USA Wrestling leader John Carlson among eight high school athletic directors honored by NFHS
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by Bruce Howard
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (November 10, 2008) - The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) will award NFHS Citations to eight high school athletic directors December 16 in San Diego, California, at the 39th annual National Conference of High School Directors of Athletics.
NFHS Citations are presented annually to outstanding athletic directors in recognition of contributions to interscholastic athletics at the local, state and national levels. State associations nominate athletic directors for NFHS Citations, and the NFHS Board of Directors approves recipients.
This year's award winners are Jeffrey M. Benson, CMAA, athletic director, Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, South Paris, Maine; William Bowers, CMAA, executive director of the Oregon Athletic Directors Association; John Carlson, CMAA, director of athletics, Chandler (Arizona) Unified School District; Darren Paulson, CAA, activities director, Rapid City (South Dakota) Central High School; George Phelan III, CAA, athletic director, Miami (Florida) Sunset Senior High School; Carol M. Satterwhite, CAA, former athletic director, Wilde Lake High School, Columbia, Maryland; Gary Segrest, CAA, athletic director, Mineral Springs (Arkansas) Public Schools; and Doug Smith, CMAA, athletic administrator, Naperville (Illinois) North High School.
Carlson is a NCEP gold-medal coach with USA Wrestling and has been an active leader within the organization.
Other recipients with a wrestling background include Bowers, Paulson and Phelan.
Citations will be presented at the conference banquet at 6:30
p.m. December 16.
Following are biographical sketches on this year's NFHS Citation
recipients with a wrestling background
BILL BOWERS
Bill Bowers, CMAA, devoted 31 years of stout service as an educator in Springfield (Oregon) Public Schools before becoming executive director of the Oregon Athletic Directors Association (OADA).
Bowers served as a mathematics instructor and the football, wrestling and baseball coach at Hamlin Junior High School from 1972 to 1979, a mathematics instructor, head baseball coach and assistant football coach at Springfield High School from 1979 to 2003, and was athletics and activities director at Springfield High School from 1995
to 2003.
Within the NIAAA, Bowers was state liaison to the NIAAA for six years and a state certification chair for two years, and he has presented more than 30 leadership training courses at state conferences and the national conference. At the state level, Bowers was ticket manager for the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) state championship events for five years, was the Class 3A state wrestling championship meet director for three years and was the Class 1A state volleyball championship meet director for three years. Bowers, who was a member of the OADA executive board for 11 years, also served as the organization's president.
Throughout his career, Bowers has received considerable recognition. He was named Midwestern League Baseball coach of the year in both 1983 and 1988, the Midwestern League athletic director of the year, the OADA AAAA athletic director of the year and the OADA state athletic director of the year. At the national level, he was an NIAAA State Award of Merit recipient in 2003 and an NIAAA Distinguished Service Award recipient in 2005. In addition, he earned the CAA designation in 1998 and in 2002, became the first athletic director in Oregon to attain the CMAA designation.
Bowers has also been a key asset to the community as he was the executive secretary and treasurer of the Oregon Junior Baseball Association, president of the Springfield Baseball Commission and president of Midwestern League Athletic Directors. Currently, he is on the Emerald Kidsports Board of Directors, is the ticket chairman for OSAA state championship events and is the scoreboard operator for the University of Oregon's football and men's basketball teams.
JOHN CARLSON
John Carlson, CMAA, has devoted 34 outstanding years to the Chandler (Arizona) Unified School District, including the past 20 as district athletic director.
Prior to assuming Chandler's director of athletics position, Carlson was a teacher and coach at Chandler High School. During that time, he taught Arizona history, world history, safety education, study skills and physical education, and was a driver's education instructor, assistant football coach and head wrestling and track coach. Carlson, who spent his entire educational and coaching career in Arizona, began at Sacaton Public Schools and Central Arizona College.
Carlson, who is a lifetime NIAAA member, has been with the Arizona Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (AIAAA) for 20 years, including 18 as an executive board member and a term as president in 2006. He also has been a member of the Arizona Coaches Association for 37 years, the Arizona Education Association for 33 years and the National Education Association for 34 years. Carlson has been involved with USA Wrestling since 1981, serving on its junior division executive board since 1998.
Carlson has received a wide range of recognitions throughout his professional career. Among those, he was Chandler Young Educator of the Year and the State of Arizona Young Educator of the Year in 1979, the 3A Wrestling Coach of the Year in 1989, and the 5A Wrestling Coach of the Year in 1990.
Carlson was inducted into the Arizona Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1990 and into the Arizona Coaches Association High School Coaches Hall of Fame in 1995. At the national level, he received the NIAAA State Award of Merit 2000 and the NIAAA Distinguished Service Award in 2004.
Carlson, who was Chandler High School head wrestling coach from 1974 to 1991, fielded a nationally ranked program from 1987 to 1990, and led the team to state championships in 1989 and 1990. He also was an 11-year head track coach at Chandler High School and is a gold level certified coach with USA Wrestling.
DARREN PAULSON
It takes a special type of person to handle the position of activities director at the largest high school in South Dakota, but Darren Paulson, CAA, has been more than up to the task. For the past five years, he has excelled in that capacity at Rapid City Central (enrollment 2,300) and has been an athletic administrator for 15 years overall.
Before assuming his position at Rapid City, Paulson was both a teacher and a coach at Mission (South Dakota) Todd County and Lead-Deadwood (South Dakota) High Schools, where he coached football, basketball, track and wrestling. He was activities director during his final 10 years at Lead-Deadwood.
Paulson's service at the local, state and national levels has been quite extensive. Nationally, he was a member of the NIAAA Membership and Service Committee from 2000 to 2001; he obtained his CAA designation in 1998 and has been an attendee of seven national conferences, serving as a delegate in 2000, 2003 and 2004.
At the state level, Paulson has been a member of the South Dakota Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Board of Directors since 1998, serving as president, vice president and second vice president, and he currently is state assistant leadership training coordinator. Within the South Dakota High School Activities Association, Paulson has been chairman of both the ad-hoc calendar committee and the out-of-season rules committee, and he has been a member of the State Football Advisory Committee since 2002. He has been state event/tournament manager for 11 different sports, including track, boys and girls basketball, and wrestling.
Among his many recognitions, Paulson was named Regional Activities Director of the Year in 2001, South Dakota Assistant Football Coach of the Year in 2001 and South Dakota Assistant Principal of the Year in 2003.
GEORGE PHELAN III
George Phelan III, CAA, has been an outstanding athletic director at Miami (Florida) Sunset Senior High since 1984, but his exemplary service at the school actually goes back to when he was hired as a member of the original staff in 1978.
Phelan was a guidance counselor during his first five years at the school, a position he continues to hold today along with being athletic director. Prior to his time at Miami Sunset, Phelan was a teacher and coach from 1971 to 1978 at Henry H. Filer Junior High, Hialeah High School and Miami Killian High Schools in Florida. Prior to becoming an athletic director, he coached cross country, badminton and wrestling for 13 years.
An NIAAA member since 1984, Phelan has attended all but one national conference during that time, was a member of the Florida Host Committee at three national conferences, was on the Awards Committee, and has been Florida's delegate to the NIAAA Delegate Assembly on two separate occasions. In recognition of his service to the organization, he received both an NIAAA State Award of Merit in 1995 and a Distinguished Service Award in 2005.
At the state level, Phelan has been an active member of the Florida Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (FIAAA) since 1984. Among his leadership positions, he has served as FIAAA president, FIAAA Board of Directors District 16 director and FIAAA Higher Education Committee chairman. In addition, he has been an FIAAA state conference presenter, panelist, discussion leader, moderator and audio visual coordinator. He has also served the Florida High School Athletic Association as a member of the Representative Assembly, the Athletic Directors' Advisory Board and the inaugural Public Liaison Advisory Committee.
Phelan has received numerous recognitions during his tenure at Miami Sunset. Among those, he was named 1984 "Wrestling Coach of the Year" by The Miami News, was chosen Dade County Counseling Association High School Counselor of the Year in 1998 and the FIAAA State of Florida Athletic Administrator of the Year in 2007.
About the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)
The NFHS, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the national leadership organization for high school sports and fine arts activities. Since 1920, the NFHS has led the development of education-based interscholastic sports and fine arts activities that help students succeed in their lives. The NFHS sets direction for the future by building awareness and support, improving the participation experience, establishing consistent standards and rules for competition, and helping those who oversee high school sports and activities. The NFHS writes playing rules for 17 sports for boys and girls at the high school level.
Through its 50 member state associations and the District of Columbia, the NFHS reaches more than 18,500 high schools and 11 million participants in high school activity programs, including more than 7 million in high school sports. As the recognized national authority on interscholastic activity programs, the NFHS conducts national meetings; sanctions interstate events; produces publications for high school coaches, officials and athletic directors; sponsors professional organizations for high school coaches, officials, spirit coaches, speech and debate coaches and music adjudicators; and serves as a national information resource of interscholastic athletics and activities. For more information, visit the NFHS Web site at www.nfhs.org.
NFHS Citations are presented annually to outstanding athletic directors in recognition of contributions to interscholastic athletics at the local, state and national levels. State associations nominate athletic directors for NFHS Citations, and the NFHS Board of Directors approves recipients.
This year's award winners are Jeffrey M. Benson, CMAA, athletic director, Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, South Paris, Maine; William Bowers, CMAA, executive director of the Oregon Athletic Directors Association; John Carlson, CMAA, director of athletics, Chandler (Arizona) Unified School District; Darren Paulson, CAA, activities director, Rapid City (South Dakota) Central High School; George Phelan III, CAA, athletic director, Miami (Florida) Sunset Senior High School; Carol M. Satterwhite, CAA, former athletic director, Wilde Lake High School, Columbia, Maryland; Gary Segrest, CAA, athletic director, Mineral Springs (Arkansas) Public Schools; and Doug Smith, CMAA, athletic administrator, Naperville (Illinois) North High School.
Carlson is a NCEP gold-medal coach with USA Wrestling and has been an active leader within the organization.
Other recipients with a wrestling background include Bowers, Paulson and Phelan.
Citations will be presented at the conference banquet at 6:30
p.m. December 16.
Following are biographical sketches on this year's NFHS Citation
recipients with a wrestling background
BILL BOWERS
Bill Bowers, CMAA, devoted 31 years of stout service as an educator in Springfield (Oregon) Public Schools before becoming executive director of the Oregon Athletic Directors Association (OADA).
Bowers served as a mathematics instructor and the football, wrestling and baseball coach at Hamlin Junior High School from 1972 to 1979, a mathematics instructor, head baseball coach and assistant football coach at Springfield High School from 1979 to 2003, and was athletics and activities director at Springfield High School from 1995
to 2003.
Within the NIAAA, Bowers was state liaison to the NIAAA for six years and a state certification chair for two years, and he has presented more than 30 leadership training courses at state conferences and the national conference. At the state level, Bowers was ticket manager for the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) state championship events for five years, was the Class 3A state wrestling championship meet director for three years and was the Class 1A state volleyball championship meet director for three years. Bowers, who was a member of the OADA executive board for 11 years, also served as the organization's president.
Throughout his career, Bowers has received considerable recognition. He was named Midwestern League Baseball coach of the year in both 1983 and 1988, the Midwestern League athletic director of the year, the OADA AAAA athletic director of the year and the OADA state athletic director of the year. At the national level, he was an NIAAA State Award of Merit recipient in 2003 and an NIAAA Distinguished Service Award recipient in 2005. In addition, he earned the CAA designation in 1998 and in 2002, became the first athletic director in Oregon to attain the CMAA designation.
Bowers has also been a key asset to the community as he was the executive secretary and treasurer of the Oregon Junior Baseball Association, president of the Springfield Baseball Commission and president of Midwestern League Athletic Directors. Currently, he is on the Emerald Kidsports Board of Directors, is the ticket chairman for OSAA state championship events and is the scoreboard operator for the University of Oregon's football and men's basketball teams.
JOHN CARLSON
John Carlson, CMAA, has devoted 34 outstanding years to the Chandler (Arizona) Unified School District, including the past 20 as district athletic director.
Prior to assuming Chandler's director of athletics position, Carlson was a teacher and coach at Chandler High School. During that time, he taught Arizona history, world history, safety education, study skills and physical education, and was a driver's education instructor, assistant football coach and head wrestling and track coach. Carlson, who spent his entire educational and coaching career in Arizona, began at Sacaton Public Schools and Central Arizona College.
Carlson, who is a lifetime NIAAA member, has been with the Arizona Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (AIAAA) for 20 years, including 18 as an executive board member and a term as president in 2006. He also has been a member of the Arizona Coaches Association for 37 years, the Arizona Education Association for 33 years and the National Education Association for 34 years. Carlson has been involved with USA Wrestling since 1981, serving on its junior division executive board since 1998.
Carlson has received a wide range of recognitions throughout his professional career. Among those, he was Chandler Young Educator of the Year and the State of Arizona Young Educator of the Year in 1979, the 3A Wrestling Coach of the Year in 1989, and the 5A Wrestling Coach of the Year in 1990.
Carlson was inducted into the Arizona Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1990 and into the Arizona Coaches Association High School Coaches Hall of Fame in 1995. At the national level, he received the NIAAA State Award of Merit 2000 and the NIAAA Distinguished Service Award in 2004.
Carlson, who was Chandler High School head wrestling coach from 1974 to 1991, fielded a nationally ranked program from 1987 to 1990, and led the team to state championships in 1989 and 1990. He also was an 11-year head track coach at Chandler High School and is a gold level certified coach with USA Wrestling.
DARREN PAULSON
It takes a special type of person to handle the position of activities director at the largest high school in South Dakota, but Darren Paulson, CAA, has been more than up to the task. For the past five years, he has excelled in that capacity at Rapid City Central (enrollment 2,300) and has been an athletic administrator for 15 years overall.
Before assuming his position at Rapid City, Paulson was both a teacher and a coach at Mission (South Dakota) Todd County and Lead-Deadwood (South Dakota) High Schools, where he coached football, basketball, track and wrestling. He was activities director during his final 10 years at Lead-Deadwood.
Paulson's service at the local, state and national levels has been quite extensive. Nationally, he was a member of the NIAAA Membership and Service Committee from 2000 to 2001; he obtained his CAA designation in 1998 and has been an attendee of seven national conferences, serving as a delegate in 2000, 2003 and 2004.
At the state level, Paulson has been a member of the South Dakota Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Board of Directors since 1998, serving as president, vice president and second vice president, and he currently is state assistant leadership training coordinator. Within the South Dakota High School Activities Association, Paulson has been chairman of both the ad-hoc calendar committee and the out-of-season rules committee, and he has been a member of the State Football Advisory Committee since 2002. He has been state event/tournament manager for 11 different sports, including track, boys and girls basketball, and wrestling.
Among his many recognitions, Paulson was named Regional Activities Director of the Year in 2001, South Dakota Assistant Football Coach of the Year in 2001 and South Dakota Assistant Principal of the Year in 2003.
GEORGE PHELAN III
George Phelan III, CAA, has been an outstanding athletic director at Miami (Florida) Sunset Senior High since 1984, but his exemplary service at the school actually goes back to when he was hired as a member of the original staff in 1978.
Phelan was a guidance counselor during his first five years at the school, a position he continues to hold today along with being athletic director. Prior to his time at Miami Sunset, Phelan was a teacher and coach from 1971 to 1978 at Henry H. Filer Junior High, Hialeah High School and Miami Killian High Schools in Florida. Prior to becoming an athletic director, he coached cross country, badminton and wrestling for 13 years.
An NIAAA member since 1984, Phelan has attended all but one national conference during that time, was a member of the Florida Host Committee at three national conferences, was on the Awards Committee, and has been Florida's delegate to the NIAAA Delegate Assembly on two separate occasions. In recognition of his service to the organization, he received both an NIAAA State Award of Merit in 1995 and a Distinguished Service Award in 2005.
At the state level, Phelan has been an active member of the Florida Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (FIAAA) since 1984. Among his leadership positions, he has served as FIAAA president, FIAAA Board of Directors District 16 director and FIAAA Higher Education Committee chairman. In addition, he has been an FIAAA state conference presenter, panelist, discussion leader, moderator and audio visual coordinator. He has also served the Florida High School Athletic Association as a member of the Representative Assembly, the Athletic Directors' Advisory Board and the inaugural Public Liaison Advisory Committee.
Phelan has received numerous recognitions during his tenure at Miami Sunset. Among those, he was named 1984 "Wrestling Coach of the Year" by The Miami News, was chosen Dade County Counseling Association High School Counselor of the Year in 1998 and the FIAAA State of Florida Athletic Administrator of the Year in 2007.
About the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)
The NFHS, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the national leadership organization for high school sports and fine arts activities. Since 1920, the NFHS has led the development of education-based interscholastic sports and fine arts activities that help students succeed in their lives. The NFHS sets direction for the future by building awareness and support, improving the participation experience, establishing consistent standards and rules for competition, and helping those who oversee high school sports and activities. The NFHS writes playing rules for 17 sports for boys and girls at the high school level.
Through its 50 member state associations and the District of Columbia, the NFHS reaches more than 18,500 high schools and 11 million participants in high school activity programs, including more than 7 million in high school sports. As the recognized national authority on interscholastic activity programs, the NFHS conducts national meetings; sanctions interstate events; produces publications for high school coaches, officials and athletic directors; sponsors professional organizations for high school coaches, officials, spirit coaches, speech and debate coaches and music adjudicators; and serves as a national information resource of interscholastic athletics and activities. For more information, visit the NFHS Web site at www.nfhs.org.
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