CHAPEL HILL – The North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) presented four awards to individuals or corporate partners of the Association whose contributions have helped provide the exceptional opportunities education-based athletics has to offer through the NCHSAA's programs. These four awardees were recognized and presented with their awards at the Association's Annual Meeting on May 2, 2019 at the Dean E. Smith Center. The recognized award winners were Henry Thomas Webb, The Eddie and Jo Allison Smith Family Foundation, the North Carolina Farm Bureau, and Cheer, LTD., a Varsity Brands Company.
MORRIS WALKER DEVELOPMENT AWARD – Henry Thomas Webb
The Morris-Walker Development Award was created to help recognize individuals and groups that have helped to build the endowment for the NCHSAA which helps provide the exceptional quality of championships, scholarship and leadership programs we enjoy in North Carolina. This year's recipient, Henry Thomas Webb, or Tom, the son of the late coaching legend Toby Webb, is this year’s Morris-Walker Development Award. The Toby Webb Award, named in honor of Tom's father, seeks to recognize outstanding contributions by an individual to the growth of programs associated with the endowed funds. Tom has been a long-time supporter of the Toby Webb Outstanding Coach Awards, presented annually to one male and one female coach to recognize and honor their impact on the lives of student-athletes, and students in general, by encouraging them to succeed, by helping to develop self-confidence, ambition, sound work ethic, and other skills necessary for success in the students’ lives beyond high school. Furthermore, the coaches should be recognized for encouraging student-athletes to become well-rounded individuals.
SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR AWARD – Eddie and Jo Allison Smith Family Foundation
Annually, the NCHSAA recognizes a foundation or individual for significant and unique contributions to the Association with the Special Contributor Award. The Eddie and Joe Allison Smith Family Foundation, of Greenville, NC, was founded in 1994 and granted funds to the Association in 2005 to establish the Clary Medal Award in memory of Wilburn C. Clary, Mrs. Smith’s father. Since the Clary Medal’s inception, 28 young men and women have received funding to help offset expenses of post-secondary schooling. We applaud the Eddie and Jo Allison Smith Family Foundation for aiding these students in their respective pursuits of higher education. Eddie and Jo Allison's son, Chris Smith, regularly attends the Annual Meeting to present the Clary Medal on behalf of the Foundation and was present to accept this special award this year.
TRADITION AWARD – North Carolina Farm Bureau
The award is presented to a member of the NCHSAA corporate partnership family for outstanding service to the Association. This year’s recipient is the North Carolina Farm Bureau, a long-time partner with the Association, dating back to 2003. In earlier years, the North Carolina Farm Bureau was involved in programming related to the officials recognition; in 2008, they became involved in sponsoring various sportsmanship initiatives such as the Homer Thompson Eight Who Make a Difference Awards, the Heart of a Champion Awards and Luncheon, the Ejection-Free Schools initiative and the sportsmanship awards presented at each State Championship event. North Carolina Farm Bureau has been a solid partner over the years with a long track record of excellence and commitment to high school athletics. Larry Wooten, President of North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation, and Steve Carroll, Executive Vice President and General Manager for North Carolina Farm Bureau Insurance accepted the award on behalf of the group.
NFHS AND NCHSAA STATE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE – Cheer, LTD. A Varsity Brands Company
The National Federation of State High School Association’s (NFHS) Service Award is presented annually to an individual or organization who has significantly contributed or impacted high school activity programs. This year’s recipient is Cheer LTD (Limited), a Varsity Brand. Since 1998, the NCHSAA has sought the professional expertise for ‘all things spirit’ from Cheer LTD and their dedicated and knowledgeable staff. Cheer LTD, established and run by Ms. Gwen Holtsclaw since 1988, has assisted our staff and member high schools as a resource for safety and educational opportunities, always seeking to offer cheer coaches professional development opportunities to make them the best coaches possible while keeping the safety and welfare of the cheerleaders paramount.
Cheer LTD maintains a friendly and professional staff, trained in the most current cheerleading trends. As such, for the past 15 years, Cheer LTD has coordinated the NCHSAA Cheerleading Invitational Even, an event that continues to grow annually in both attendees and participants. Our staff has enjoyed working alongside the Cheer LTD staff for the past two decades and they are like family. They know the spirit and cheer business inside and out, and they help the NCHSAA to provide a fantastic cheer invitational event year-in and year-out. The North Carolina High School Athletic Association Cheerleading Invitational Event is second to none in the United States and Cheer LTD has been key in helping us achieve this distinction. We are pleased to present the NFHS and NCHSAA State Award for Outstanding Service to Cheer LTD, A Varsity Brand Company. Lori Wickham and Scotti Marshburn accepted the award on behalf of Cheer LTD.
