National Council of Youth Sports

STRIVE: Sports Teach Respect Initiative Values and Excellence

Hershey's STRIVE Award Program

Ann Cody
National Administrator of the Year
BlazeSports America
Washington, D.C.
(event location Atlanta, Georgia)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Sally S. Johnson, CSA Executive Director National Council of Youth Sports 772-781-1452 youthsports@ncys.org
PARALYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST ANN CODY WINS NATIONAL COUNCIL OF YOUTH SPORTS AWARD Young people with disabilities benefit by role model’s extraordinary leadership.
WASHINGTON, D.C. and ATLANTA, GA (August 15, 2008) – Ann Cody has dedicated her career to ensuring that young people with disabilities have the opportunity to participate in and benefit from sports. Acquiring a disability at 16 years of age, Cody understands the extraordinary benefits sports has on a young life and the many barriers young people with disabilities face in their participation. Cody is a Paralympic Gold Medalist in athletics and competed on three U.S. Paralympic teams. Whether advocating for the creation of physical activity standards for people with disabilities or shaping landmark legislation, Cody’s leadership is making a significant difference on overcoming the obstacles, developing young leaders and advancing the lives of youth with physical disabilities through sport and healthy lifestyles. For her tenacity and leadership Ann Cody of Washington, D.C. is being recognized as NCYS’ Hershey’s STRIVE National Administrator of the Year. She is the director of partnerships and public policy for BlazeSports America headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. STRIVE stands for Sports Teach Respect, Initiative, Values and Excellence and the award honors adult leaders for their “heartfelt passion, enthusiastic commitment and contagious spirit to help kids succeed in youth sports activities.” This year, NCYS’ Hershey’s STRIVE Award will be presented to a national administrator, a volunteer, a coach, and a local administrator. Honorees were nominated by team members, parents or colleagues and judged by a panel of NCYS officials. While rising to the elite ranks of her sport, Cody pursued a master’s degree and taught aspiring young athletes and their coaches training principles, best practices and techniques in wheelchair racing, injury prevention, sports psychology and racing strategies. Cody has made numerous guest appearances at elementary and middle schools to educate young people with and with disabilities about Paralympic sport and the Games. Through her efforts, opportunities for girls and women with disabilities are on the rise. Cody leads the way to ensure that the quality, quantity, diversity, and availability of sports, physical activity and healthy lifestyle programs are equivalent to those available to persons without disabilities. Sports are more than just a way to recreate or compete – they are a documented means to healthy minds and bodies. The direct involvement of Paralympic and nationally and internationally ranked athletes with physical disabilities as coaches and camp counselors in the BlazeSports America programs provides strong role models for youth participating in the program – role models who are leading full, active and productive lives and who perform at the highest level of sport – and who also have a physical disability. Sally S. Johnson, NCYS Executive Director, noted that the lack of recognition given to outstanding adult leaders involved in youth sports prompted NCYS to create the STRIVE awards five years ago. “Honoring America’s hometown heroes on a national scale gives them the praise they deserve,” Johnson said. “It is awe-inspiring to pay tribute to these exceptional individuals who devote countless hours each week, all while juggling full-time careers, families, and other commitments.” Cody will be honored on Sunday, November 2, 2008 at the Indoor Wheelchair Soccer National Championship on the University of Georgia campus in Athens, Georgia just outside of Atlanta. The STRIVE event presentation is hosted by the NCYS and The Hershey Company. During the celebration, Cody will receive a check for $2,500 which she has announced will be donated to BlazeSports America. Other STRIVE winners In addition to National Administrator of the Year, the other 2008 STRIVE Award winners for Coach/Official of the Year, Local Administrator, and Volunteer of the Year include: Steve Kelley whose indelible imprint he has left on the lives of hundreds of highly disadvantaged youth at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Lawrence, Massachusetts has earned him the title of NCYS’ 2008 Hershey’s STRIVE Award for Coach of the Year. Academic Basketball is Steve Kelley’s brainchild where every boy and girl must not only present a satisfactory weekly report from his/her teacher but must also attend a one-hour study session before each practice. Kelley says, “These kids are my heroes. They overcome odds that would pulverize adults. The drugs, the gangs, the guns, the violence, the teen pregnancy and the family problems they encounter each day would challenge a saint to stay on the straight and narrow. The kids do it. They work at their lives daily and they are the survivors and the ‘thrivers’ we read about as incredible successes. How lucky can on person be to work with these kids!” Frank Wilkinson of Staten Island, New York will be honored with NCYS’ Hershey’s STRIVE Award as Local Youth Sports Administrator of the Year. Wilkinson has had a lifetime journey in the sport of bowling since the age of five. At the age of 18 he was elected President of the New York State Youth Leaders Chapter of the United States Bowling Congress and today remains an active leader in USBC and Bowling Proprietors Association. Passionately involved in all aspects of the bowling industry and a strong advocate for youth bowling, Wilkinson has also introduced the sport of bowling to school students as a part of their physical education classes. Wilkinson is a respected voice for all youth bowlers telling the kids and the volunteers, “It is our job to pay it forward.” Dan Dionisio of Olney, Maryland was chosen as the recipient of NCYS’ Hershey’s STRIVE Award for Volunteer of the Year. For nearly 20 years, Dionisio has been a coach or on the board of directors of the Olney Boys & Girls Community Sports Association helping OBGC children for eleven years before his own kids were born. His volunteer leadership is responsible for transforming a small disorganized organization serving 1,800 children, into a highly recognized organization serving 7,000 children on a 118-acre nationally acclaimed facility. Dionisio has set a standard for adult behavior in the club. He is a role model motivating nearly 800 volunteer coaches to make child-base decisions where no children are turned away due to cost and by creating a club environment where children flourish in superior quality youth sports programs. EDITOR’S NOTE: For more information about Ann Cody, the Hershey’s STRIVE Award or NCYS, please contact Sally S. Johnson, NCYS Executive Director at 772-781-1452 or youthsports@ncys.org .
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ABOUT The NCYS: The National Council of Youth Sports (NCYS) comprises the who's who in the youth sports industry. Its membership represents more than 180 organizations/corporations serving 52-million boys and girls participating in organized youth sports throughout the United States. NCYS members include organizations such as: Little League Baseball, Pop Warner Football, U.S. Youth Soccer Association, United States Olympic Committee, and Boys & Girls Clubs of America. To learn more about the NCYS visit www.ncys.org.
ABOUT The Hershey Company: The Hershey Company has long offered successful fundraising programs for youth in America. Its sponsorship of the STRIVE Awards stems from The Hershey Company's devotion to helping children of all ages to "Dream, Reach and Succeed" in everything that they do. For more information about The Hershey Company and its fundraising programs, visit www.hersheysfundraising.com.