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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Feb. 19, 2008 Class B Scholar-Athlete Award Scholarship Recipients Announced EAST LANSING , Mich. - Feb. 19 - Eight student-athletes at Class B member schools of the Michigan High School Athletic Association have been selected to receive scholarships through its Scholar-Athlete Award program. Each of the scholarship recipients will be honored at halftime ceremonies of the Class C Boys Basketball final game at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing on March 15. Commemorative medallions will be given to other finalists in recognition of their accomplishments. The Class B Scholar-Athlete Award honorees are: Lindsay Lee Bo, Fruitport; Marisa Coury, Detroit Country Day; Brian Fiani, Detroit Country Day; Derek Harrington, Kingsford; Daniel Johns, Comstock Park; Andrew Plaska, Zeeland West ; Jennifer Schaafsma, East Grand Rapids; and Clarissa Tamez, Essexville Garber. Overviews of the scholarship recipients of the Class B Scholar-Athlete Award follow. A quote from each recipient's essay is also included:
Essay Quote - “True sportsmanship is doing the right thing when nobody is watching, and it involves telling the truth despite the consequences. When it comes to sportsmanship, acting appropriately when convenient does not make the cut.”
Essay Quote - “Educating the up-and-coming athletes of the future about the values of sportsmanship while continuing to promote the spirit of decency at your own age level, helps to find and formulate a future of athletic competitiveness with moral tenancy.”
Essay Quote - “Sportsmanship is the quality of character showing respect, courtesy, fairness, and a positive attitude regardless of the situation. Although competition sometimes blinds athletes and coaches, it cannot blind the kindness that emanates from the heart.”
Essay Quote - “We learn that no matter the score at the conclusion of the game, we can leave the gym with head held high, with character, with dignity, and with the knowledge that we did our best and treated others with respect.”
Essay Quote -“Losing is still the pits. I will never enjoy it, but I’ve learned over the years to accept it along with the wins, balancing the joys of success with the bittersweet lessons that only good sportsmanship can teach.”
Essay Quote - “To see a coach not only encourage but demand such sportsmanship from his players was a welcome contrast to some of the coaching attitudes I had seen throughout the year.”
Essay Quote - “It’s not the winning goal fans will remember, but the character and personality of the teams playing. Sportsmanship is what defines that team and its athletes.”
Essay Quote - “One of the larger aspects of sportsmanship is teamwork. Whether it is your team or your opponents, there is accountability to one another.” Other Class B girls finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Carly D. Stone, Allegan; Lyndsay Berger, Charlotte; Michele Booms, Freeland; Angie Bockheim, Grand Rapids West Catholic; Jade Evink, Hamilton; Kelsey Elizabeth DeLand, Ida; Theresa Walsh, Jackson Lumen Christi; Abigail Jane Longhurst, Marshall; Lauren Davis, Marysville; Sarah Cressman, Sturgis; Michelle L. Revord, Tawas Area; and Danielle Petzak, Zeeland West. Other Class B boys finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Nathan Weeks, Belding; Scott Riley McKeel, Benzie Central; Jordan Duby, Birch Run; Sean M. Collon, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood; Nick Bennett, Charlotte; Zachary Harmon, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Eastern; Ethan T. Shaver, Menominee; Joe LaMay, Montrose; Chris Bowen Kendro, Spring Lake; Daniel Etz, St. Clair; Michael Gundlach, Sturgis; and Aaron Zimmerman, Yale. Previously announced were the Class C and D scholarship recipients. The Class C Scholar-Athlete Award honorees are: Dustin E. Baker, St. Louis; Julie Fielder, Manchester; Sonny Gast, Bridgman; Zachary Putnam, Hale; Jessica A. Racine, Ishpeming-Westwood; and Conor Wolohan, Saginaw Nouvel. The Class D Scholar-Athlete Award scholarship recipients are: Joshua M. Campbell, Kingston; Christopher Ellenberger, Onaway Area; Melissa Hale, Atlanta; and Clara Leutheuser, Hillsdale Academy. Students applying for the Scholar-Athlete Award must be carrying at least a 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) grade-point average, and have previously won a letter in a varsity sport in which the Michigan High School Athletic Association sponsors a postseason tournament. Other requirements for the applicants were to show active participation in other school and community activities and produce an essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics. Farm Bureau Insurance, one of Michigan's major insurers, has a statewide force of 450 agents serving more than 450,000 Michigan policyholders. Besides providing life, home auto, farm, business and retirement insurance, the company also sponsors lifesaving, real-time Doppler weather tracking systems in several Michigan communities. The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by over 1,800 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract approximately 1.6 million spectators each year. -0- MEDIA ADVISORY -- A complete list of scholarship nominees and finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award can be found by clicking on the Recognition link on the home page of the MHSAA Web Site, and then clicking on Scholar-Athlete Award. Information about scholarship recipients will be posted on the MHSAA Web Site according to the schedule listed in this release, and media in the markets of the scholarship recipients will be notified the day before the public announcement. For more information about Farm Bureau Insurance, contact Luke Schafer, Public Relations Manager, at 517-323.7000. You can download the MHSAA’s Scholar-Athlete Award logo from the MHSAA Web Site – click on Forms & Graphics off the home page. RL08-058 AT&T, Farm Bureau Insurance, Henry Ford Health System and MEEMIC Insurance |