Honor Awards Lunch 46th Annual Convention & Trade Show Beaver Run Resort Breckenridge, Colorado April 29, 2019 www.coloradoad.org 2019 CADA AWARD BANQUET ORDER OF EVENTS 1. Welcome - Dave Hogan, CADA President

2. National Anthem - Summit High School Choir, Colors Presented by Abraham Lincoln High School’s JROTC

3. NIAAA Scholarship Essay Winners – Read Essays and plaque presentation (10 minutes) Presented by Dave Hogan, CADA President Riley Boydstun, Rangely High School Logan DeRock, Roosevelt High School

4. Video Presentation and Awards Presentation (Part 1) (30 minutes) Outstanding School Board Member – John Ahrens, St. Vrain Public Schools CADA Distinguished Service Award – Ezra Paddock, Jefferson County Public Schools Outstanding Media Person for Interscholastic Sports Coverage- Steve Smith, Ft. Lupton Press Outstanding Athletics Administrative Assistant – Danielle Davis, Outstanding School Administrator – Colleen Owens, Green Mountain High School CADA Retired Athletic Director of the Year- Paul Roper, Centaurus High School

5. Lunch (15 minutes)

6. Video Presentation and Awards Presentation (Part 2 – Honored AD’s, Kurby Lyle, etc.) (55 minutes) Honored Athletics Administrators Middle School Athletic Director of the Year- Ray Hirman, Elizabeth Middle School CADA New Athletic Director of the Year- Wes Smock, Grandview High School 1A- Bryan Dermer, Merino High School 2A- Steve Latuda, Highland High School 3A- Joey Archuleta, Olathe High School 4A - Gary Geiger, CAA, The Classical Academy 5A - Eric Gustafson, Monarch High School Kurby Lyle Service Award - Jim Thyfault, CAA, Jeffco Public Schools Frank Kovaleski Professional Development Award - John Andrew, CAA, Denver Public Schools NFHS Citation Award - Matt Heckel, CMAA, Dakota Ridge High School State Award of Merit - Kris Roberts, Cheyenne Mountain High School NIAAA Distinguished Service Award - Larry Bull, CAA, Cherry Creek Schools

7. Closing - Dave Hogan Results of Election for Board positions

8. Retirement of the Colors - Abraham Lincoln High School’s JROTC Congratulations to our Distinguished 2018 - 2019 Recipients:

Outstanding School Board Member Award | John Ahrens, St. Vrain Public Schools Husband, Father and community activist - John believes that education is an important part of the development of our future leaders and the work force of tomorrow. Our students carry the future. Currently in his 5th year as Director on St Vrain School BOE St Vrain Valley Board of Education,John serves the entire school district, though his primary role is to represent the town of Erie. The town has one high school, one middle school, a Pre-K thru 8, three elementary schools, one charter school and an Erie Feeder elementary school in the town of Fredrick. John also serves as a board member of the Innovation Center as well as Channel 8, the public television station in Longmont, Colorado. In addition, John is the Commissioner of URA (Urban Renewal Authority) for the town of Erie, which approves new developments throughout the town. His role with URA includes Frederick and Dacono and he serves as representative to the Boulder Board of Ed for URA within the town of Erie. John has taken an active role on the BOE to see that it is serving students, teachers and administration with proper technology and he attends legislation at the capitol with a focus on education, including the PTECH launch.

CADA Distinguished Service Award |Ezra Paddock, Jefferson County Public Schools Ezra Paddock was hired by the Jefferson County School District as the Stadium Manager in 2005 and promoted to the position of Manager of Stadium Operations in 2012. In this position, he oversees four district stadiums that host 18 high school athletic events as well as any home or neutral playoff events assigned to those facilities by CHSAA. The stadiums under his management include Jeffco Stadium (track & football), North Area Athletic Complex (football, track, soccer & lacrosse), Trailblazer Stadium (football & lacrosse) and Lakewood Memorial Field (soccer.) In addition to local and regional high school athletic events, Ezra oversees rental of these facilities for events including NCAA soccer/football/lacrosse games, graduations, band festivals, commercial shoots, Fourth of July celebrations, community events, etc.

Outstanding Media Coverage Award | Steve Smith, Ft. Lupton Press Steve Smith has been at MetroWest Newspapers in Brighton since 2004. Before that, he spent almost 15 years at the Golden Transcript Newspaper. Originally from California, Steve graduated from the University of Denver in 1980 with a degree in mass communications, where he stumbled into this line of work. The paper in Golden needed a new reporter, and they looked across the creek to the Colorado School of Mines, where Steve was doing some volunteer work. One thing led to another, and the rest is history, as they say. Steve has also volunteered with CHSAA, primarily working with the basketball tournaments. His present volunteer “assignment” is to work on one of the stat crews during the state tournament.

Commenting on his career, Steve says: “For someone who loves sports as much as I do, to hang around young men and women and chronicle their accomplishments, it’s been a great ride. One of the coaches in our coverage area said something that I think is very true. He said, “Hanging around young men and women makes you feel a lot younger than you are.””

Honored Athletics Administrative Assistant | Danielle Davis, Columbine High School Having the chance to return to the high school she attended and to give back to the community that helped shape me, has been a blessing in and of itself. Danielle’s career in athletics took shape from 2004-2009 at Oklahoma Christian University where she was a statistician and graduate assistant for the men’s and women’s basketball teams. In 2009, she returned home to Littleton, CO and began working as a substitute teacher and basketball coach for both Lakewood High School and Columbine High School. She balanced her time coaching and subbing while working at a homeless mission operated by her parents. These experiences instilled in her an ability to work with a variety of people. In 2017, the Athletic Assistant position came open and Danielle applied. She was blessed to be chosen to fill the role and in her short time at Columbine HS, she has enjoyed working with both young athletes and dedicated coaches. She would like to thank all the staff and students at Columbine for their support and dedication to our athletic programs and young people.

Outstanding School Administrator | Colleen Owens, Green Mountain High School Colleen Owens is the principal of Green Mountain High School in the Jefferson County Public School District. Colleen is a proud product of Jefferson County Public Schools, graduating from Green Mountain High School in 1983. She received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from Metropolitan State College of Denver and a Master’s Degree in Administrative Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Colorado at Denver. Colleen taught English at and Green Mountain High School before becoming an assistant principal and current principal at Green Mountain High School. She is a strong advocate for the Green Mountain community and her dedication and passion for leading Green Mountain High School in its goal of “premier” status among Colorado high schools can be seen through her efforts in collaboration, innovation, and shared leadership. Colleen takes pride in her role in furthering the Academy Program at Green Mountain High School where students experience rigorous academics and co-curricular experiences in 14 pathways that provide students with 21st Century skills, preparing them for college, career, and beyond. She is married and has two daughters who are also graduates of Green Mountain High School. Colleen is a recipient of the 2011 Colorado School Counselor’s Association Advocate of the Year, the 2014 Colorado Association of School Resource Officers (CASRO) Administrator of the Year Award, and the 2016 Colorado Association of School Executives (CASE) Colorado High School Principal of the Year.

Retired Athletic Director Award | Paul Roper, Centaurus High School Mr. Roper has spent his career as a teacher, coach and administrator in Colorado. He received his degree in Spanish with an emphasis in Latin American Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder, graduating with a bachelor degree in 1980, followed by a Masters from the University of Northern Colorado. He took a social studies teaching job at Fort Lupton High School before moving his teaching and administration career to Boulder Valley School District in 1985.

When Mr. Roper arrived as an administrator to Centaurus High School in 1990, he knew the importance of educationally-based athletics, before it was the hot topic of today. He has dedicated his career to helping students from all walks of life be successful in sports. At that time, CHS was the only high school in the Lafayette/Louisville region. As the region grew however, Monarch High School was added in the late 90s, and the dynamics of Centaurus changed forever. Teachers, coaches and students left CHS to take on new roles and opportunities at the new district high school. Mr. Roper took on these challenges head-on, becoming athletic director at Centaurus in the first year after the new high school opened. He stayed on as AD for 15 years; which is unheard of in the world of athletic directors today! There is monumental turnover in this role, with the pressures for parents, the community and the daily life on the job grinding down even the most veteran educators after a couple years. Mr. Roper persevered!

Mr. Roper retired from Centaurus in 2014, but has since come back to his home, as Interim Assistant Principal. He is a positive and youthful spirit and he is committed to putting his best foot forward each and everyday to help our students succeed.

Middle School Athletic Director Award | Ray Hirman, Elizabeth Middle School Ray’s career in education started when he graduated from Colorado State University in 1997. At CSU, he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education with an emphasis in Industrial Arts / Technology. While at CSU, he was named Colorado Technology Education Association Student of the year for 1997. His first teaching position was in Ridgway, CO where he was the 7-12 Technology Teacher, 7-12 Industrial Arts Teacher and the 8th grade Math teacher. He was also the JV Boys’ Basketball Coach (2 years), Varsity Baseball Head Coach (1 year) and Athletic Director (1 year). After two years at Ridgeway, he took a few years off from education and worked in construction. In 2002, he went back into education at Centennial Middle School in Montrose, CO. While in Montrose he taught Industrial Arts to the 6-8 grades and coached varsity football at the High School as the O-line and D-line coach for 3 years. After coaching at the high school, he started coaching football, boys’ and girls’ basketball and track at the Middle School. After 6 years in Montrose, Ray moved to the Glenwood Springs area and traveled to Parachute, CO every day to teach Technology to 6-8 grades and coach football. He left after one year in Parachute and landed in Castle Rock, CO, working at Mitchell High School in Colorado Springs as the Dean of Students. After five years in Colorado Springs, he was hired into his current position and is in his 4th year as Assistant Principle and Athletic Director at Elizabeth Middle School. At Elizabeth Middle School he has brought 6th grade athletics to the school, and started a new softball program which, in which its first year, saw the team take first place in their league. In collaboration with Elizabeth High School, he is building a 7-year athletic program for students in 6th through 12th grades, working with the coaches at both the middle school and high school to implement this program.

New Athletic Director Award | Wes Smock, Grandview High School Wes began his career in education in 2003 at Grandview High School when he was hired as a Social Studies Teacher. In 2011, Wes was honored with being named Teacher of the Year at Grandview. He also served as the Social Studies Department Coordinator and a Dean before becoming the school’s Athletic Director. As much as he loved the classroom, his true passion was coaching. Wes spent eighteen years as a football coach and fourteen years as a baseball coach. He was fortunate to be a part of a Football State Championship team in 2007, and a handful of Final Four appearances in football and baseball. As a coach, Wes’ fondest memories were through educating student athletes and helping them learn lifelong skills for them to be successful after high school, collegiately, professionally, and personally. Wes thanks his wife, Jennifer, of sixteen years and their two boys, Spenser and Tucker, for their unconditional love and support.

Honored 1A Athletic Director |Bryan Dermer, Merino High School Bryan is a graduate of Merino High School, Northeastern Junior College and the University of Northern Colorado with a Bachelors’ Degree in Social Science. Prior to teaching at Merino High School, he served on the Merino Board of Education for 12 years and served as Board President for 8 years. He taught Social Science at Merino for 13 years and was an assistant football, girls basketball and track coach during that time. From 2001 to 2016 he was the Head Girls Basketball Coach. He has been the Merino High School Athletic Director and Career Counselor for the past 12 years. He has been past President and is currently the President of the Lower Platte Activities Association and has served as director of numerous district and regional tournaments. Bryan has served on the CHSAA Volleyball Committee and is currently a member of the CHSAA Football Committee. He has served on the CHSAA 8-man football seeding committee for the past 7 years. He is a member of CADA and the Northeast Colorado Counselors Association. Bryan has been an advocate in his school, league and district for educational based athletics. He lives in Sterling with his wife Janell and has 3 children and 5 grandchildren.

Honored 2A Athletic Director |Steve Latuda, Highland High School Steve has been the AD at Highland High School and Middle School for 5 years. He just completed his 7th year as the Head Girls Basketball Coach, where he just won his 100th game. He has also been an assistant coach for Football and Track at Highland. During his tenure at Highland, the athletic programs have won 3 State Cheerleading Championships, 1 Girls Track and Field State Championship and have finished 3rd, 5th, and 2nd in Boys Basketball. Steve has been married to his wife Patricia for 13 years and has two children - a son, Cole, who is 9 and a daughter, Reagan, who is 6.

Honored 3A Athletic Director | Joey Archuleta, Olathe High School Joey’s coaching career began while he was a student at Mesa State College, where he served as assistant football coach and assistant baseball coach at nearby Olathe High School. After graduating in 1990 with a degree in Secondary Physical Education, he taught K-12 Physical Education at Life Academy. He began his current tenure at Olathe High School in 1992 as has served in a variety of positions, including 6-12 Physical Education teacher, Head Football Coach, Assistant Football Coach, Head Baseball Coach and for the last nine years as Athletic Director. He was a finalist for Montrose County Teacher of the Year in 2009 and 2011, been named WSL Baseball Coach of the Year 10 times and has served for 19 years on the CHSCA 3A baseball All-State selection committee. As Athletic Director, Joey has served 1 term on the CHSAA football committee, 2 terms on the CHSAA baseball committee, 5 years on the 2A football seeding committee and 9 years on the 3A baseball seeding committee.

Honored 4A Athletic Director | Gary Geiger, CAA, The Classical Academy A 1981 graduate of Berthoud High School, Gary played football and basketball and enjoyed choir. He graduated from Oklahoma Christian University in 1985 with a degree in K-12 PE/Health and a minor in Social Studies. After seven years in the business community, he started his education career in 1993 in Oklahoma. He moved back to Colorado in 1995 with his wife Laura and three children Sara, Ryan, and Drew, to teach and start an athletic program at Pikes Peak Christian School. He has enjoyed a unique multi-classification athletic director experience working with many outstanding ADs for 24 years. It began with building an athletic program from scratch at Pikes Peak Christian and leading it as a non-CHSAA school through the process of membership and growth from a 1A to 2A. After 17 years at PPCS, he moved to The Classical Academy in 2012 where he has spent 7 years growing the program from 3A to 4A, along with construction expansion from a successful bond issue. He has coached junior high and high school basketball for fourteen years, track for 10, and football for four. Gary spent time as a league vice president, league secretary, legislative council member, district and regional site host, member of the Basketball committee, Baseball committee, and Football committee, along with several scheduling and seeding committees. He completed his CAA in April of 2014 and served on the CADA Board from 2017-18.

Honored 5A Athletics Director | Eric Gustafson, Monarch High School Eric Gustafson had been an athletic director in the state of Colorado since 1994. Eric has been an A.D. at every classification in the state, 1A - 5A. Eric taught P.E. and Health, coached football, basketball, track, and volleyball all at the varsity level. During 9 years of coaching Eric was twice a league coach of the year, had a state playoff basketball team, a state semi-final six man football team, and took many athletes to state track. During his athletic director tenure Eric’s schools have won 8 state championships; in football, boys and girls basketball, baseball, volleyball, and wrestling.

Eric has alway been an advocate for his own schools but of equal importance to him has alway been honoring officials and opponents, and the proliferation of student based athletic programs. His contributions to the field include YWKC League Secretary & President, L.O.A.C. committee, Northern League Secretary & President, CADA board member and 15 years serving on the 3A state basketball tournament committee.

Kurby Lyle Service Award | Jim Thyfault, CAA, Jeffco Public Schools

Frank Kovaleski Professional Development Award | John Andrew, CAA, Denver Public Schools

NFHS Citation Award | Matt Heckel, CMAA, Dakota Ridge High School

State Award of Merit | Kris Roberts, Cheyenne Mountain High School

NIAAA Distinguished Service Award | Larry Bull, CAA, Cherry Creek Schools

Student Athlete Scholar Award (male) | Riley Boydstun, Rangely High School

Student Athlete Scholar Award (female) | Logan DeRock, Roosevelt High School