National Public Address Announcer Award Recipients Announced
National Public Address Announcer Award Recipients Announced
Gladstone, MO - The National Association of Sports Public Address Announcers (NASPAA) is pleased to announce the winners of their 2008-2009 Public Address Announcer of the Year Program. The NASPAA Announcer of the Year Awards Program is a national recognition program for sports public address announcers in the Student, High School, Junior College, and NCAA categories. The Awards Program is sponsored jointly by Clell Wade Coaches Directory and Balfour. The award selections were made by the NASPAA, the professional association for sports public address announcers. Award recipients receive a professional championship ring specially crafted by Balfour. The award recipients for 2008-2009 are as follows:
High School Student Announcer of the Year
Michael Criscuoli, the public address announcer for St. Vincent Pallotti High School in Laurel, Maryland has been named the 2008-09 NASPAA High School Student Public Address Announcer of the Year.
Upon receiving his award, Criscuoli said, "When I learned that I was the recipient of this amazing award, I was surprised, shocked, and speechless. To be considered the best high school student announcer in the country is truly an honor. I have so many people to thank for this award--my family, my athletic director Steve Walker, my mentor Paul O'Brien, and especially the NASPAA for giving student announcers the opportunity to be recognized. For me, this is a dream come true."
Criscuoli was nominated by the Athletic Director at St. Vincent Pallotti High School, Steve Walker, who said, "The St. Vincent Pallotti High School community is very proud of Michael as the recipient of the 2009 NASPAA National High School Student Sports Public Address Announcer of the Year Award. Michael has worked very hard to become the announcer he is today. His passion, dedication and enthusiasm will take him a long way in this field, and the Panthers wish him all the best in his future endeavors."
High School Announcer of the Year
Gary Vaillancourt, the public address announcer for William Horlick High School in Racine, Wisconsin, has been named the 2008-09 NASPAA High School Public Address Announcer of the Year.
"I am truly honored with this recognition," said Vaillancourt. "I owe a great deal to NASPAA's publication, THE VOICE ABOVE THE CROWD, and its online public address announcing certification course. I would encourage all P.A. announcers to take the course. In addition, I am fortunate to have a close working relationship with my athletic director, Jay Hammes. He has high expectations for professionalism, which is something that I take very seriously. I can't say enough about the support he's given me."
Junior College Announcer of the Year
Rob Emery, the public address announcer for Labette Community College in Parsons, Kansas, has been named the 2008-09 NASPAA Junior College Public Address Announcer of the Year.
In accepting his award, Emery said, "I am truly humbled to be the recipient of this award. Being a P.A. announcer is more that just sitting behind a microphone and talking. It takes dedication, desire, and love for the profession. I hope that I can be a great ambassador for all P.A. announcers. It is an honor to represent the thousands of men and women who announce for their respective junior colleges. I would like to especially thank Labette Community College, the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference, and the National Junior College Athletic Association for allowing me to be the P.A. voice for their sporting events. I would also like to thank the NASPAA for making this honor possible."
NCAA Announcer of the Year
Carl Brady, public address announcer for Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama has been named the 2008-09 NASPAA NCAA Public Address Announcer of the Year.
Upon receiving his award, Brady said, "I am absolutely thrilled to receive this honor. A lot of hard work and preparation goes into professional sports announcing and being honored with this award is definitely the highlight of my sports announcing career. I must say a very heartfelt thank you to Jacksonville State Athletic Director Oval Jaynes and Associate Athletic Director Greg Seitz for nominating me for this honor; with a special thank you to Greg for bringing me to JSU."
The award winners were announced by Brad Rumble, Executive Director of the NASPAA. "The NASPAA Public Address Announcer of the Year Awards Program is intended to pay tribute to public address announcers who demonstrate a high regard for professionalism. These individuals represent the very best in sports public address announcing, and we could not be more pleased that they are our Announcer of the Year Award Winners. Our association wants to thank all our nominees, the selection committee, our members, and especially our valued sponsors for making these awards possible," said Rumble.
The National Association of Sports Public Address Announcers is headquartered in Gladstone, Missouri. The mission of the association is to raise the level of professionalism of public address announcing by serving as a resource for training, education and professional development for those individuals who provide their services to sporting events at all levels nationwide.
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Additional information about the National Association of Sports Public Address Announcers (NASPAA) may be obtained at www.naspaa.net or by phone at (816) 305-6293 or by mail at 4424 NW Wildwood Drive, Gladstone, MO 64116.