CLEVELAND – The National Association of Athletic Development Directors (NAADD) has announced the recipients of its 2015 Fundraiser of the Year Awards, the Lifetime Achievement Award and recipients of its Diversity Initiative Program.
Award winners are Senior Director of Development for Intercollegiate Athletics at Virginia Tech, Lu Merritt, the Association's Fundraiser of the Year Award – University Division winner, Wake Forest University's Associate Athletics Director of Development, Barry Faircloth, and the Association's Fundraiser of the Year Award – College Division winner, University of Alaska Anchorage's Associate Athletics Director, Development, Tlisa Northcutt.
"On behalf of NAADD, I want to congratulate Lu, Barry and Tlisa on being named this year's NAADD Award winners and for all of their impressive contributions to the industry," stated NAADD President Kay Hargrave, senior associate athletics director – development at Auburn University.
"We are very excited to recognize their accomplishments at the upcoming NAADD Convention in June."
The Award winners will be honored Tuesday, June 16 at the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Luncheon, held in conjunction with the 50th Annual NACDA Convention at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Florida.
In addition, for the ninth year in a row, NAADD has announced the recipients of its Diversity Initiative Program. Recipients receive convention stipends to attend the 2015 NAADD Convention as well as the Fundamentals of Athletic Development (FOAD) sessions, which takes place from June 14-17 at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Florida.
"The NAADD Diversity Initiative is a great way for our Association to identify some of the best minority and female administrators in our industry and assist them in advancing their careers in development," said NAADD President Kay Hargrave, senior associate athletics director, development, Auburn University. "Our Diversity Initiative Committee did another wonderful job in the planning and implementation of this program. Executive Committee members Dirk Katstra (Virginia), Jim Harris, and former Diversity Initiative winner Anthony Henderson (Akron) sorted through many qualified applicants to select the recipients, and we congratulate our winners."
The 2015 Diversity Initiative recipients are:
Rickie Alvarez, Colorado State University
Jason Anderson, UAB
Stevie Baker-Watson, DePauw University
Allison Bass, Florida Gulf Coast University
Jennifer Berquist, University of Kansas
Lauren Bird, Arizona State University
Janel Bogenschutz, University of Indianapolis
Mandy Brindle, Temple University
Shanette Buford-Brazzell, The Ohio State University
Monique Carroll, Prairie View A&M University
Wesley Ellison, University of Michigan
Kelly Fahey, UMBC
Haven Fields, University of Illinois
Victoria Fish, University of West Florida
Danielle Grobmyer, Western Kentucky University
Tara Hawkins, University of Nevada
Marcus Hilliard, Duke University
Laurel Hosmer, Eastern Washington University
Noah Jackson, UC San Diego
Michael Murray, University of Pennsylvania
Mary O'Neill, University of Pennsylvania
Heather Palmer, College of the Holy Cross
Elizabeth Pangle, Georgia State University
Jade Prickett, Boston College
Nancy Rahn, King University
Trayvean Scott, Southern University
Christina Turner, Washington State University
Brittney Whiteside, University of Missouri
Kacie Wikierak, Northwestern University
Erin Wissing, Kennesaw State University
About NAADD: NAADD is the first organization of its kind to provide educational and networking opportunities, enhancement of acceptable operating standards and ethics, and establishment of the overall prestige and understanding of the profession of athletics development and fund raising. For more information about NAADD, please visit www.naadd.com. NAADD is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 50th year. For more information on NACDA and the 15 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.
