2018 Yearly Awards
By Al Myers
Members of the Dino Gym who attended the 2018 USAWA Nationals enroute to a club victory and the winner of the 2017 Club of the Year. (left to right: Cale Dunlap, Al Myers, Brandon Rein, Dean Ross, Cody Lokken, and LaVerne Myers)
Every year since I’ve been the USAWA Awards Director (2009) the USAWA has given out special awards recognizing individuals who the membership feels should receive “extra attention” for their contributions and efforts. These awards are entirely selected by the membership, with the nominations and voting done by the USAWA members. All I do is tally the votes and organize the ordering of the plaques. However, I also get to have the honor of presenting the awards, which is something that I really enjoy doing and makes the work I do all worthwhile.
Every year the Awards Presentation coincides with our banquet at the National Championships. This year we had our banquet at a fantastic seafood restaurant in Cocoa Beach. However, we thought we were going to have a private room but this was not the case! We were all seated at a couple tables side by side in the large dining area – and a live band was performing! Needless to say, a traditional awards presentation was not going to take place so I improvised and handed the awards out individually after the meal.
Listed below is this year’s winners. This information is stored on the website in the history archives. Again, congrats to all of the winners!!
2017 Award Winners
| WINNER | RUNNERUP | |
| Athlete of the Year | Al Myers | Eric Todd |
| Leadership Award | Denny Habecker | Al Myers |
| Sportsmanship Award | Dean Ross | LaVerne Myers |
| Courage Award | Frank Ciavattone | Dennis Mitchell |
| Newcomer Award | John Douglas | Greg Cook |
| Club of the Year | Dino Gym | Schmidt Barbell Club |