Dear Coaches, Administrators, and Athletic Directors,  

For those who previously attended the St. Vincent Spirit of Sport Award dinner and for those of you that will be joining us for the first time, it is once again time to think about your nominees for this year’s award dinner. 

The Spirit of Sport Award Dinner will be held on Sunday July 19, 2009 at the Ritz Charles in Carmel Indiana.  This year our guest speaker will be ESPY award winning wrestler Kyle Maynard.  As in the past, this program is to award athletes, teams, coaches, student managers, and student trainers, for their integrity, their wisdom, their community service, and their gifts both in the classroom and on the field. 

We are looking for candidates that are quality individuals in their school community as well as in their resident community.  Keep in mind that we aren’t necessarily looking for the best athlete but for the best individual so when you are writing your nomination essays please provide us with specific examples to support your nominations.

This year the categories will be:

• Creativity- Comeback Athlete of the year: This individual has comeback from a setback to accomplish their personal best in their particular sport.
  
  
• Integrity- Coach of the year: This individual maintains high levels of excellence and performance.  He/she is a leader by example.   He/she sets moral standards as well as athletic goals.
  
  
• Wisdom-Scholar Athlete Award: This individual has accomplished high levels of excellence in the classroom as well as on the field.  This individual is well respected by teachers, coaches, and peers.
  
  
• Dedication-Team of the year: This group of individuals have set a goal as a team and together worked to achieve it.  They as a team have left a mark on their community as well as their school.
  
  
• Reverence- Spirit of sport Memorial Award: This individual although not necessarily a player on the team, dedicated themselves to improve the team with his/her special talents or unique gifts.
  
  
• Service to the Poor Award: This individual demonstrates a special gift to helping those who are physically, emotionally, spiritually, or financially challenged both at their school and in their community.
  
  
• Spirit of Sport Award: This individual exemplifies all of the core values of St. Vincent Hospital including- service, reverence, integrity, wisdom, creativity, and dedication.

If you know an individual who you feel should be nominated for one of these awards, please fill out a nomination form, include a biography of the individual and why you think they should be picked for the award. Return the completed material to your athletic trainer or directly to the Spirit of Sport Committee. 

Thank you for your continued support of our program.  All nominations must be received by 5/22/09 to be eligible for award selection.