SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Southern Conference and Coleman Lew & Associates, Inc., a national executive search firm, announced the selection of 23 student-athletes as recipients of the fifth annual Coleman Lew Leadership Award.
The award recognizes student-athletes from each of the Southern Conference's 12 member institutions. Coaches, faculty athletic representatives and senior women administrators nominate prospective candidates based on leadership, academic excellence and athletic achievement in both the college environment and the community. Athletic directors and representatives from Coleman Lew & Associates conducted one-on-one interviews with the finalists before determining the award winners.
"Coleman Lew & Associate has been a valued partner for the past five years and these awards are testimony to their commitment to the Southern Conference," said Southern Conference Commissioner John Iamarino. "The recipients are among the best and brightest student-athletes to be found in a member institution's program."
Recipients will be recognized at the Southern Conference Honors Dinner on Tuesday, June 1 at the Crowne Plaza Resort in Hilton Head, S.C.
"Our firm has a strong educational partnership with the Southern Conference," said Kenneth D. Carrick, Jr., "We are proud to present the fifth annual Coleman Lew Leadership Award to these outstanding student-athletes who have excelled in academic performance, athletic skill, community service and leadership ability."
The 2010 Coleman Lew & Associates Leadership Award recipients are:
Name (Institution) Sport Academic Major
Darryl Smith (Appalachian State) Football Accounting
Kristina Reese (Appalachian State) Track & Field Communications
Branko Gavric (College of Charleston) Soccer Biology
Kristi Lyn Woodall (College of Charleston) Softball Business Administration
Blaine McAllister (The Citadel) Volleyball Business
Danny Weiss (Davidson) Baseball English
Allison Drutchas (Davidson) Soccer Philosophy
Christopher Shafto (Elon) Football Business Administration
Amanda Jones (Elon) Soccer Communications
Richard Furman (Furman) Football Economics
Shannon Cantwell (Furman) Track & Field Economics
Logan Blondell (Georgia Southern) Golf Finance
Caroline Bevillard (Georgia Southern) Swimming & Diving Sports Management
Andrew Clyne (UNC Greensboro) Cross Country Accounting
Jennifer Partenheimer (UNC Greensboro) Soccer Kinesiology
Gary Cramer (Samford) Baseball Sports Medicine
Hillary Fountain (Samford) Volleyball Childhood Education
Gordon Davis Rudell (Chattanooga) Tennis Biology|
Annie Green (Chattanooga) Tennis Communications
Zachary Michael Jaynes (Western Carolina) Football Business
Emily Clarke (Western Carolina) Volleyball Psychology
Jamar Diggs (Wofford) Basketball Business Economics
Lauren Cozzarelli (Wofford) Soccer Accounting and Spanish
ABOUT COLEMAN LEW & ASSOCIATES
Coleman Lew & Associates, Inc., founded in 1979 and headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is a national retained executive search firm that recruits board members, officers and senior level executives for national and international companies, academic institutions and non-profit organization. The firm also provides customized leadership development services to organizations seeking to maximize corporate performance.
ABOUT THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
The Southern Conference, in its 89th season of intercollegiate competition, is a national leader in emphasizing the development of the student-athlete and helping build lifelong leaders and role models. The conference has been on the forefront of innovation and originality in developing creative solutions to address issues facing intercollegiate athletics. From establishing the first conference basketball tournament (1921), tackling the issues of freshman eligibility (1922), developing women's championships (1984) to becoming the first conference to install the three-point goal in basketball (1980), the Southern Conference has been a pioneer. The Southern Conference is the nation's fifth-oldest NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association.
The conference currently consists of 12 members in five states throughout the southeast and sponsors 19 varsity sports and championships that produce participants for NCAA Division I Championships.