was described as being one of the central forces in the athletic program at Florida State.  He was responsible for developing an outstanding athletic training program.  On October 6, 1995, just one month before Don’s death, the athletic training room at Florida State was named “The Don Fauls Training Room.”  A bronze plaque at the entrance to the athletic training room has the following inscription:  Don Fauls has been a doctor, parent, friend and confidant to thousands of Florida State athletes for over 27 years of service in athletics.  Seminoles everywhere join to honor this special man in the naming of this (athletic) training area that provided the opportunity to help so many athletes in so many ways.  Let all who enter these doors emulate the same honesty, loyalty and integrity of this outstanding individual.  Don Fauls died on November 9, 1995 at 75 years old.

MIKE FERRARA- 2012

Dr. Michael Ferrara is Associate Dean of Research in the College of Education and Professor in Kinesiology at University of Georgia.  He received his doctorate degree from Penn State University, Masters degree from Michigan State University and undergraduate degree from Ithaca College.

Mike has been very active in research and has published in leading sports medicine journals.  He is active in research and has published extensively in leading journals regarding sport-related concussion and exertional heat illness.  He has received grants to support his research, the most recent to study environmental factors and the risk of exertional heat illness in interscholastic football players in Georgia.  He has given numerous lectures around the world to include Japan, China, and Europe.  Ferrara has been active professionally at the state, regional, national and international levels most recently serving as President of the World Federation of Athletic Training and Therapy and he is on the Board of Certification.

Mike has been involved in international sports as both a leader and clinician.  He was director of medical operations for the Atlanta Paralympic Games (1995-96) and director of medical services for the 1992 Barcelona Paralympic Games and United States Disabled Sports Team at the World Athletics Championships (1994).  He also was the athletic trainer for the 1990 World Games, 1987 Pan American Games, 1985 Olympic Festival, 1983 World University Games an the 1982 National Sports Festival.

Ferrara has been recognized for his leadership and scholarship throughout his three-decade career.  He was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame, Class of 2009, and he was named a Fellow in the National Athletic Trainers’ Association in 2008 and in the National Academy of Kinesiology in 2003.  Recently, Ferrara was named a 2010 Fulbright Scholar to Ireland where he taught in the athletic training program and to research sport-related concussion at Dublin City University, Ireland.  Previously, Mike received the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award in 2003, the NATA Educational Council Sayers "Bud" Miller Distinguished Educator Award in 2001, and the 2006 SEATA Education Administration Award.

Mike and Linda have been married for 30 years and they have 2 children, Megan and Nick.

R.T. FLOYD - 2008

R.T. Floyd is in his thirty-fourth year of providing athletic training services for The University of West Alabama.  He currently serves as Director of Athletic Training and Sports Medicine for the UWA Athletic Training & Sports Medicine Center, Program Director for the CAATE accredited athletic training education program, and as Chair and Professor in the Department of Physical Education and Athletic Training.  Previously, he served on the Blue-Gray All-Star Football Classic athletic training staff for 27 years.

A native of Montgomery, AL, R.T. is a 1974 graduate of Lowndes Academy, where he served as athletic trainer for all sports for four years.  He received a B.S. in Physical Education from UWA in 1980 and a M.A.T. in Physical Education in 1982.  In 1995, he completed an Ed.D. in Human Performance Studies at the University of Alabama.

In addition to his NATA membership, R.T. is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and a Certified Personal Trainer in the National Strength and Conditioning Association.  He is also a Certified Athletic Equipment Manager in the Athletic Equipment Managers’ Association, a member of the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, the American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine, the American Sports Medicine Fellowship Society, the Sports Physical Therapy Section, and the American Alliance for Health, and Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.  Additionally, he is licensed as an Emergency Medical Technician in Alabama.

R.T. has maintained an active career in the profession, attending every NATA convention since 1975 and every SEATA Clinical Symposium since the first was held in 1976, as well as numerous other professional meetings annually.  He was elected District IX Director in the spring of 2004, and again in 2006.  Through his work on the NATA Board of Directors, he has served as liaison to four committees and two task forces.  He served two years as the NATA District IX Chair on the NATA Research and Education Foundation Board before being elected to his current position as the Member Development Chair on the Board.  He served as the District IX representative to the NATA Educational Multimedia Committee from 1988 to 2002.  He served as the Convention Site Selection Chair for District IX from 1986 to 2004 and has directed the annual SEATA Competencies in Athletic Training Student Symposium since 1997.  He has also served as a NATA BOC examiner for well over a decade and as a Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs in Athletic Training site visitor several times.  Currently, he serves as the SEATA webmaster and editor of the SEATA Newsletter and SEATA eBlast News.  He has made over a hundred professional presentations at the local, state, regional and national level.  He is the author of the textbook Manual of Structural Kinesiology and has also had several articles and videos published related to the practical aspects of athletic training.

R.T. was presented the Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award by the NATA in 2003 and received the NATA Athletic Trainer Service Award in 1996.  He received the District Award from SEATA in 1990 and the SEATA Award of Merit in 2001.  In 1996, he was presented the Alumni Achievement Award by the University of West Alabama National Alumni Association in recognition for career and civic achievements.  In 1997, the UWA Faculty and Board of Trustees recognized R.T. for outstanding achievement in scholarship, teaching, and leadership by presenting him with a Loraine McIlwain Bell Trustee Professorship.  In 2001, he was inducted into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi and the UWA Athletic Hall of Fame.  He was inducted into the Alabama Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame in May 2004.  In 2005 he was inducted into the Iota Tau Alpha Athletic Training Honor Society and he received the NATA Sayers "Bud" Miller Distinguished Educator Award in 2007.

R.T. is married to the former Lisa Neville of Butler.  They have four children, Robert Thomas, 23, Jeanna, 22, Rebecca, 20, and Kate, 9.

JAMES B. "JIM" GALLASPY, JR. - 2007

James B. (Jim) Gallaspy, Jr., a native of Jackson, MS was born on September 8, 1948.  Jim began his athletic training career serving as a student athletic trainer at Peeples Junior High School and Provine High School.  He went to The University of Southern Mississippi in 1966 to work under the NATA Hall of Fame member Larry "Doc" Harrington.  After graduation from Southern Miss, Jim received employment at McArthur High School in Hollywood, Florida as a teacher/athletic trainer where he worked for three years and then in 1973 he enrolled at Indiana State University.  After graduating, Jim worked at Moline Senior High School as a teacher/athletic trainer and in 1974 he returned to The University of Southern Mississippi where he worked for 26 years and was awarded Associate Professor, Emeritus status in 2001.  Jim has been President of the Mississippi Athletic Trainers' Association, the Southeast Athletic Trainers' Association and served on the NATA Board of Directors from 1994-1997.  He received the Sayers "Bud" Miller Distinguished Athletic Trainer Educator Award in 1992, the SEATA District Award in 1994, and the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award in 1995.  SEATA again recognized him in 1997 with the Award of Merit.  He is a member of the University of Southern Mississippi M-Club Alumni Hall of Fame and received the All American Football Foundation Outstanding Athletic Trainer award in March 2000.  Jim was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Mississippi Athletic Trainers' Hall of Fame in 2004.  He is married to the former Sue Barnett and they have two children Kim and Jay.

CHRIS A. GILLESPIE - 2008

Chris A. Gillespie is in his 26th year at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.  He is the Director of Athletic Training Education and an Assistant Professor of Exercise Science & Sports Medicine.  He served as Head Athletic Trainer from 1982-1999 and Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Medicine from 2000-2003.  Gillespie has been the Director of the Athletic Training Education Program since its inception in 1985.  In 1988, Samford’s program became the first of its kind in Alabama and in a Southeastern private institution.

Gillespie earned his Bachelor of Science in Education degree from Mississippi College in 1980.  He earned his Master’s Degree in Education from Northeast Louisiana in 1981.

Gillespie was President of the SEATA from 2003-2006.  He served as President of the Alabama Athletic Trainers’ Association and on the SEATA Executive Committee from 2001-2003.  From 1995-2002, he was a member of the NATA College and University Athletic Trainers’ Committee and Chairman of the SEATA CUATC.  In 2006 he was appointed to the Inter-Associational Task Force on Sickle Cell Trait in Athletes.  He served on the SEATA Awards Committee from 1993-1998.  In the mid-1980’s, he was a co-founder of the SEATA Student Symposium.  Gillespie served on the Alabama Board of Athletic Trainers from 1993-2003 and was Vice-Chairman from 1995-2003.

Gillespie has received numerous honors including the SEATA District Award, the NATA Athletic Training Service Award, the SEATA Education/Administration Award, and the 2006 NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award.  He was inducted into the Alabama Athletic Trainers’ Hall of Fame in 2002.

In addition to his professional responsibilities, Gillespie is the Founder and Executive Director of TEAM 413, a ministry for runners.  Founded in 2003, TEAM 413 travels to marathons across the country sharing their faith.  Chris has run over 40 marathons and half-marathons with TEAM 413.  In addition, he has given presentations on running injuries to thousands of runners at marathon seminars across the United States.

The 49-year-old native of Pontotoc, Mississippi has two daughters, Morgan, 23, Ashley, 21 and two step-children, Gerrit, 10 and Hanna, 8.  He and his wife, Kiki, make their home in Calera, AL.

BOB GOODWIN - 2008

Robert “Bob” Goodwin, a 1963 graduate of Gulfport High School in Gulfport, MS, began his career in 1967 as a teacher/athletic trainer at Baker High School in Baker, LA after graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi in the same year.  In 1971, he moved to the same position at Central High School in Baton Rouge where he continued until 1974.  He then became the Athletic Trainer at Southeastern Louisiana University in 1974 where he remained until retiring in 2006.  Bob now works at Zelden Physical Therapy in Covington, LA.

Bob has been very active in the profession including working on the athletic training staffs of the Special Olympics World Games at LSU in 1983, the New Orleans Saints Training Camp in 1985, the Atlanta Falcons Training Camp from 1986 until 1997, co-hosting the 1992 Olympic Trails in New Orleans and co-hosting the 1993 NCAA Track and Field Championships in New Orleans.  He has also served as the host Athletic Trainer and Co-Chairman of the Medical Committee for the Louisiana Special Olympic Games from 1976 to 1989, as well as the Louisiana Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness from 1995 to 1998.  Seeing the need for athletic training education, Bob was instrumental in the implementation of an accredited Athletic Training Education Program at SELU and subsequently served as a part time Instructor and Clinical Supervisor for six years.

Bob was a charter member of the Louisiana Athletic Trainers’ Association and has served in numerous roles including Director of Professional Education, Vice President, and President.  He was also a charter member of the Louisiana Sports Medicine Society, which later recognized him with the Jim Finks Award for Outstanding Contributions to Sports Medicine in 1999.  He has attended 28 consecutive Louisiana Athletic Trainers’ Association Annual Meetings and has also served on their Hall of Fame Committee for 26 years and the Program Committee for 10 years.  He has served on several SEATA committees including the Site Selection Committee, College & University Athletic Trainers Committee, the History & Archives Committee and the Hall of Fame Committee.  He has provided numerous presentations to the Louisiana Athletic Trainers’ Association in addition to hosting the 25th Annual Summer Symposium.  He has also presented several times at the SEATA Annual Clinical Symposium and the Annual Athletic Training Student Symposium.  From 1982 until 1998 he was a regular faculty member of the University of Southern Mississippi’s Student Athletic Trainers Workshop.

His contributions have been recognized through induction into the Louisiana Athletic Trainers Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Southeastern Louisiana University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.  SELU also recognized him with the Outstanding Non Classified Employee for Service in 1999.  SEATA awarded him the District Award in 1999 and the College/University Athletic Trainer Award in 2005.  He received the NATA 25 Year Award in 1995.

JIM GOOSTREE - 2007

Jim Goostree, a diversified college athlete, attended Southwestern at Memphis (two years) and then the University of Tennessee while earning his bachelor's and master's degrees in the early 1950's.  A golfer at Tennessee, he evolved into an assistant athletic trainer under legendary athletic trainer Mickey O’Brien.  He signed on as Head Athletic Trainer at the University of Alabama in 1957, one year before the arrival of the late Paul "Bear" Bryant.  In his long career with the Crimson Tide, Goostree served as Head Athletic Trainer for the both the Blue-Gray All-Star Game and the Senior Bowl for 15 seasons.  In 1984, after 27 years as Head Athletic Trainer, Goostree assumed the role of Assistant Athletic Director at the university.  In 1987, he was promoted to Executive Athletic Director where he was instrumental in developing the nation’s #1 donor program, Tide Pride.  He also supervised the expansion and renovation of Bryant-Denny Stadium, the building of the Hank Crisp Indoor Practice Facility, the renovation of Coleman Coliseum and Paul Bryant Dormitory, and the construction of Sewell-Thomas Stadium before he retired in 1993.  He served as District IX Secretary from 1963 to 1968.  He was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame in 1984 and was one of the first two inductees into the Alabama Athletic Trainers’ Association in 1995.  Jim Goostree passed away October 19, 1999.

TAD GORMLEY - 2007

Tad Gormley, a native of Cambridge, Massachusetts trained for the 1904 and 1906 Boston Marathon.  He was brought to New Orleans in 1907 by the New Orleans Athletic Club to develop a marathon team.  He worked throughout the city as a trainer and track coach and also trained Olympic boxers.  He served as athletic trainer at Loyola of the South University in New Orleans.  He became the first athletic trainer in the state of Louisiana.  He treated and cared for all athletes in the crescent city.  Following mass on Sunday’s the “Gormley Games” took place in city park.  Tad served as coach, athletic trainer and organizer for the weekly events.  A huge number of great athletes from the greater New Orleans area began careers in these weekly events.  The events were such a success and such a part of the crescent city, that when a stadium was added to the park, it was named in honor of Tad Gormley.  Though efforts were made by both Louisiana State University and Tulane to obtain his services, Tad Gormley remained a part of Loyola until his retirement in the mid 1950’s.  He was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame in 1962 and the Louisiana Athletic Trainers’ Hall of Fame in 1990.  Tad Gormley died in 1965 at the age of 81 near the place to which he dedicated his life - City Park Stadium near Loyola University.

ALBERT "AL" GREEN - 2007

Al Green has been serving the Athletic Training profession on the national, district and state levels since attending his first NATA convention in 1970 as a freshman college student.  Al received his BS degree from the University of Michigan and his MEd from the University of Arizona.  Highlights of Mr. Green’s service includes: Chairperson for the NATA Public Relations Committee, member of the Board of Certification and Convention Registration Committee, Chair District IX Public Relations Committee, President and Vice President of the Kentucky Athletic Trainers Society.  Al started his career as an Assistant Athletic Trainer at the University of Michigan then spent 17 years as Head Athletic Trainer at the University of Kentucky.  Al volunteered with the USOC and worked two Olympic Sports Festivals and the 2003 Pan American Games.  Mr. Green was the 2001 recipient of the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award.  Al served his community as Medical Director of the Blue Grass State Games and as a volunteer firefighter and EMT.  He received the Certificate of Valor in 1994 from the Kentucky Department of Fire Prevention for saving two people from their burning home.  Most recently he was inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Trainers’ Society Hall of Fame in 2007.  Al is married to fellow NATA Hall of Fame recipient, Sue Stanley-Green.  They are the first husband and wife NATA members to be inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame (2004).

DAVID T. GREEN - 2008

David T. Green, 54, is in his 23rd season at the helm of the Tennessee Tech University athletic training program and soon will celebrate his 32nd year in the profession.  Beginning his tenure at Tech as a one-man operation, he has been the driving force behind growing the University's sports medicine program and expanding the scope and quality of services available to student-athletes.

David was a student athletic trainer at Middle Tennessee State prior to earning a Bachelor's Degree in Health, Physical Education and Recreation in 1975.  He then worked as a Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer at Eastern Kentucky University before receiving his M.A. in Health Education in 1977.  After spending the next three years at Paul G. Blazer High School in Ashland, KY he returned to EKU as Assistant Athletic Trainer from 1980 to 1985 before beginning his tenure at Tennessee Tech.

In 1987, he was responsible for creating and naming the Dr. William C. Francis Training Complex in recognition of Dr. Francis’ 30 years as team physician.

In addition to serving on several Tennessee Athletic Trainers' Society committees, David served as the TATS Vice-President from 1994 to 1998 and President from 1998 to 2002, which lead to his service on the SEATA Executive Board during the same years.  He served on the NATA Board of Certification as a Member representing SEATA from 1981 to 1987, and was President of the Ohio Valley Conference Athletic Trainers’ Association in 1983, 1989, and 1991.  David has served as the SEATA Exhibits Chair and on the SEATA Site Selection since 1993.  During the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, David was a volunteer, working in the main Athletic Training room at the Olympic Village.  He was co-host to 10,000 in attendance at the NATA Annual Meeting and Clinical Symposium in Nashville in 2000.  Currently, he serves on the Special Awards Subcommittee of the NATA Honors and Awards Committee.

In 1994, David was named the Eugene Smith/Mickey O’Brien College Athletic Trainer of the Year by TATS.  In 1996, he received a NATA Athletic Training Service Award and earned the NATA 25 Year Award in 1997.  In 2003, David was inducted into the Tennessee Athletic Trainers' Society's (TATS) Hall of Fame and was named NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer.  In 2006, he received the TATS President’s Award of Merit.

David and his wife, Brenda, have two daughters, Danielle (21) and Kaycee (17).

FRANK GRIMALDI, JR. - 2008

Frank Grimaldi, Jr. is a board certified orthopedic surgical physician assistant for Jewett Orthopaedic Clinic in the Orlando, FL area transitioning to the Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute in another month.   Prior to his current career as a PA-C, Frank worked as an athletic trainer since 1975.  He began first as a student athletic trainer, then as a graduate assistant at Northern Illinois University, where he graduated in 1978 with a B.S in Education, and an M.S. in Education in 1979 .  He then was an athletic trainer at United Township High School in East Moline, IL from 1979 to 1983, the University of Maryland from 1983 to 1989, the University of Miami from 1989 to 1993, and Miami Sunset Senior High School in Miami, FL from 1993 to 2002.  He has since earned an A.S. Degree as a Physician Assistant from Miami-Dade College in 2004 in Miami, FL.  He also received a Masters in Medical Science from Nova Southeastern University in 2004 in Ft. Lauderdale.

Frank has served and continues to serve on a number of state, district, and national committees and boards for the athletic training profession, including President of SEATA from 2000 to 2003, President of Athletic Trainers Association of Florida (ATAF) from 1997 to 2001, and Board of Directors for the Quad Cities Athletic Trainers Association from 1982 to 1983.

Frank has won a number of athletic training awards, including induction into the ATAF Hall of Fame in 2004, the SEATA Award of Merit in  2003, the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award in 2000, ATAF Athletic Trainer of the Year in 1998, NATA Athletic Trainer Service Award in 1996, and ATAF High School Athletic Trainer of the Year in 1994.  As a physician assistant, Frank was awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the Miami-Dade College Physician Assistant Program in 2004 as well as the Director’s Leadership Award from Miami-Dade College Physician Assistant Program in 2004.

Frank has worked at a number of international athletic events, including the Greek International Baseball Team for the “B” Pool International Baseball Championships in Nagykanizsa, Hungry in 2002 where he served as Head Athletic Trainer, Medical staff for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, GA, and athletic trainer for the 1990 Lacrosse World Cup in Perth, Australia for the USA team.  He also served as a professional legal consultant for several medical cases involving athletes who died from sports-related heat illnesses.

Frank’s prior speaking engagements include CORA Continuing Education Program 2006, ATAF Annual Symposium in 2002 and 2006, SEATA Athletic Training Student Symposium in 2001 and 2002, NATA National Convention in Los Angeles, CA in 2001, high school athletic trainers clinics from 1981 to 1983 and 1992 to 1994, Career Days for high school and grade school students from 1983 thru 1993 and Coaching Clinics 1979 thru 1982.

Frank has been married to Mary Kay for the past 24 years; they live in Winter Park, Florida.

LORI GROOVER - 2010

Lori M. Groover was actively involved in the athletic training profession since 1992.  She began her career as Chair of the Georgia Athletic Trainers’ Association High School Committee, followed by Vice President of the GATA for two years.  She then served as GATA president before being elected SEATA Secretary.  During her involvement, Lori helped foster the GATA Annual High School Student Athletic Trainer Meeting, GATA membership growth, and provided state practice act improvements.  Lori worked closely with WAGA Fox 5 television on the story portraying the need for licensed athletic trainers.

Lori was elected interim SEATA Secretary in the Spring of 2006 and subsequently elected to a regular term in the fall of 2006.  During her time on the SEATA Executive Board, Lori served as Elections Committee Chair and served as liaison to the SEATA Website and Newsletter Committee.  She also served as the GATA representative to the SEATA Public Relations Committee and was very active in getting members to write Congress regarding athletic training legislation.

Lori served as a BOC test examiner for seven years and served on the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee for the Georgia High School Association.  She was an inaugural member of the Gatorade High School Athletic Trainer Board and was an instructor for the Georgia High School Association Coaches’ First Aid Course.  Lori also served as NATA Volunteer Team Leader for the 2006 NATA Annual Meeting and Symposium held in Atlanta.

Lori worked as an athletic trainer since receiving her undergraduate degree in Sports Medicine from Valdosta State (College) University.  She worked as a Staff Athletic Trainer with Candler Sports Medicine and Memorial Sports Medicine and South Effingham High School in Savannah, as the inaugural full time Athletic Trainer at Woodward Academy, as a Physician Extender Fellow at University Orthopaedics in Decatur, Georgia and most recently Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Health Sciences at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, LA.

Lori passed away on August 6, 2009 after being diagnosed with cancer in June.  In 2009 Nicholls State University named a Student Leadership and Professionalism Award in her honor and in 2010 the Georgia Athletic Trainers’ Association named their scholarship program in memory of her and the leadership she provided.

CHARLES E. "SMOKEY" HARPER - 2007

After graduating from Mercer College in 1923, Charles "Smokey" Harper became known as one of the most prominent athletic trainers in the Southeast Conference.  From 1931 to 1936 he trained at Vanderbilt before moving on to Florida for a short time.  Smokey also worked at UCLA for “Red” Sanders for one year.  In 1940 he returned to Vanderbilt, met Paul "Bear" Bryant and followed the coaching legend to Kentucky, Texas A&M and Alabama before he eventually retired.  During his career he served as a mentor to "Rusty" Payne at Kentucky, and to Billy Pickard, Roy Don Wilson and Jerry Rhea at Texas A&M.  He was regarded by his fellow athletic trainers and students as a nice and very practical man.  Coach Bryant commented that he could read people better than anyone he ever had on his staff.

EARNEST LARRY "DOC" HARRINGTON, SR. - 2007

Earnest "Doc" Harrington was born in Hattiesburg, MS in 1931.  After spending one year as an undergraduate at Tulane he returned to his hometown and the University of Southern Mississippi.  He began his tenure as the Head Athletic Trainer at Southern Miss in 1958 through his retirement in 1994.  During his tenure in Hattiesburg he also served as the school’s tennis coach and equipment manager.  In addition to holding a doctorate in education, Doc was a licensed Physical Therapist and a Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves.  Doc also served for a number of years beginning in 1960 as the Head Athletic Trainer for the Senior Bowl.  He was the first director and project coordinator for the nationally approved Athletic Training Specialization program at the University of Southern Mississippi and has had a number of articles published over the years.  He is a member of the National Football Foundation Sports Hall of Fame and the USM M-Club Alumni Hall of Fame.  He  was a 1987 inductee into the NATA Hall of Fame and was inducted with the first class of inductees into the Mississippi Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in 2003.  Doc received the NATA 50 Year Award in 2006.

EUGENE "DOC" HARVEY - 2007

Since his days as an athletic trainer for the old Brooklyn Dodgers Baseball Organization, Eugene "Doc" Harvey has continuously enhanced his skills as a dedicated rehabilitation specialist.  Before moving to Brooklyn, and later Los Angeles when the Dodgers moved west, Doc served as an athletic trainer in Pueblo, Colorado, and Montreal, Canada.  He was known as a hard worker who kept his players in excellent condition.  He served under legendary Coach Eddie Robinson and was an integral part of numerous Southwestern Athletic Conference Championships both during and since Coach Robinson’s tenure.  Doc supervised the Grambling State University athletic training and rehabilitative facility, ranked as one of the best in Division I-AA until his retirement 1998.  He continues to work part time at Grambling as Coordinator in Sports Medicine during football season.  He owns and operates a private therapy clinic working with a number of physicians and hospitals in Grambling.  Doc was inducted into the Louisiana Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in 1982 and the NATA Hall of Fame in 1986.  He received the NATA 50 Year Award in 2005.

MARYBETH HORODYSKI - 2008

MaryBeth Horodyski, EdD, ATC has a long history of service to the athletic training profession.  Beginning as a regional representative for NYATA, MaryBeth has been active in the NATA for 27 years, with 16 of those years in both SEATA and ATAF.  She has served on the SEATA Executive Board for 11 years, and has represented SEATA as President of District IX since 2006.  Her extensive leadership in SEATA includes serving as co-chair for the Research and Education Committee (3 years), SEATA Secretary/Treasurer (5 years), and SEATA Treasurer (4 years).  Nationally, MaryBeth has served 7 years on the NATA Graduate Education Committee, the Secretary/Treasurer Committee (9 years), and served on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Athletic Training.  She has also served as Florida’s Research and Education Foundation State Representative (6 years), and was selected as Public Relations Chair for the NATA Research and Education Foundation.

Both her peers and the public have recognized MaryBeth for her contributions.  She is a recipient of the SEATA Award of Merit (2006) and the SEATA District IX Award (2002).  She has been awarded the NATA Service Award (2000), the ATAF College/Professional Athletic Trainer of the Year Award (1997), the Bronze Gator Award for community service from the Gainesville Sports Organizing Committee (1997), and the Superior Civilian Service Award, and Medal from the US Government (1992).  In 2004 she was honored with the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award and was inducted into the ATAF Hall of Fame.

She graduated from Lock Haven University (PA) in 1982 with a B.S. in HPERD and Athletic Training.  She completed her master’s degree in exercise physiology at Iowa State University while working as an athletic trainer for the Athletic Department.  MaryBeth then served at the US Military Academy, West Point, NY for eight years, first as Assistant Athletic Trainer and later as Head Athletic Trainer in the Department of Physical Education.  While at West Point, she earned an Ed.D. in applied human physiology at Columbia University.

In 1992, MaryBeth joined the University of Florida faculty in the Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences, where she served as Director of the Graduate Athletic Training Program and was the Director of the Athletic Training/Sports Medicine Outreach Program, which serviced 12 high schools, a community college, a community/industrial setting, and 2 campus locations.  MaryBeth’s strong interest in research led her to collaborations with faculty from the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, which resulted in a joint appointment in that Department in 1997.  In August 2002, she accepted the position of Director of Research for the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation and a joint appointment with the Department of Physical Therapy.  In addition to facilitating research for all the faculty in her Department, she supervises research for orthopaedic residents, and continues her own research.  Recently funded studies have compared techniques for moving a spine-injured athlete and ways to prevent heat illness in football players performing in a warm environment.  MaryBeth has coauthored or edited three books and has published 57 papers in peer-reviewed publications.  She was an author on approximately 120 abstracts presented at professional conferences and has delivered 20 additional speeches or seminars at the national and international level.  Dr. Horodyski is a frequent speaker for the SEATA Athletic Training Student Symposium (15 years, 25 presentations), NATA symposiums, and numerous other professional organizations.

MaryBeth has served as an athletic trainer in settings as diverse as high school, college (Divisions I and III), and the military.  As a supervisor, she has mentored over 130 certified athletic trainers in these arenas and in industrial settings.  For over 20 years, MaryBeth has served her local communities in roles such as Medical Coordinator for the Florida High School State Track Meet (4 years), Florida High School State Football Championships (3 years), Florida Sunshine State Games (2 years), and the Florida Special Olympics (1 year).

MaryBeth and her husband, Bob, reside in Gainesville, FL with their three children: Nicole (age 20), Bobby (age 17,) and Jonathan (age 10).

KENNY HOWARD - 2007

Milford "Kenny" Howard, born in Crossville, Alabama went to Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University) to study Agriculture, but got a job as student athletic trainer under legendary trainer and track coach Wilbur Hutsell.  Upon graduation in 1948, Howard was named Head Athletic Trainer, a post held until 1976.  From 1976 through 1980 he served Auburn as its first Assistant Athletics Director for Olympic Sports.  After retiring from Auburn in 1980 he went to work as Director of Sports Relations for the Hughston Sports Medicine Foundation, Inc., and continued until his retirement in 1995.  While serving as Auburn's Head Athletic Trainer, Kenny became the confidant of Head Football Coach Ralph Jordan.  That friendship led to Dr. Jack Hughston becoming Auburn's Orthopedic Surgeon and Team Physician for the next 40 years.  Kenny was the athletic trainer for the U.S. Olympic Track team at Helsinki in 1952 and for the 1976 U.S. Olympic Swim team in Montreal.  He also served as head athletic trainer for the World University Games on two occasions.  He was the athletic trainer for the Blue-Gray Game for ten consecutive years and the Senior Bowl for two years.  Kenny served as District IX Director from 1959 to 1960 and was the first athletic trainer inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.  Kenny is a member of the NATA Hall of Fame, the Alabama Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame, and the Hughston Society.  In 2005, Kenny received the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Distinguished Service Athletic Trainer Award and the NATA 50 Year Award.  He is married to the former Jeanne Barnhart and they have three sons and daughter.  Jeanne and Kenny continue to reside in Auburn.

THOMAS "TIM" KERIN - 2007

Thomas "Tim" Kerin graduated from Westinghouse Memorial High School in Wilmerding, PA in 1965 and received his B.S. from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1969.  After graduation, Tim began as the Head Athletic Trainer and math instructor at Penn Hills High School in Pittsburgh.  In 1972 Tim was awarded an M.S. in mathematics from Indiana University of PA and became Head Athletic Trainer and an Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh.  He received an M.Ed. in Physiology of Exercise from Pittsburgh in 1976.  Tim became the Head Athletic Trainer at the University of Tennessee in 1977 and helped the football team achieve seven victories in 11 bowl appearances before his death in 1992.  Tim served on the NATA's Program and Convention Committees from 1979 to 1991.  He was SEATA's Awards Committee Chair from 1988 until 1992.  He served on the athletic training staffs of over two dozen local, regional and national athletic events and was extremely active in the community.  In 1986 he was a founding member of Knoxville's Metropolitan Drug Commission and served as its president from 1987 to 1989.  Tim received a Chancellor's Citation from the University of Tennessee in 1990 and the SEATA Award of Merit in 1991.  The Tim Kerin Sports Medicine Facility at Tennessee was named in his honor in 1993.  He was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame in 1993.  Tim was named the Eugene Smith/Mickey O’Brien College Athletic Trainer of the Year by the Tennessee Athletic Trainer's Society in 1993 and inducted into their Hall of Fame in 1994.  Tim was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.  One of the highest awards given by the NATA annually is the Tim Kerin Award.

CHUCK KIMMEL - 2008

At the same time, Chuck was becoming one of the leaders in his profession.  Chuck served as Exhibits Chairman for SEATA from 1981 to 1992, and also served as President of the Tennessee Athletic Trainers' Society (TATS) from 1989-93.  In 1992, he was elected Secretary/Treasurer by SEATA and served in that position to 1997 when he began a three year term as SEATA President.  In 2000, he began the first of two terms as the District IX Director.  He was elected NATA Secretary/Treasurer in 2001, and chaired NATA’s Finance and Investment Committees.  He was also Board liaison to the College/University Athletic Trainers’, College/University Student Athletic Trainers’ and Convention committees.  He served as Co-Chair of the Host Committee for the 2000 NATA Convention in Nashville.  Chuck began his first term as NATA President in 2004, and will complete his second term in June 2008.

In 1988, Chuck was recognized with the District Award from SEATA.  TATS selected him as the Eugene Smith/Mickey O’Brien College Athletic Trainer of the Year in 1991.  The NATA provided Chuck with the Athletic Training Service Award in 1997, the 25 Year Award in 1999, and named him NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer in 2002.  In January 2002, Chuck was inducted into the TATS Hall of Fame, and in 2005, received the President’s Award of Merit from TATS.  In 2005, he received the SEATA Award of Merit and was inducted into the Austin Peay State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.

Chuck retired from Austin Peay in 2007, and accepted the position of Injury Clinic Director and Instructor for Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.  He and his wife, Patty, have three grown children, Chad, Meredith and Adam.

DEAN L. KLEINSCHMIDT - 2007

A native of Morgan, Minnesota and graduate of Indiana University, Dean Kleinschmidt joined the New Orleans Saints as an Assistant Athletic Trainer in 1969 under Warren Arial and was promoted to Head Athletic Trainer in 1971 where he remained until 2001.  He also coordinated all sports medicine efforts at the Senior Bowl All-Star Game in Mobile, Ala., since 1971.  In 2001-02 he served as the administrative director at East Jefferson General Hospital Wellness Center in Metairie, La. before spending the 2002 and 2003 seasons as the Washington Redskins' Head Athletic Trainer.  Dean is now in his third season as Indiana University’s Head Athletic Trainer for football.  He served three terms as President of the Professional Athletic Trainers' Society after serving on their Executive Committee for 12 years.  He was named "Professional Athletic Trainer of the Year" in 1986, and he and assistant Kevin Mangum were honored as the "NFL Athletic Training Staff of the Year" following the 1986 season.  In 1991, he was the local host of the annual NATA Clinical Symposium in New Orleans and served several years on the NATA Foundation Scholarship Committee.  Dean served as Chairman of Medical Support for the 1992 Olympic Track Trials in New Orleans.  He received the SEATA Award of Merit in 1992.  He was inducted into the Louisiana Athletic Trainers' Association Hall of Fame in 1990, the NATA Hall of Fame in 1994 and named to the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame in 2002.  In the same year Dean received the Tim Kerin Award for Excellence in Athletic Training from the NATA and was awarded the National College Football Foundation Athletic Trainer of the Year in 2003.

WESLEY I. KNIGHT - 2007

Doc Knight served the University of Mississippi for almost 28 years before his retirement in 1975.  A 1935 graduate of Springfield College with a BS degree in Health and Physical Education, Knight went to New York City to study at the Eastern School of Physiotherapy and at Bellevue Hospital.  After completing his higher education, Doc Knight served as a “trainer”, physical education instructor and assistant track coach at several institutions before beginning his almost three decade long career at ‘Ole Miss.  Wes Knight was known for his fiery competitive spirit as exhibited by his pregame speeches to the team prior to Ole Miss Football Games.  There was never any doubt about his caring for the many Rebel athletes he treated and loved.  Many still remember and cherish the preseason letters taped to their lockers prior to August practice.  While at ‘Ole Miss Doc Knight was not only the athletic trainer, but a very successful track coach as well.  Knight produced several unbeaten teams and his squads produced several school records.  Furthermore, Knight served as the President of the SEC Athletic Trainers Association and member of the NATA Board of Directors for District IX from 1961 to 1963.  His greatest accolade came in 1969 when he was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame, the same association in which he was a charter member.  After his retirement he was given the honor of “Trainer” Emeritus at ‘Ole Miss and was active in the coaching ranks for the Special Olympics.  He was inducted into the University of Mississippi Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Mississippi Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in 2003.  Doc Knight, 74, died in 1983.

SAMUEL R. LANKFORD - 2007

Samuel Lankford was associated with athletic training, professional publications, and related activities since 1930.  Before coming to Virginia Tech in 1963 as head athletic trainer, Lankford spent 12 years at the University of Florida in the same position.  For several years Lankford was the athletic training editor of the National Athletic Journal.  Among his professional contributions are two books and numerous articles on athletic training and conditioning.  He also developed, manufactured, and sold an adherent in the early 60's called Tough Gator.  He represented District IX on the NATA Board of Directors from 1955 to 1957.  He also served as District IX Secretary from 1955 to 1957 and from 1959 to 1963.

DONALD D. LOWE - 2007

A native of Marietta, Ohio, Donald D. Lowe earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Kent State University, where he also served as a Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer in 1965, Assistant Athletic Trainer 1966-1969, and Head Athletic Trainer from 1969-1975.  Mr. Lowe was the Coordinator of Sports Medicine at Syracuse University from 1975-2000.  He served the greater Syracuse community and the Central New York region by creating the organizational structure and becoming the Executive Director of Onondaga Sports Medicine Clinics in 1986.  Mr. Lowe served as the Director of Sports Medicine at Georgia Tech from 2000-2002.  He has a multitude of U.S.O.C. experience, highlighted by his services as the Men’s Basketball Athletic Trainer in the 1983 Pan American Games, and on the U.S. Olympic Training Staff at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona.  Mr. Lowe served the NATA on various committees and was Secretary of District 2 from 1982-1992.  Mr. Lowe, along with other New York State ATCs, was instrumental in forming the New York State Athletic Trainers’ Association and served as its President  from 1984-1986; Empire State Games host athletic trainer, as well as helping to obtain professional regulation of athletic trainers in New York State.  In 1992 Mr. Lowe was instrumental in the formation of the College Athletic Trainers Society.  He has received many awards for his outstanding service, highlighted by his 1983 Thomas Sheehan Award for Most Outstanding Athletic Trainer in New York State, National Collegiate Athletic Trainer of the Year in 1986, Eastern Athletic Trainers’ Association “Cramer’s Excellence Award” in 1991, NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer in 1995, and the NATA Hall of Fame in 1999.

WERNER J. "DUTCH" LUCHSINGER - 2007

Werner "Dutch" Luchsinger was associated with sports in the southern section of the U.S. for 48 years.  Dutch was a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and studied at State Teachers College in Milwaukee before attending Tulane University.  He was a three sport standout in football, baseball, and track at Tulane prior to earning his degree in 1930.  After graduation, Luchsinger, better known as “Dutch”, served as Athletic Director at Fortier High School in New Orleans from 1930 until 1941.  From 1941 to 1943 he served as Physical Training Director at Keesler Field.  In 1949 Dutch began his role as Mississippi State’s Head Athletic Trainer and continued until his retirement in 1965.  He served as an Olympic athletic trainer in 1960.  Dutch later worked as Athletic Trainer with the New Orleans Buccaneers an American Basketball Association franchise.  During his tenure in Starkville, he became the first elected Director of District IX in 1950.  He represented District IX on the NATA Board of Directors from 1951 to 1953 in addition to serving as the President for the SEC athletic trainers.  Dutch was inducted in to the NATA Hall of Fame in 1967 and the Louisiana Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in 1983.  He was inducted into the Mississippi State University Sports Hall of Fame in 1984.  Later, in 2003, he was in the first class of inductees into the Mississippi Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame.

THOMAS F. LUTZ - 2007

As Head Athletic Trainer at Georgia Thomas "Fitz" Lutz was instrumental in saving a season for the star of the team and keeping the Bulldogs rolling through "The Golden Era" of great Georgia teams.  He served at Georgia from 1938 to 1942. He invented and patented a special face mask for the Bulldogs' star, Frankie Sinkwich, enabling him to play the entire season with a fractured jaw.  He was one of the first athletic trainers to make custom molded mouthpieces, by applying a layer of latex a day, then starting the process over again each week on Monday after the players chewed them up during the games.  Lutz eventually became the Baltimore Colts head athletic trainer for three seasons before going to the University of North Carolina in 1950.  Lutz died four years later in Chapel Hill at the age of 44.

JAMES H. "JIM" MACKIE - 2008

James H. “Jim” Mackie graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in Physical Education in 1974 and received a Masters degree in Education with an emphasis in School Health from Eastern Kentucky University in 1975.  He was certified as an Athletic Trainer from the National Athletic Trainers Association in 1975, and licensed by the State of Florida in 1995.

His work experience includes: Assistant Athletic Trainer at the University of Florida (1975-1988); Braintree Hospital Outpatient & Sports Medicine and Brockton High School (1988 – 1992); Riverside Hospital & Baptist \ St. Vincent’s Health System (1992-1999); and HealthSouth Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine (2000- 2002).  He returned to St. Vincent’s Rehab & Sports Medicine in the fall of 2002, where he currently serves as an Athletic Trainer.  He served as a volunteer ATC at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, as well as coordinated medical services for numerous events such as the GATE River Run, The Jacksonville Marathon, the PGA-MS 150 Bike Tour, Hoop It Up, and others.

Jim has been recognized with the following awards:  the Backbone Award from the Southeastern Athletic Trainers Association (SEATA) in 1985, the Athletic Training Service Award from the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) in 1997, the Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award from NATA in 2004, and the District Award from SEATA in 2006.  He helped to organize the Athletic Trainers Association of Florida, where he served as President for 6 years and Vice-President for 2 years.  He was inducted into the Athletic Trainers Association of Florida Hall of Fame in 1999.  Currently, Jim serves as Treasurer for the National Athletic Trainers Association District 9 / Southeast Athletic Trainers Association.  He previously served for 5 years as Secretary for SEATA, and has served on the Placement Committee and the Public Relations Committee for District 9 of the NATA.

He and his wife, Debbie, serve in Jacksonville as local Program Directors for HOPE worldwide, an international charity that changes lives by harnessing the compassion and commitment of dedicated staff and volunteers to deliver sustainable, high-impact, community-based services to the poor and needy.  He has served as a volunteer with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the 2005 Super Bowl Host Committee as well.  Jim also served 2 years on the Board of Directors for the Jacksonville Church of Christ in 2005-2006.  He was appointed by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush to the Board of Athletic Training for the state of Florida in 2006, and continues in that capacity today.  Jim currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Jacksonville Sports Medicine Program and chairs its Public Relations Committee.  He has presented topics for numerous schools, clinics, and other organizations on injury prevention, care, & rehabilitation.  Jim and Debbie have 2 children and 5 grandchildren.

FRANK MANN - 2007

Frank (Skipper) Mann served for almost 25 years as athletic trainer at the University of Kentucky.  He dedicated his life to fulfilling the need for qualified athletic trainers in the work of college sports.  He was considered by historians to be one of the forefathers of modern athletic training.  He attended Chicago University in 1903, completed a full course in the art of handling the physical injuries and mental stresses of athletes and began his student trainer position.  In 1906, he accepted an athletic training position at the University of Indiana where he remained until he accepted a position at Iowa in 1910.  Frank Mann worked at Iowa in the capacity of athletic trainer from 1910 to 1914 before moving to Kentucky where worked until his retirement in 1950.  During his almost 50 years of experience and contributions, he became known as one of the nation's most prominent athletic trainers.  In 1962, he was one of the original inductees to the Helm's Hall of Fame for athletic trainers.  Mann died in 1957 at the age of 70.

CHARLES F. MARTIN - 2007

Charlie Martin received his undergraduate and masters degrees from the University of Oklahoma, after being discharged from the Army.  He was the Head Athletic Trainer at Baltimore Junior College and then at Northeast Louisiana University, where he worked for nearly 25 years.  Charlie received the 25-year award from the NATA and was elected to the Louisiana Athletic Trainers' Association Hall of Fame in 1984.  He was a founding father of the Louisiana Athletic Trainers Association.  Charlie is best known for his pioneering research on the effects of heat and humidity in athletes.  His writings on the topic were published numerous times throughout his career.  Charlie was also an expert on the topic of drug testing.  He traveled extensively around the nation and throughout the world, including Taiwan, The Netherlands and Belgium, lecturing on these topics, sharing the benefits of his pioneering work.  Charlie will be remembered as an outstanding ambassador for the athletic training profession and his work will be missed.  Charlie Martin, 54, died July 21, 1988.

JAMES DOUGLAS "DOUG" MAY - 2007

James Douglas "Doug" May began his career as a student athletic trainer working with Wes Knight at the University of Mississippi in 1967.  He has served as a certified athletic trainer at Florida State University, Tennessee Technological University, Mississippi State University, Mississippi University of Women, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and, most recently, at the McCallie School of Chattanooga, TN.  May has served as Vice-President of the NATA and as District IX Director.  In addition, he is a former District IX President and Secretary/Treasurer.  May is a charter member of the Mississippi Athletic Trainers' Association and served as its first president.  He is a co-author of the book Signs and Symptoms of Athletic Injuries.  He served as a member of the medical staff for the 1991 Pan American Games in Cuba, the 1991 World Winter University Games in Japan, and the medical team for the 1996 track and field venue of the Atlanta Olympic Games.  In 1990 Doug received the SEATA Award of Merit.  He received the Sandy Sandlin High School Athletic Trainer of the Year Award from the Tennessee Athletic Trainers’ Society in 1990 and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 1998.  He was recognized as Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer in 1995 by the NATA and was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame in 1999.

WILLIAM H. "BILL" McDONALD - 2007

Born in Carbon Hill, Alabama, Bill attended the University of Alabama and served as a student athletic trainer and manager for the Crimson Tide.  At Alabama, he completed his BS in 1967 and his MS in 1968.  He was a high school athletic trainer/coach in the Dekalb and Cobb County School Systems in Georgia from 1968 to 1972.  He began a 15 year tenure at Georgia Tech in 1972 serving as the Director of Sports Medicine and Assistant Athletic Director.  In 1987 he returned home to the University of Alabama where he continues today as the Director of Sports Medicine, Football Travel Coordinator, and On Campus Clinical Coordinator for the athletic training education program.  Bill was an athletic trainer for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.  He received the Athletic Trainer Service Award in 1996 and the Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award in 2000 from the NATA.  He has been a member of NATA since 1967 and was inducted into the Alabama Athletic Trainers’ Association in 2005.  His induction into the NATA Hall of Fame came in 2004.  Bill continues to serve the profession in many capacities including service on the NATA College and University Athletic Trainers’ Committee, the NATA Strategic Implementation Team and on the Alabama Board of Athletic Trainers.

TIM McLANE - 2012

Lloyd Timothy (Tim) McLane, MBA, ATC, LAT is currently the Manager of Athletic Training for the Georgia Health Sciences University Sports Medicine Center in Augusta, GA.  He oversees the outreach program including its marketing, contracting, and integration with the Sports Medicine Center Rehabilitation and Physicians Clinic where they educate residents, Sports Medicine Fellows, and other health care graduate students.  Born and raised the son of a Navy family, Tim spent most of his time in the Jacksonville, FL area.  He began his road to Athletic Training while a freshman at Case Western Reserve University but transferred back home to the University of Florida.  While there he helped establish the Student Injury Care Center to offer Athletic Training Services to the school’s intramural athletes.  After graduation he worked for The Physical Therapy Center in Gainesville and Lake City, FL.  He then took a position at the University of Pittsburgh where he was involved in research and consulting with some of the staff in Moscow for medical care of marathon competitors.  Tim then began the Sports Medicine Program at St. Vincent’s Medical Center back in Jacksonville.  Building an outreach program and the business side of Athletic Training became his passion.  While there, he was asked to be a part of the process to form legislation for the practice of Athletic Training in Florida.  Along with Ross Davis, he helped bring about the passage of a bill for just that.  During the time he was asked to begin his involvement with SEATA on the Governmental Affairs Committee.  This led Tim to his involvement on the NATA Governmental Affairs Committee and the Chair of the NATA Reimbursement Advisory Group.  Tim has also lectured at the annual SEATA meeting on the Business of Athletic Training to introduce the concept in a series of workshops.  He participated in assisting the host Committee at the 1996 NATA annual meeting in Orlando.  With the passage of the practice act in Florida, McLane was the Chair of the task force appointed by the state, and then became the First Chair of the Board of Athletic Trainers appointed by Governor Jeb Bush.  He has been involved with the 1996 Olympics as part of the ACOG organization.  Tim also has been involved with gymnastics at all levels in Florida, the Southeast, and a member of the USA Gymnastics Medical Staff since 1996 as well.  That involvement resulted in him  accompanying the World University Games staff to Thailand.

Tim’s dedication and service to the profession have been recognized by his being inducted to the ATAF Hall of Fame in 2004, 2000 – NATA Athletic Trainer Service Award, 1996 – Recognition from ATAF for Legislative efforts and success, 1995 – ATAF Athletic Trainer of the Year, 1993 – ATAF Clinical/Industrial Athletic Trainer of the Year.

J. LINDSY McLEAN - 2007

Lindsy McLean began his career as a student at Vanderbilt University under Joe Worden in 1956.  By 1963, he had earned the position of Head Athletic Trainer and Director of Physical Therapy at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and was named Head Athletic Trainer and Instructor at San Jose State College in 1965.  In 1968, he was named Head Athletic Trainer at The University of Michigan.  In 1979, he became Head Athletic Trainer of the San Francisco Forty Niners and served there until his retirement in 2003.  Lindsy has served as a USOC Olympic Team Athletic Trainer in 1976 and was the Nutrament Collegiate Athletic Trainer of the Year in 1976.  He has served the NATA on the Grants and Scholarship Committee, the 50th Anniversary Taskforce, and the Honors and Awards Committee where he helped establish the Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award.  Perhaps he will best be remembered for his work with the Professional Advancement Committee where he served at the first Chair of the Certification Committee and the Board of Certification when, under his guidance, the NATA Certification program was established and implemented.  He returned to Tennessee to retire in 2005.

 STEVE MOORE - 2009

Steve Moore was the Head Athletics Trainer at Tennessee Tech from 1968 through 1985, building the TTU sports medicine program from the ground up and caring for Golden Eagle student-athletes for 17 years.  His commitment and professional contributions have earned him induction into the Tennessee Tech University Sports Hall of Fame.

A native of Manchester, N.H., Moore earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Vermont in 1962 and added his master’s degree two years later from Indiana University.

During the summer of 1964, he was athletic trainer for the Miami Marlins minor league baseball team, and in August 1964 he took a post as assistant athletics trainer at IU.

Moore arrived at Tennessee Tech in 1968 to become the university’s first fill-time athletics trainer and established the sports medicine program.  He developed an athletic training room in the lower level of Tucker Stadium, enlarging a program that had previously consisted of just a couple of tables for taping and other treatments.

Throughout his career as Tech’s athletics trainer, Moore was a member of state, regional and national organizations and gained recognition from each.  He served as Secretary/Treasurer of the Southeast Athletic Trainers’ Association (SEATA) from 1968 to 1980 and also earned a SEATA Service Award.  He received the NATA 25 Year Award in 1989 and was inducted into the Tennessee Athletic Trainers’ Society (TATS) Hall of Fame in 2000.  In 2003, he was inducted into the Tennessee Tech Athletic Hall of Fame.

Moore has had numerous articles published in a variety of professional publications, including the Journal of Athletic Training.

In 1985, he left his position at Tech and worked for the next 13 years as an athletic trainer on the clinic level for Cookeville Sportsmedicine & Therapy Center, and Columbia Sports Medicine in Nashville where he was Outreach Athletic Trainer, serving 14 high schools in the Cookeville and upper Cumberland area.

In addition to his professional career, Moore had also lent his care and expertise on the community level.  He was a part-time EMT for the Putnam County EMS from 1979 through 1994 and worked as a volunteer fireman and Putnam County Rescue Squad.

He suffered a stroke in 1998, but refused to let that stop his contributions, organizing the Upper Cumberland Stroke Support Group.  Among their works, the group provides workshops and clinics on stroke education.

Within the community, he spearheaded the 9-11 “Light Up The Night” memorial in September, 2002, (a 9-11 reflect and remember memorial each September) and works with “Project Unlimited Support” to collect and send supplies to U.S. troops overseas.

Hundreds of former Golden Eagle student-athletes can attest to Moore’s dedication and commitment in tirelessly providing them with the best possible care, including the famed “24-Hour Club” whenever needed to rehab players overnight.

Steve and his wife, Diane, have three grown children – Christi, Cindy and Michael, an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps,  and six grandchildren.

WARREN G. MORRIS - 2007

Warren Morris learned athletic training from two of the profession’s most notable athletic trainers - A.D. Dickinson of Northern Iowa University and Alfred “Duke” Wyre at the University of Maryland where he received his M.Ed .  From that solid background, Morris first served as an assistant at the University of Maryland, then served as an assistant at the University of North Carolina before he was named Head Athletic Trainer at the University of Georgia in 1965.  He  served as District IX Vice–Director from 1967 to 1971 then as District Director from 1971 to 1973.  Morris has also been the NATA’s representative on the NCAA Football Rules Committee and the Secretary and Representative on the Joint Commission for Science and Sports.  He has been, and remains, committed to athletic training efforts in Georgia as well; he was the first athletic trainer to be licensed in Georgia and has held the position of Chair of the Georgia Board of Athletic Trainers, a governor appointed position, for 25 years since 1980.  He was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame in 1981 and received the AOSSM Distinguished Service Award in 1986.  Warren was an inductee in the inaugural Georgia Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in 2004 which also honored him with an annual award in his name, the Warren Morris Sports Medicine Person of the Year Award.

MICKEY O'BRIEN - 2007

Mickey O'Brien went to work for the University of Tennessee in 1938 - just in time to help with three successive unbeaten seasons and trips to bowl games.  He served as a jack-of-all-trades for the Vol program.  In addition to being Head Athletic Trainer for all sports teams, he was in charge of the training table, oversaw the equipment and laundry operations, and served as chief recruiter in Chattanooga, North Carolina and Florida.  O'Brien was designated Trainer Emeritus in 1977 for the Volunteers' football team and served under five football coaches at Tennessee, beginning with Gen. Bob Neyland.  Experts in sports medicine regarded O'Brien as one of the premier college athletic trainers.  He served as a mentor to various athletic trainers including NATA Hall of Fame members Jim Goostree and Chris Patrick.  He helped form the Southeastern Conference Trainers Association and served as its first president.  He died October 24, 1986 in Knoxville. Tennessee at age 79.

CHRIS PATRICK, JR. - 2007

Chris Patrick began his athletic training career while pursuing his undergraduate degree at the University of Tennessee.  After receiving his master’s degree at Eastern Kentucky, Chris went on to serve as an athletic trainer at several major universities, ultimately taking over the position of Head Athletic Trainer at the University of Florida in 1970, where he continues today as Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Health.  Chris has enjoyed several professional distinctions, including becoming a consultant for Bike, Johnson & Johnson and Nike and receiving the Nutrament College Trainer of the Year Award.  Indicative of his commitment to community involvement, Chris was elected Volunteer of the Year by the Gainesville, Florida Boys Club in 1977.  Among many other positions with the NATA, Chris represented District IX as a member of the NATA Board of Directors from 1967 to 1971.  Chris' work within the profession and in his local community has helped to broaden and enhance the image of athletic training.  He received the SEATA Award of Merit in 1989, the same year as his NATA Hall of Fame induction.  He received the Tim Kerin Award for Excellence in Athletic Training from the NATA in 2000.  Chris was inducted into The Athletic Trainers’ Association of Florida in 1995 and received the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Distinguished Service Athletic Trainer Award in 2006.  He is a member of the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame and serves on Aegis Analytical Laboratories Client Advisory Board.

EARL J. "BUBBA" PORCHE - 2007

Tulane had one of the nation's finest athletic trainers in the person of Earl "Bubba" Porche.  In addition to his duties as athletic trainer at the Blue-Gray game, Porche served as athletic trainer for the U.S. Track Team that competed in three meets in Europe in 1967 and was an athletic trainer at the Pan-American Games in 1971.  Porche came to Tulane from the Navy in 1946 as Assistant Athletic Trainer.  He was subsequently named Head Athletic Trainer, a post he held for 36 years.  Bubba served as District IX Secretary from 1957 to 1959 and then represented District IX on the NATA Board of Directors from 1965 to 1967.  He was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame in 1978 and the Tulane Hall of Fame in 1982.  The Louisiana Athletic Trainers’ Association inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 1982 and in 1986 established the Bubba Porche Award to recognize outstanding High School and Collegiate Athletic Training Students each year.  Tulane further honored Bubba by naming their primary medical treatment facility for all Tulane student-athletes The Earl "Bubba" Porche Athletic Training Room.

DAVE PURSLEY - 2009

David Pursley has been involved in athletic training from student athletic trainer in high school to reaching head athletic trainer status with major league baseball.  His minor league years allowed time to be athletic trainer at Evansville and Clemson colleges, during the off-season.  After 10 years in the minor leagues he spent 42 years (1961-2002) in the major league with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves were highlighted by 5 World Series appearances, 1 World Series Championship, 4 All Star games (1972, 1983, 1991, and 2000) and 1 All Star Tour in Japan.  He also provided expertise to the Summer Olympic games in 1996.  In August 2002, the athletic training room inside Turner Field was renamed as "Pursley's Place."

Dave is a charter member of Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society (PBATS) and was one of the founding fathers of the Georgia Athletic Trainers’ Association (GATA).  He played a pivotal role in getting athletic trainer licensing requirements enacted into law in Georgia and subsequently served on the Georgia Board of Athletic Trainers for several years.  He was an inaugural inductee into the GATA Hall of Fame in 2004.  He received the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) 25 Year Award in 1995.  In 2004 he was recognized by the NATA as a Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer and was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame in 2008.  He later received the PBATS Presidents Award in 2008.

Dave and his wife, Ruth, have two sons, Neil and Gary.

JOHN "JACK" REDGREN - 2007

Jack Redgren was born in the small town of Winnebago, Minnesota in 1942.  He graduated from the University of Montana in 1964 and served in the United States Army from 1965-1967.  After leaving the armed services, Jack graduated from the Mayo Clinic School of Physical Therapy in 1969.  His first job as an athletic trainer was working under fellow hall of famer Lindsy McLean at the University of Michigan for two years.  From there, Jack moved south to Vanderbilt University where he served for 10 years.  Since 1981, Jack has worked in the private sector treating varsity, professional and recreational athletes.  A pioneer in the field of athletic training education, Jack served the NATA Professional Education Committee for 17 years and enjoyed every minute of it.  Jack received the Joe Worden Clinic/Professional Athletic Trainer of the Year from the Tennessee Athletic Trainers’ Society in 1990 and was inducted to their Hall of Fame in 1996.  He was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame in 2002.  In March of 2006, he was named co-recipient of The Contribution to Football Award by the Middle Tennessee Chapter of the National and College Football Foundation.  He continues to work part-time with Tennessee Orthopedic Alliance.

JERRY RHEA - 2007

Jerry Rhea entered the athletic training profession in 1956 while a student at Texas A&M working under NATA Hall of Fame member Smokey Harper before graduating in 1958.  Jerry worked eight years in the Odessa (Texas) Schools, where he was Head Athletic Trainer before serving the Los Angeles Rams as Assistant Athletic Trainer for 2 years.  Jerry was the Head Athletic Trainer for the Atlanta Falcons from 1969 until 1994 and was a frequent convention and clinic speaker.  From 1994 to 2001 he worked as Assistant to the President of the Falcons.  During this time he also served as President of the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation.  He was elected President of SEATA in 1982 and became District IX Director in 1984.  He was then elected president of the NATA for 1986-88 and served on many NATA committees.  Jerry was named the NATA Professional Athletic Trainer of the Year by Nutrament in 1979 and 1982.  He was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame in 1985 and the Southwest Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in 1987.  He received the SEATA Award of Merit in 1988 and the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Distinguished Service Athletic Trainer Award in 1991.  In 2001 he received the Tim Kerin Excellence in Athletic Training Award.  Jerry was a 2004 inductee in the inaugural Georgia Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame which also honored him with an annual award in his name, the Jerry Rhea Athletic Trainer of the Year Award.  The Atlanta Falcons furthered honored Jerry by endowing an NATA Foundation Scholarship and as well as both an undergraduate and graduate SEATA Scholarship in his name.

JERRY LYNN ROBERTSON - 2008

Jerry Lynn Robertson began his athletic training career as a student athletic trainer at East Tennessee State University in 1960.  Upon completing his B.S. in Physical Education in 1964, he worked one year as a Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer at Mississippi State University while earning an M.Ed. in Administration.  In 1965, he returned to ETSU as the Head Athletic Trainer and continued until 2003.  During this time, he developed and implemented one of the first undergraduate Athletic Training Education Programs in SEATA and served as both an Instructor and as the Curriculum Director since the inception of program.  He also developed and implemented the ETSU Graduate Assistant High School Outreach Athletic Training Program.  Since 2003, Jerry has been the Director of the Watauga Orthopaedics Sports Medicine Foundation in Johnson City, TN.

Jerry joined SEATA and the NATA in 1965 and was certified in 1970.  He has been extremely active in service both to his local community and to the profession.  This service includes numerous presentations to several local coaches and civic clubs as well as the Tennessee State HPER Convention and several universities throughout the south including the University of Georgia, Clemson University, and the University of Florida.  He has also served as a faculty member and speaker at numerous Cramer Sports Medicine Camps and hosted several Sports Medicine Camps at East Tennessee.  He has been a member of the Mountain Empire Sports Medicine Society since 1993.  From 1986 through 1994, he presented on several topics at the SEATA Annual Clinical Symposium and the SEATA Annual Athletic Training Student Symposium.

Jerry was elected President of SEATA in 1988, and served in this role until moving up to District Director in 1991, where he served on the NATA Board of Directors until 1994.  He has worked as the NATA Liaison for public relations, secondary schools, and scholarship awards.  Previous to this, he served on the NATA National Membership Committee from 1965 to 1970.  He has also been an editorial advisor to the NATA News.  His involvement on the state level has included membership on the Committee for State Licensure and the State high School Committee for Athletic Trainers.

Jerry has been recognized for his leadership and service at all levels.  At ETSU the Jerry Robertson Scholarship Award was established in his honor in 1981, and he was inducted into the East Tennessee State University Pirate Club Hall of Fame in 1983.  He received the East Tennessee State University Distinguished Faculty Award in 1995, and in 2002, the Jerry Robertson BucSports Athletic Medicine Center was named in his honor.  He was honored by the Tennessee Athletic Trainers’ Society with the Gene Smith/Mickey O’Brien College Athletic Trainer of the Year Award in 1990, and was inducted into the TATS Hall of Fame in 1995.  In 1994, he received the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Julian Crocker Influence Award.  He earned the NATA 25 Year Award in 1990 and SEATA provided him with its highest award, the Award of Merit in 1994.  Jerry was recognized with the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award in 1997.

L. DAVID "SANDY" SANDLIN - 2007

Sandy, a native of Huntsville, Alabama, moved to Chattanooga at 14 and never left the valley he loved.  Lee Jensen, the Chattanooga Lookout’s athletic trainer, saw Sandy with his gentle manner mending the wing of a fallen bird.  Jensen said, “If you can do that, come help me with the Lookout players.”  Sandy began his career as an athletic trainer in the early 1930’s with the Chattanooga Lookouts in the Southern League and in 1935 became the athletic trainer for the baseball team.  Sandy Sandlin was Head Athletic Trainer at the University of Chattanooga from 1938 until 1975, during which time he also spent 1943-45 as athletic trainer at Georgia Tech.  An All-Star Athletic Trainer for the Southern Baseball League, Sandy moved from the University of Chattanooga to The Baylor School in 1975 to serve as head athletic trainer until 1979.  According to peers, “He was one of the most straight-forward, compassionate, and gentle individuals one could meet.  We never met such a sincere and dedicated man.”  In 1973 he was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame—at a time few non-athletes were chosen.  He received the NATA 25 Year Award in 1974 and was inducted posthumously into the NATA Hall of Fame in 1987.  In 1994 Sandy was inducted into the Tennessee Athletic Trainers’ Society Hall of Fame which further honored him with the establishment of the annual Sandy Sandlin High School Athletic Trainer of the Year Award.

JAMES L. "JAY" SHOOP - 2008

James L. “Jay” Shoop, a 38-year veteran of the sports medicine profession, returned to Georgia Tech in 2002 as Director of Sports Medicine after a year as the Head Athletic Trainer for the Detroit Lions.  Jay oversees all areas of the sports medicine program for the Yellow Jackets' 17 varsity sports.  He previously served as Tech's Director of Sports Medicine and Head Athletic Trainer from 1987-1999.  He first went to Georgia Tech in 1987 after a two-year stint as Head Athletic Trainer for the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  He also served two years (1983-84) as Head Athletic Trainer of the Michigan Panthers of the USFL, and seven seasons as an Assistant Athletic Trainer for the Atlanta Falcons with NATA and SEATA Hall of Fame member Jerry Rhea.

A native of Wise, VA, Jay earned a B.S. degree from East Tennessee State University in 1970 and a master's degree in 1976 from Furman, where he was Head Athletic Trainer for six years (1970-76).  Jay served as the Chief Athletic Trainer for the Olympic Village for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, and also as the Head Athletic Trainer for the 1994 Goodwill Games in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Jay has served as the SEATA Annual Clinical Symposium Program Chair from 1979 to 1981 and has presented on a variety of topics over several years.  He has served several years as the District IX representative to the NATA History and Archives Committee and as chair of the SEATA History and Archives Committee.  From 1995 to 1996, he served on the Ethics Committee and on the Reimbursement Committee from 1990 to 2000.  He also served several years as President of the Atlantic Coast Conference Sports Medicine Society.  An avid collector of historical sports memorabilia, he authored the official History of the Southeast Athletic Trainers Association in 1988.  Most recently Jay served as the Co-Host of the 2006 NATA Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA.

Jay earned the NATA 25 Year Award in 1992, and was the 1998 recipient of the SEATA Award of Merit.  In 2002, he was inducted into the East Tennessee State University Athletic Hall of Fame and received the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award in 2004.  The Georgia Athletic Trainers’ Association inducted Jay into their Hall of Fame in 2007.

Jay is married to the former Anne Brockman of Greenville, S.C., and the couple has a daughter, Farrah, and a son, Lynn, a daughter-in-law, Meredith, one grandson, Logan, and one granddaughter, Summer Faye.

CLAUDE "BIG MONK" SIMONS, SR. - 2007

Claude "Big Monk" Simons has gone down in history as one of the great names in intercollegiate athletics.  Claude and his younger brother known as “Little Monk” were a part of Tulane Athletics during the 1930’s and the 1940’s.  Both played football for the Green Wave.  Simons also served as head coach in basketball, baseball, track and boxing while at Tulane.  Simons was president of the Southern Amateur Athletic Union and had Tulane's Olympic-size pool named in his honor.  Claude was a part of the transition from coach to athletic trainer in the very early years of the profession.  He began to assume more and more of the duties that we associate with the Athletic Trainer.  Monks efforts lead to the formal position of an athletic trainer.  He fulfilled these duties for several years serving as the Head Athletic Trainer at Tulane University from 1921 until his death in 1943.  He left a set up that served as a setting for Spike Dixon and Bubba Porche, both NATA Hall of Fame Members.  Claude was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame in 1962 and the Louisiana Athletic Trainers’ Hall of Fame in 1998.

EUGENE SMITH - 2009

Eugene “Doc” Smith served as Head Athletic Trainer at Memphis State University for 19 years before his death.  A native of Kingman, Kansas, he attended Sterling College where he received his B.S. degree in 1949.  While an undergraduate at Sterling College he lettered in football, basketball, and track.  From there he obtained his Master’s degree in athletic training from the University of Indiana in 1954.  However, following graduation from Sterling, Smith taught and was assistant coach at Bazine, Kansas High School for 4 years.

In 1954 he returned to the coaching profession serving one year as assistant coach at Great Bend, Kansas High School.  His first full-time job as an athletic trainer was at Palo Duro High School in Amarillo, Texas, where he stayed five years before coming to Memphis State in 1960, as Head Athletic Trainer and Professor in the physical education department.

On the regional and national level, “Doc” Smith was an active member of SEATA and the NATA.  He was elected Vice-Director of SEATA in 1971 and served in that capacity until becoming District Director in 1973 where he represented District IX on the NATA Board of Directors until 1976.  He chaired the NATA national convention in St. Louis.  In addition, he was selected as the athletic trainer for the American All-Stars, and toured China in the summer of 1974.  He was also a major force for legislation of athletic training certification in Tennessee during the late 1970's.

Longtime MSU football coach and athletic director Billy “Spook” Murphy remembered that “If Doc said they couldn’t play, they didn’t play.  But he could get players well and ready to go better than anybody I ever saw.  He made you want to get well and play.  He was the finest athletic trainer I’ve ever run into …one of the most thorough people I’ve ever dealt with.”

Gene was only 52 when he died November 21, 1979 after a long and valiant battle with pancreatic cancer.  Not long before that he had been inducted into the Memphis State University Athletic Hall of Fame, and at his death the Doc Smith Scholarship Fund for Student Athletic Trainers was established in his memory.

Eddie Cantler was Gene’s assistant and succeeded him as Memphis State’s head athletic trainer.  As Eddie remembers him today “Gene was hardnosed and of the old school.  He was very deliberated in action, but one of the most caring people I’ve ever known.  As I sit and notice some of his mannerisms that I picked up, I realize how much of an effect he had on me.  In this day and age of technology, when I run into roadblocks I go back to his way of doing things and get results.”

He was inducted into the Tennessee Athletic Trainers’ Society Hall of Fame (TATS) in 1995.  TATS named their College Athletic Trainer Award the Eugene Smith/Mickey O’Brien College Athletic Trainer of the Year in honor of him and University of Tennessee Athletic Trainer Mickey O’Brien.

SUE STANLEY-GREEN - 2007

Sue Stanley–Green received her BS from The Ohio State University and her MS from Purdue University.  She served as Director of Intramural Recreational Services at East Carolina University.  While at ECU, she met NATA Executive Secretary Mary Edgerly when the national office was in Greenville, NC.  It was through this introduction to the NATA that Sue started her extensive service to the NATA and the athletic training profession.  Her athletic training career included being the Associate Head Athletic Trainer at the University of Kentucky and the first women to work SEC Football, Athletic Trainer-Physician Extender for Kentucky Sports Medicine Clinic, Head Athletic Trainer at Centre College and at the time of her induction into the Hall of Fame, Program Director of the Athletic Training Education Program at Florida Southern College.  Sue’s service to the profession includes serving as a member of the NATA Board of Directors, a two time Director on the Board of Certification, President of District IX, Vice President of the Kentucky Athletic Trainers Society, and Co-Medical Director of the Bluegrass State Games.  She traveled internationally with USA Basketball Teams.  Ms. Stanley – Green’s awards include the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award, SEATA Award of Merit, SEATA Backbone Award and was the recipient of the 2004 American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine Excellence in Athletic Training.  She is married to fellow NATA Hall of Fame recipient Al Green.  They are the first married couple inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame (2004).

FRANK WANDLE - 2007

Col. Frank Wandle was athletic trainer at Army, Yale and served two years at Louisiana State University around 1933 before retiring. Dates are not available but he was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame in 1962.

KEITH WEBSTER - 2009

Keith Webster graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1978.  Following graduation, he became the first Head Athletic Trainer at Centre College in Danville, KY from 1978-1980.  From 1980-1982 he served as Assistant Athletic Trainer for Football and was in charge of Men’s Basketball at the University of Florida.  Keith was then Head Athletic Trainer at Morehead State University from 1982-1992 where he earned a Masters Degree in 1985.  He left MSU to join Kenny Howard and Dr. Jack Hughston at The Hughston Sports Medicine Foundation as the Director of Sports Relations until 1997.  He returned to UK in 1997 as the Head Athletic Trainer and later became Assistant Professor, Adjunct Faculty in the College of Health Sciences.

During more than 30 years as a certified member of the NATA, Keith has served the profession in many ways.  He has been Vice President and President of both the Kentucky Athletic Trainers’ Society and Georgia Athletic Trainers’ Association.  He has served as Chair and as a member of various committees for KATS and GATA including: Legislative, Reimbursement, Scholarship, and Student Membership.  While at the Hughston Sports Medicine Foundation, Keith initiated the cadaver lab mini course for the SEATA annual meeting.  He was host and Program Director for the SEATA Annual Student Symposium in 1995 and 1997.  He was a Collegiate Sports Medicine Foundation Advisory Board member (2005-2008) and presented at several of their meetings.

Keith represented District IX on the NATA Governmental Affairs Committee from 1987 to 1997 before becoming chair from 1997-2006.  During his GAC service, the remainder of SEATA states passed legislation and several successfully updated their laws and he became a Charter Member of the NATA Leadership Information Management Education (LIME) Team which provided support and testimony for state associations pursuing legislation from 2004-2007.  He was instrumental in gaining the Athletic Training Revenue Code (#951) assigned by the American Hospital Association in 1999.  Keith represented NATA during numerous National Conference of State Legislatures annual meetings.  He also led a task force to meet with HHS officials in Washington, D.C. to discuss HIPAA Privacy implications for athletic trainers.  Keith was a Charter Member of the NATA Reimbursement Advisory Group (now the Committee on Revenue) from 1994-2000.  He served on the NATA Educational Multimedia Committee from 1994-1997 and served as BOC examiner throughout his career including being a BOC Test Site Administrator from 1994-1997.  As President of KATS and GATA, he also served on the SEATA Executive Board.  While in Columbus, Keith was a member of the Editorial Board for the Hughston Health Alert from 1992-1997 and in 1999 successfully proposed the relocation of the Journal of Athletic Training (JAT) Managing Editor’s office to The Hughston Sports Medicine Foundation.  He was a SEATA Research and Education Committee member from 1993-2001 and a SEATA Convention Site Committee member from 1988-1992.  Keith currently chairs the District IX NATAPAC Committee and serves on the NATA Political Action Committee (PAC) Board of Directors.

Keith has been a frequent NATA Annual Convention speaker and has also presented to the NAIA Athletic Directors Convention, the BOC Athletic Trainer Regulatory Conference, the NSCA Executive Council, the AOSSM and Major League Baseball.  He presented at the SEATA Annual Meeting many times and has also presented to Districts I & II (EATA), III, IV, and VIII.

Keith served as athletic trainer with the 1978 World Invitational Tournament (Men’s Basketball).  He was Head Athletic Trainer for the 1995 World Team Cup Table Tennis Tournament and worked the 1996 IAAF Atlanta Grand Prix Track & Field event.  He was named Chief Athletic Trainer for Table Tennis during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta.  In 1997 Keith travelled to Japan to present athletic training topics during the Kobe Athlete Town Project.  Keith was the host athletic trainer for the 1996 NCAA Division I Softball World Series and the 1996 National Softball Coaches’ Association Tournament.  He also covered basketball during the 1979 National Sports Festival II in Colorado Springs.

Keith has received numerous awards including: NATA 25 Year Award (2000), NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award (2004), SEATA District Award (1996), SEATA Award of Merit (2007), BOC Inaugural Public Advocacy Award (2007), and KATS Education/ Administration Award (2003).

Keith is married to the former Denise Lafferty.  They have two children, Megan and Kevin.

GARY WILKERSON - 2010

Gary Wilkerson is a tenured professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he has served as a member of the Graduate Athletic Training Education Program faculty since 2000.  He earned degrees from Eastern Kentucky University, the University of Arizona, and the University of Kentucky.  Upon SEATA Hall of Fame induction in 2010, has been a member of SEATA for 31 years; the past 11 years as a member of the Tennessee Athletic Trainers’ Society and for 20 years as a member of the Kentucky Athletic Trainers’ Society.  Over the past 32 years he has had a wide variety of professional experiences, which have included prevention and treatment of sports injuries among high school, college, and Olympic athletes, functioning as a physician extender in a multi-specialty medical practice, teaching family practice residents, co-founding and managing a sports rehabilitation clinic, consulting with manufacturers of sports medicine equipment, and providing corporate health management services.

Previous professional affiliations have included full-time positions at Amphitheater High School (Tucson, AZ), Centre College (Danville, KY), Trover Clinic (Madisonville, KY), and BioKinetics Therapy & Training (Paducah, KY).  Service to SEATA has included 10 years as a member of the Research & Education Committee, six of which he served as chair, eight years as the Tennessee representative on the Clinical & Emerging Practices Committee, 10 consecutive years as a faculty member for the SEATA Athletic Training Student Symposium, and chair of the Poster Abstract Review Subcommittee for the past two SEATA Athletic Training Educators’ Conferences.  Service to NATA has included six years as a member of the Post-Professional Education Committee and 10 years as a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Athletic Training,  Recently he has been appointed to the NATA Fellows Selection Council and the Healthcare Reform Think Tank, and reappointed for another term on the JAT Editorial Board.  Other service to the athletic training profession has included participation as a member of the medical staff for the Bluegrass State Games, coordination of Kentucky High School Athletic Association regional sports medicine conferences for coaches, serving as an examiner for the Board of Certification examination, making numerous presentations at state meetings, serving as a post-professional education program accreditation reviewer, and making three international trips to conduct workshops at sports medicine conferences sponsored by Athletes in Action in Mexico and Guatemala.

Dr. Wilkerson’s primary expertise relates to ankle biomechanics, neuromuscular control of the lower extremity, and rehabilitation outcomes.  He has made numerous presentations at national and international professional conferences, and he has served as Editor-in-Chief of Athletic Therapy Today for the past eight years.  His research has been published in Journal of Athletic Training, American Journal of Sports Medicine, Foot & Ankle International, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, The Physician and Sportsmedicine, Journal of Sport Rehabilitation, and Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy.

He has received the SEATA District Award, the NATA Athletic Training Service Award, and the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award, and was among the first group of athletic training scholars selected to receive the designation of Fellow of the NATA in 2008.

ROY DON WILSON - 2009

Roy Don Wilson or “R.D.” as many of his colleagues knew him, graduated from Texas A & M University in 1964.  Upon graduation he accepted a high school job as Head Athletic Trainer at Ector High School in Odessa, Texas (1964-66).  Since then R.D. served at many levels in different capacities: Assistant Athletic Trainer at Florida State University (1966-68); Head Athletic Trainer at The Citadel (1968-70); Head Athletic Trainer at the University of Kentucky (1970-78); Head Athletic Trainer at the University of Southwestern Louisiana (1978-82); Director of the Sport Medicine Clinic of Lexington, Kentucky (1982-83); Head Athletic Trainer of the Houston Gamblers of the United States Football League (1984-85); Director of the Houston Clinic for Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation (1985-88) and Director and partner of the Sports Rehab Clinic of Houston (1988-92).

R.D. was an active participant in the profession at all levels.  He served as the SEATA Annual Meeting Program Co-Chair in 1975-1976 and as Chair from 1979-1981.  He also represented Kentucky on the SEATA Executive Committee in 1975 and later as Louisiana’s representative in 1979.  He was elected as the Vice-Director of SEATA in 1977 and served in that capacity until 1979 when the position was changed to President which he continued in until 1982.  In 1982 he became District IX Director and represented SEATA on the NATA Board of Directors until 1984.  He was elected Secretary and Chairman of the Joint Commission of Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports.  Furthermore, R.D. served as Chairman of the Legislative Committee for both the Kentucky and Louisiana Athletic Trainer Association.  R.D. also served as a NATA Certification examiner and a State of Texas Licensure examiner as well as the first Vice-President for the Southwest Athletic Trainers’ Association (SWATA) before serving as President from 1988 to 1989.  He was appointed as the first chairman of the NATA Clinical Athletic Trainers Committee in 1987.  He served as Interim President of the Greater Houston Athletic Trainers’ Society in 1988 during its initial year.

Roy Don was inducted into the SWATA Hall of Fame in 1996.  SWATA further honored him with the establishment of the Roy Don Wilson Memorial Scholarship.  He was inducted into the Louisiana Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in 1999 and into the Kentucky Athletic Trainers’ Society Hall of Fame in 2006.

Roy Don was a real contributor whose life was taken in 1992 at age 50 after a long battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and resultant heart disease.  He was survived by his former wife, Pat, their son, Blaine, and their daughter, Christi.

CRANDALL WOODSON - 2013

Crandall Woodson served as the first student athletic trainer at Sturgis High School in 1973.  He was first exposed to sports medicine by legendary Hall of Fame Athletic Trainers Jim Goostree, Bubba Porche, Doc Harrington, and Jim Gallaspy at the Cramer Athletic Training Course at the University of Southern Mississippi in 1974.  He earned an athletic training scholarship at Mississippi State University in 1975 under Hall of Fame Athletic Trainer Doug May.  Crandall completed Emergency Medical Technician training in 1977 and then completed and was certified as one of the first paramedics in the State of Mississippi.  Crandall was certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) in 1978 and later served as an ACLS Instructor at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.  He also served as Head Athletic Trainer for the prestigious B/C All Star Basketball Camps in Georgia, Indiana, and Maryland until 1985.  Upon earning his BS degree from Mississippi State, he completed Masters work at Murray State University under the direction of Tom Simmons in 1983.  Crandall was named as the first Assistant Athletic Trainer at Murray State.  In 1985, he was hired at Georgia Tech working under Hall of Fame Athletic Trainers Bill McDonald and Jay Shoop.  In 1992 he received the SEATA Backbone Award.  Crandall also served as an athletic trainer for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

In 2000, he entered the medical sales field and became Distributor for Breg and later Bledsoe products.  His athletic training background has helped drive his company to Distributor of the Year honors.  Crandall also served as the athletic trainer for the movie “Remember the Titans” and enjoyed a working relationship with Ryan Gosling and Denzel Washington.

Crandall has served on the Honors & Awards Committee at SEATA since being selected by Tim Kerin in 1987 and succeeded Doug May as Chairman of the Committee in 1992.  He has also been active on the national level serving on the Hall of Fame subcommittee and Specialty Awards subcommittee.

JOE WORDEN - 2007

After graduating from Pfugerville High School in Texas, Joe Worden attended the University of Texas in Austin where he completed a B.S. in Physical Education and a Masters Degree in Education.  While there, he first became interested in the care and prevention of athletic injuries and had the unique opportunity to train under the legendary Frank Medina, a former U.S. Olympic Trainer.  Joe was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps and saw action in Guam and the Marshall Islands during World War II.  He became Vanderbilt’s head athletic trainer in 1949 and handled all sports until 1971 when he was assigned to specialize in football and men’s basketball.  He continued to assist club sports, and in 1977 began working with the newly created women’s intercollegiate athletic program.  He officially retired at Vanderbilt in 1986, but continued to volunteer his services and never missed a game until his death on June 5, 1998.  Affectionately referred to as “Joe Bird”, he was one of the most respected and beloved staff members in the history of Vanderbilt Athletics.  He represented District IX on the NATA Board of Directors from 1964 to 1965. He was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Tennessee Athletic Trainers’ Society Hall of Fame in 1994.  Two highly regarded awards have been named for him — the Joe Worden Clinic/Professional Athletic Trainer of the Year Award given by the Tennessee Athletic Trainers’ Society and the Joe L. Worden Courage Award presented by the Middle Tennessee Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.  Joe was inducted in the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in February 2004.

KEN WRIGHT - 2011

Dr. Kenneth E. Wright is a professor in the Program in Sport Management at The University of Alabama.  Dr. Wright received the Sayers "Bud" Miller Distinguished Educator of the Year Award (2000), Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award (2006), and Athletic Trainer Service Award (1996) from the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) along with Outstanding Alumnus from the College of Health Sciences at Eastern Kentucky University (2001), and Academic Excellence Award from The University of Alabama College of Education (1996-97).

Dr. Wright has numerous publications to his credit including a series of seven videos titled Sports Medicine Evaluation Series, a series of six videos titled Sports Medicine Taping, a computer assisted instructional program titled Sports Injuries and two textbooks, Basic Athletic Training, 5th edition and Preventive Techniques: Taping/Wrapping Techniques and Protective Devices, 3rd edition.  Since 1990, Dr. Wright has presented at sixteen different NATA Annual Meeting & Clinical Symposiums and has been invited to present to sport medicine professionals in the countries of China, Japan, Canada and the United Kingdom.  Additionally, Ken has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Athletic Training, Physical Therapy in Sport, and Sports Medicine Update.

Having served as Head Athletic Trainer at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (1981-1988) and Morehead State University (1978-1981), Dr. Wright has been highly active in the National Athletic Trainers' Association (i.e. Educational Multimedia Committee, Journal of Athletic Training, JRC-AT Site Visitor, Education Council, and conference coordinator for SEATA and Mid-Atlanta athletic trainer meetings) and the United States Olympic Committee.  Also, he has collaborated with United States Anti-Doping Agency (Doping Control Officer and Chair of DCO Advisory Committee) and worked at the 2010  Olympic and Paralympics Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada and the 2002 Olympic and Paralympics Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Dr. Wright received his Doctor of Arts from Middle Tennessee State University (1984), Masters of Science from Syracuse University (1976), and a Bachelor of Science degree from Eastern Kentucky University (1974).  Ken is married to Dr. Vivian Wright, Associate Professor in Instructional at The University of Alabama, and has three daughters, Kate (3rd year physical therapy student at UAB), Kelly (elementary school teacher in West Nairobi School, Nairobi, Kenya) and Kendra (freshman at The University of Mississippi).