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Hershey's
STRIVE Award Program
Joe Cooper
National Administrator
of the Year
American Amateur Baseball Congress (AABC)
Marshall, Michigan
(event
location Fort Walton Beach, Florida)
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT:
Sally S. Johnson, Executive Director
National Council of Youth Sports
772-781-1452
youthsports@ncys.org
AABC PRESIDENT JOE COOPER ONE OF FIVE YOUTH SPORTS LEADERS RECOGNIZED IN NATIONAL AWARDS PROGRAM
Calhoun County native a voice for sports safety on national stage
Marshall, MI (September 21, 2004)
– For 21 years Joe Cooper has served as president of the American Amateur Baseball Congress (AABC) – a network of youth and adult teams in 38 states. For his efforts, Cooper will be honored as the first-ever recipient of the Hershey’s STRIVE National Youth Sports Administrator of the Year Award.
Under Cooper’s leadership, the AABC has expanded from 9,000 teams to more than 11,500 teams in 11 age divisions. Cooper has also been a leading national advocate for increased safety in youth sports.
“Joe has worked relentlessly as a volunteer and our president to improve baseball for amateur players,” said Martha McFall, an assistant to Cooper. “He instills in others the importance of fun in baseball.”
The STRIVE Awards (Sports Teach Respect, Initiative, Values and Excellence) recognize three administrators, one volunteer and one coach for their “heartfelt passion, enthusiastic commitment and contagious spirit to help kids succeed in youth sports activities.” The award is presented by Hershey’s Fund Raising and the National Council of Youth Sports (NCYS). Honorees were nominated by team members, parents or colleagues and judged by a panel of NCYS officials.
“This award recognizes five outstanding leaders, but these individuals are not alone. They are a reflection of thousands of other youth sports mentors across the nation that work very hard and expect little or nothing in return,” said Stephanie Moritz for award sponsor Hershey’s Fund Raising. “Hershey congratulates each of this year’s winners and are proud to be associated with them.”
Cooper will be honored on Saturday, Nov. 20 at the AABC National Convention in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. The event is hosted by NCYS and Hershey’s Fund Raising. During the affair, Cooper will be given a check for $2,500, which he has announced will be donated to his hometown’s Marshall High School Baseball Renovation Fund.
Other STRIVE winners
Among the other STRIVE Award winners are Birmingham, Ala., native James “Obie” Evans, whose 30 years of unpaid service to the Dixie Softball League earned him the title of National Volunteer Youth Sports Administrator of the Year.
In 1968, Evans challenged southern tradition to allow girls to play softball at facilities previously reserved for males. Just seven years later, he founded Dixie Softball, Inc., and convinced administrators to incorporate the girl’s league into its sports program
on a full-time basis. Today the league has expanded, with teams in 77 districts throughout 11 states.
Sarah Clark of Norfolk, Va., received Local Administrator of the Year honors for her devotion to the Little Creek National Pony Baseball/Softball League. Under Clark’s leadership, the Little Creek league has grown from 32 teams to 44 teams. During that time, Clark implemented a scholarship program that allows children to play sports even if their parents cannot afford the fees and lobbied for the installation of lights on several Norfolk athletic fields.
79-year-old Bertha Bostrom was named “Volunteer of the Year” for her efforts in reviving her neighborhood youth sp0rts program in the West Palm Beach suburb of Lake Park, Fla. As founder of the Lake Park Recreation Association, the lifelong Floridian spends as many as 40 hours each week painting, weeding, mentoring, and inspiring area youths.
Alex Conti, a wrestling, golf, and soccer coach from Fredonia, NY, was named Hershey’s STRIVE Coach of the Year. Conti’s annual “adopt-a-wrestler” program has helped bring the community and the student athletes closer together.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: For more information about Joe Cooper or the award,
please contact Sally Cunningham at (772) 781-1452 or youthspts@aol.com.
| 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.
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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.
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