Tag Archives: Award Program

Leadership Award

by Al Myers

TOP: Denny Habecker receiving the Runnerup Leadership Award (right), presented by Al Myers (left). BOTTOM: Chad Ullom "stepping in" to accept the Leadership Award in Thom Van Vleck's abscence (right). Again, the presenter is Al Myers (left).

Another very important award given out during the USAWA Yearly Awards Ceremony is the Leadership Award.  This Award is for individuals that have shown exceptional leadership qualities throughout the year in the USAWA.  Both of this year’s winners are indeed worthy of this award!  The Leadership Award Winners are:

WINNER – THOM VAN VLECK

RUNNERUP – DENNY HABECKER

It was a shame that Thom was not present in Vegas to receive this award, because of all that he has done for the USAWA it would have been nice for him to get this recognition first hand.  Thom has been very instrumental in helping with this website, as well as taking on the promotion of the USAWA Old Time Strongman Championships.  Last year he hosted the very first OTSM Championships and it was VERY successful. 

Denny should be a yearly candidate for this award because of the unselfish and unrelenting effort he constantly pours into the USAWA.  Being the USAWA President is a never ending job, and Denny performs it to perfection.  He deserves more credit than he often gets, so I was VERY excited to see him win this award and get this recognition.

CONGRATS THOM AND DENNY!!!

Club Certificates

by Al Myers

This is an example of the new USAWA Club Certificates for 2011. This certificate is for Habeckers Gym - the 2010 USAWA Club of the Year.

I have spent some time lately updating the Club page on the website.   We now have 13 registered clubs in the USAWA.  This is the most of any year to date.   On this page I included 2011 Member Club Certificates for each club.  The certificate is a pdf, so if you are interested in printing it off you may do so as many times as you like!  Some of our clubs now have multiple locations (i.e. Ledaig Club, the JWC, and the Dino Gym), so this way each location can have it’s own certificate for the wall.  Plus, now all club members can have a copy if they want to.

I was curious how the “CLUB RACE” for the 2011 Club of the Year was going, so I calculated the points for each club “to date”.  As per the rules of this competition, the defending Club of the Year is ineligible the next year, thus Habecker’s Gym was not included in this years tally.  There are still a couple of big competitions coming up (the Gold Cup and the World Championships) where club members can generate big points for their club.  Let this be motivation to show up and support these competitions, and in turn represent your club in the USAWA Club Race!

Club Rankings to Date

1.  Dino Gym –  48 pts
2.  Ledaig Heavy Athletics – 21 pts
3.  Clark’s Gym – 14 pts
4.  JWC – 12 pts
5.  Atomic Athletic – 9 pts

Nomination Time!

by Al Myers

The USAWA Awards Program was established last year with the first award winners being recognized at the 2010 USAWA National Meeting.  Well, it is time to make nominations for this years’ candidates.  The rules of this are the same as last year. 

  • You  must be a USAWA member to make a nomination or cast a vote
  • Nominated individuals must be a USAWA members to be eligible
  • Only one individual may be nominated per person per award
  • The awards are for the calendar year 2010
  • An individual may be nominated for more than one award

 Athlete of the Year – This award is for the individual who has accomplished the most athletically within the last year in the USAWA. Top placings at the Nationals and World Championships should figure in high. Also, participation in other National Competitions such as the Heavy Event Nationals or Team Nationals could factor in, along with the Gold Cup.

Leadership Award – This is for an individual that has shown exceptional leadership qualities within the USAWA during the past year. Things that should be looked at are: going above the level expected of an Officer position, promoting sanctioned events with emphasis being on promoting National or World Competitions, promoting the USAWA by developing a strong club, writing articles for publications about the USAWA, or through other means.

Sportsmanship Award – This goes to an individual who possesses and shows great sportsmanship within the USAWA. The act of sportsmanship may be by conduct at all events, or by an specific example of exceptional sportsmanship.

Courage Award – This goes to an individual who shows the courage to overcome an obstacle in order to return to competition. This may be a comeback from an injury, or just having to deal with difficult personal issues but still shows the courage to compete in the USAWA.

Newcomer Award– This award goes to an individual who in new to the USAWA or has become involved again. It doesn’t have to go to someone in their first year of being involved in the USAWA.

Please send your nominations to me (at amyers@usawa.com) by June 1st.  All nominations will be kept confidential.  The awards will be presented in conjunction with the awards ceremony at the USAWA National Championships in Kirksville, MO on June 25th.

USAWA Award Winners for 2009

by Al Myers

Courage Award Winners Frank Ciavattone (left) and Dale Friesz (right).

One of the exciting things that has been developed in the USAWA this past year is the development of the USAWA Awards Program.  Included in the new USAWA bylaws is the creation of an Award Director for the USAWA, which is important to insure that the Awards Program will continue in the future. I was nominated for this position and upon receiving the membership’s blessing by an unanimous vote, I was appointed the Awards Director.  I feel giving “special awards” on behalf of the USAWA is VERY IMPORTANT and I will do my best to make sure this continues as long as I am in this position.  When someone shows that they are “going beyond what is expected” in the organization – it is only right that the USAWA gives them the credit they deserve.  I also want to make sure that these “special awards”  will continue to be selected by the membership, instead of by me or the Executive Board.  This makes them mean even more to the deserving award recipients – knowing that they were selected for these honorable awards by their peers.  These awards will be given out at the Annual National Meeting, which is always in conjunction with the National Championships. The 2009 Award winners are as follows:

Athlete of the Year Award Winners Chad Ullom (left) and Al Myers (right).

Athlete of the Year – Al Myers

Athlete of the Year Runner Up – Chad Ullom

Leadership Award – Bill Clark

Leadership Award Runner Up – Al Myers

Sportsmanship Award – Denny Habecker

Sportsmanship Award Runner Up – Art Montini

Courage Award – Dale Friesz

Courage Award Runner Up – Frank Ciavattone

Newcomer Award – David Glasgow

Newcomer Award Runner Up – Kohl Hess

Club of the Year – Dino Gym

Club of the Year Runner Up – Ambridge VFW BBC

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2009 SPECIAL AWARD WINNERS!! The USAWA is very proud of you and your accomplishments.

USAWA Awards Program

by Al Myers

It is exciting to be able to announce the start of the USAWA Awards Program. Discussion on the development of this Awards Program happened on the USAWA Discussion Forum, with everyone showing overwhelming support. These awards will be given out the USAWA National Meeting which occurs at the same time as the National Championships over the weekend of June 26th and 27th. Nominations must be sent to me by April 30th. The two individuals receiving the most nominations will be listed as the candidates for the awards, with voting done by May 15th by the membership. You must be a USAWA member to make a nomination or cast a vote. Only one individual may be nominated per person per award. The awards are for the year 2009. An individual may be nominated for more than one award. The award categories are as follows:

Athlete of the Year – This award is for the individual who has accomplished the most athletically within the last year in the USAWA. Top placings at the Nationals and World Championships should figure in high. Also, participation in other National Competitions such as the Heavy Event Nationals or Team Nationals could factor in, along with the Gold Cup.

Leadership Award – This is for an individual that has shown exceptional leadership qualities within the USAWA during the past year. Things that should be looked at are: going above the level expected of an Officer position, promoting sanctioned events with emphasis being on promoting National or World Competitions, promoting the USAWA by developing a strong club, writing articles for publications about the USAWA, or through other means.

Sportsmanship Award – This goes to an individual who possesses and shows great sportsmanship within the USAWA. The act of sportsmanship may be by conduct at all events, or by an specific example of exceptional sportsmanship.

Courage Award – This goes to an individual who shows the courage to overcome an obstacle in order to return to competition. This may be a comeback from an injury, or just having to deal with difficult personal issues but still shows the courage to compete in the USAWA.

Newcomer Award – This award goes to an individual who in new to the USAWA or has become involved again. It doesn’t have to go to someone in their first year of being involved in the USAWA.

All nominations are to be sent to me at amyers@usawa.com by the 30th of April. I will keep the nominations confidential. The voting will end by May 15th to give me time to have the awards made. The USAWA Discussion Forum will be the place to discuss reasons why a certain candidate should be voted on, or for individuals to make the pitch why their candidate nominated should receive the award.

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