The eighth annual WINNERS CIRCLE on November 20 was a very special night when we recognized and honored those whose support has enabled Grand Canyon State Games to provide 30,000 Arizona athletes of all ages a wide range of physical fitness opportunities and friendly competition throughout the entire year.
Todd Wilson and his outstanding staff were once again our hosts at the DoubleTree Guest Suites in Phoenix. You could not have asked for better facilities, the meal was a gourmet delight, and the service was impeccable.
We had a record number of items in the Silent Auction held during the pre-dinner reception. Mogollon kicked off the proceedings once we moved into the banquet hall. They don’t coming any better than our emcee Pat McMahon who kept things moving throughout the evening, and it’s always a great privilege to have members of the Piestewa Family and Pastor Don Holliday take part in the program.
Special award presentations were made to the following:
2009 Co-Athletes of the Year Award Winners
The AZ Desert Dolphins Synchronized Swim and
Rebecca Durazo
2009 Premier Power Player Award Winner
Mary McBain
2009 Commissioner of the Year Award Winner
Alan Lambert
2009 Rookie Commissioner of the Year Award
Dianne Pratt Doerschel
2009 Volunteer Force of the Year
St. Paul’s Academy
2009 Individual Volunteer of the Year
Bret Kawasaki
2009 Co-Venues of the Year Award Winner
The City of Scottsdale Recreation Division’s Indian School Park and
The Salt River / Pima Indian Community
Under the category of Special Entertainment, Slick Willie Shaw of the Harlem Globe Trotters gave an amazing demonstration of ball handling. The Valley of the Sun Chapter of the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame was once again our partner for the evening, and President Janie Riddle brought us up to date on their programs that benefit high school scholar-athletes.
Some guy with the moniker of “Snyder” attired in a San Francisco 49ers jersey was the “warm-up act” for keynote speaker Ann Meyers Drysdale who captivated the audience as she recounted the highlights of her impressive career as a three-time All-American, Olympian and now general manager of the Phoenix Mercury.
Realizing that he couldn’t top all the powerhouse talent that proceeded him to the podium, our Arizona Sports Council president John Startt kept his remarks brief in closing out the evening with a salute to all the winners and a challenge to our Board members, commissioners, volunteers and sponsors to continue the good work that make the Games so special.
What an evening! As we keep raising the bar, the challenge your GCSG staff faces is what do we do for an encore next year. Well, just stay tuned.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
The Grand Canyon State Games is a multi-sport Olympic Festival providing a showcase for the talents and aspirations for Arizona and America's youth regardless of age or ability and to share many of the great attributes of our state. In fact we have had a 3 year old come down the mountain in our Winter skiing event and a 99 year old gentleman throw the javelin in our Track & Field event. We truly have something for everyone.
