Being A Good Sport Pays Off

Many years ago I was contacted by what was then the Ocean County Athletic Directors Association about a new program in which they would honor a senior male and female from each high school.  I was asked to serve as Master of Ceremonies for what was the first Sportsmanship Awards program which featured a breakfast for the honorees and their families.  At some point a similar program was launched by the Monmouth County schools and eventually they merged into one large program for all 47 schools.

The Shore Conference of High Schools Sportsmanship Awards program has been one of my favorites and I have had the honor to MC the event almost every May which salutes 92 student-athletes who best represent the ideals of sportsmanship in their respective schools.

Also being honored will be Brian Cerbone(TR East) and Josh Mehl (Freehold Township) as the county Athletic Directors of the Year, Kim DeGraw-Cole who will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award and longtime Central Regional Athletic Administrative Assistant Lori Paton who will be saluted with a special service award.

As many as 350 people will gather Sunday morning at the RWJ Barnabas Health Arena on the campus of Toms River North for this event which will bring sportsmen (and women) together along with their families, coaches, athletic directors and others.  Each will receive an award and sweatshirt and along with a $250 scholarship courtesy of the Shore Conference of High Schools.

Special thanks to the athletic directors for their work and efforts to make good sportsmanship something to aim for and highlight.

Looking forward to Sunday!