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North Georgia won for their‘ Sending Off the Saints’ which brought the North Georgia College & State University, Gainesville State College, and Dahlonega community together to say goodbye to the Saints mascot. The award is sponsored by SunTrust Banks, Inc., an official partner of the Peach Belt Conference.
Sending Off the Saints was the return of Midnight Madness to North Georgia. Due to a consolidation between North Georgia College & State University and Gainesville State College that took effect in January 2013, the Saints mascot was to be retired. Over 1,600 fans attended the Midnight Madness. The North Georgia Student-Athlete Advisory Committee coordinated this event, with the help of many other on-campus
student groups.
“ We understand that community engagement is much more than community service. It involves giving back to the campus, communities around us, and the nation as a whole,” stated North Georgia SAAC President and baseball student athlete Kenny Bellavance.
The evening began at 10:00 pm with food, drink, music and games. The cheerleaders and dance team kept the crowd engaged as the night went on. At 11:00 pm the women’ s basketball team was introduced, they performed drills for the crowd. Then the men’ s team was introduced, where they entertained the crowd with a series of dunks.
The community played a key role in the Midnight Madness. A local car dealership sponsored a raffle for a new car, Wal-Mart donated gift cards and iPads, t-shirts were donated by the local embroidery shop, and the Chief of Police brought his loveable Saint Bernard.
In all, six Peach Belt Conference schools submitted entries for the SunTrust Connecting Communities award. The award is designed to recognize efforts undertaken by PBC member institutions to reach out and be a partner with their local and regional communities. The award provides a cash prize to be given to the winning school’ s Student Athlete Advisory Committee.
Flagler Wins Third Consecutive Institution of the Year Sportsmanship Award
HILTON HEAD, SC-- Flagler College received their third consecutive PBC Institution of the Year Sportsmanship Award at the annual meetings in Hilton Head on Tuesday night. The award was founded in 2008 and Flagler has claimed the award three times in it’ s five year existance. This annual award is given to the instution displaying the best overall sportsmanship for the 2012-13 season and culminates the PBC’ s season-long sportsmanship recognition program.
Following each championship sports season the programs presented an award to the team in that sport that best exemplified what the award stands for; the spirit of sportsmanship, a high degree of integrity, character, and class. Each team award is voted on by other teams who competed in that sport and points are awarded on how each team finished in the voting.
On the year Flagler College earned three team sportsmanship awards for the 2012-13 year. The Saints won in softball, women’ s golf, and women’ s basketball and have claimed 16 sportsmanship awards in the last four years.
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Division II 40th Anniversary Team
NCAA Division II Celebrated its 40th Anniversary in 2012-13. As part of their year-long celebration, forty-eight former student-athletes were honored by the NCAA throughout 2013 in celebration. Former Georgia College women’ s basketball player Dr. Amy Smith and former Lander men’ s soccer player Stilian Shishkov were named to the team.
Forty-eight former student-athletes will be honored by the NCAA throughout 2013 in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of NCAA Division II,.
Developed through a partnership with the Division II Conference Commissioners Association, the 40th Anniversary Tribute Team highlights one male and one female from each of the division’ s 23 current conferences, plus two at-large nominees.
“ This group of former student-athletes is meant to reflect the core values of Division II athletics,” said Josh Looney, associate director of Division II.“ Commissioners have helped identify a diverse group of championship individuals from Division II’ s 40-year history. Not only did these former student-athletes act as champions in athletics and in the classroom, they’ ve gone on to live championship lives as well.
“ This group is a true representation of Division II’ s commitment to providing its student-athletes a‘ Life in the Balance’ that extends beyond athletics.”
Dr. Amy Smith, Georgia College Women’ s Basketball 1989-92
Dr. Smith serves as a member of the Pediatric Hematology / Oncology Specialty Section at MD Anderson Cancer Center Orlando.
“ I was fortunate enough to have crossed paths with Amy in her time as a student-athlete at Georgia College when I came here as an assistant coach,” said Wendell Staton, GC Director of Athletics.“ Even then, you could see strong evidence of the balance in her life that the NCAA Division II holds so dear. She was, and remains a great example of the successes that can come from hard work. We’ re honored to call her an alum.”
Dr. Smith was a member of GC women’ s basketball from 1988-92, the formative years of the PBC, while completing a pre-med degree in biology. She also held a music minor, focusing on playing the piano.
“ I loved being a student-athlete,” Dr. Smith said.“ The combination for me is what made college fun. I loved being part of a team; it was like having a ready-made family in many ways. There is a richness that comes when you are part of a team, sticking together even when things are tough, appreciating that everyone on the team is important regardless of what position they play or how much game time they see.”
Board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics, Dr. Smith received her medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. She completed an internship and pediatric residency at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, where upon completion, she continued her training by completing a fellowship in pediatric hematology / oncology and bone marrow transplantation with special training in pediatric neuro-oncology. Prior to joining MD Anderson – Orlando, Dr. Smith worked as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Florida with a joint appointment to the Department of Neurosurgery, McKnight Brain Institute. Dr. Smith has received many honors and awards including the Best Doctors in America distinction in 2009 and 2010 and the 2010 Royal Lady award from the Ocala Royal Dames for Cancer Research for her advocacy on behalf of childhood cancer patients.
Despite the long list of professional success, Dr. Smith was excited about the NCAA’ s honor.
“ I am so surprised and yet thrilled to be named for this honor,” she said.“ I feel very grateful that Georgia College would nominate me and even more privileged to be chosen.”
Dr. Smith and her husband Keith Smith, also a Georgia College graduate in business and finance, have been married 17 years and have an eight-year-old son, Lucas.
Stilian Shishkov, Lander Men’ s Soccer 1993-95
Stilian Shishkov is the all-time leading scorer in the history of Lander men’ s soccer. Fourteen years after graduating Lander, he is back on top as founder and Chief Executive Officer of the largest online media company in his native Bulgaria. Shishkov has succeeded ever since leaving Lander with a degree in Business Administration. He played professional soccer for five years in Virginia Beach and Atlanta, became executive
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