Vol.Vol. 14, 15, No. No. 2 //1 Summer// Winter 20202021 RETURN TO ‘NORMAL’ IS 2021 GOAL HONORS DINNER CELEBRATING OUR LEGENDS XVII – JUNE 27 the other chapter awards (see awards and nomination form on adjoining TYLER TRENT GOLF OUTING – JULY, AUGUST OR SEPTEMBER pages). AUCTION/SALE – JULY or AUGUST High school coaches, athletic directors, academic counselors and NFF HONORS RECEPTION – TBD principals provide the nominations of the high school scholar-athletes while anyone associated with our chapter, whether members or not, may With all the trials, tribulations and travails of 2020 now behind us, nominate candidates for the chapter’s community awards. our goal for the National Football Foundation’s Joe Tiller Chapter of Along with the NFF awards, the annual Honors Dinner will also Northwest Indiana is a “return to normal.” include awards and recognition for athletes selected by the Lafayette With all of our events either rescheduled, postponed or cancelled in Journal & Courier sports staff based on nominations by coaches and 2020 due to COVID-19, we are crossing our fingers that the distribu- athletic directors within the J&C coverage area. tion and injection of the vaccine will have the virus in steady remission within a few months so that we can return to our regular slate of events HONORS DINNER/RECEPTION BECOMING 2 EVENTS and activities by late spring and summer. The chapter’s primary function each year is to recognize accomplish- We are pleased to move our next Honors Dinner back into the Purdue ments of our scholar-athletes and award winners. For the first 15 years of Memorial Union Ballrooms. Our 17th NFF Honors Dinner will be held this chapter, we held the NFF Honors Dinner “Celebrating Our Legends” on Sunday afternoon, June 27, assuming the virus is under control and in early to mid-June, prior to last year’s event being moved to late July. the event can be held safely. The plan last year was to divide that event into two separate functions That said, we are grateful to our friends at Arni’s Catering and the – one to focus on high school athletes and coaches and the other to focus Northend Community Center for allowing us to reschedule our one “sur- on college and professional athletes, coaches and community members. viving” event of 2020 – the 16th annual NFF Honors Dinner – into their The later event was intended to be an evening reception and program, outstanding facility in Lafayette last July 26 (after Purdue cancelled all probably in September, in conjunction with the Tyler Trent Golf Outing, on-campus events due to the pandemic, forcing us to abandon our plans but those events were cancelled for 2020 and postponed into this year. at the PMU Ballrooms). Dates have not yet been set for those events, but our intentions are to continue with that plan. Some of the awards that were intended for IMPORTANT DEADLINES presentation last year had to be diverted to 2021, including the induction Something that will not change is our goal of putting on first class of Marshall Overley and Jim Everett into the Indiana Football Hall of events and honoring individuals for their accomplishments. Details are Fame. We are also hoping to have Drew Brees and Raheem Mostert in still evolving, but we are hoping to have at least four important events attendance to receive their awards, the Distinguished American Award involving our chapter as we roll through our 17th year of existence. and the Mental Toughness Award, respectively, which they were unable Prior to any events, however, are two key deadlines for the NFF to receive in person last year due to the rescheduling of the dinner. awards process. Nominations are due Feb. 1 from the high schools in the Additional details will be announced in early spring. 17-county area of Northwest Indiana for the judging of the Scholar-Ath- lete of the Year Award. Also, Mar. 31 is the deadline for nominations for Continued on pg. 6 TWO YOUNG MEN NAMED INDIANA’S CO-NFF SCHOLAR-ATHLETES OF YEAR For the first time in the eight-year history of the award, co-winners have been named for the National Football Foundation’s State of Indiana Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. The co-winners for 2020 are Carroll High School’s Ayden Ayres, representing the Joe Tiller Chapter, and John Glenn High School’s Sam Carson, representing the Moose Krause Chapter. The announcement was made at the Tiller Chapter’s NFF Honors Dinner on July 26 at the Northend Community Center in Lafayette with both Ayres and Carson among the 225 attendees. Two other finalists, who were unable to attend, were Dawson Hurley of Evansville Reitz Memorial High School, representing the Southern Indiana Chapter, and Brett Wethington of Western Boone High School, representing the Central Indiana Chapter. The judging process, which included equal representation from each chapter, resulted in the closest voting ever for the annual award. Judging is based 40% on academics accomplishments, 40% on athletics accomplishments and 20% on char- acter and citizenship. “On behalf of the NFF chapters in Indiana, I want to congratulate SURPRISE! – Sam Carson (left) and Ayden Ayres (right) express surprise when announcement is made at NFF Honors Dinner last July that they are co-winners Continued on pg. 5 of the State of Indiana Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. Awards for Joe Tiller Chapter of Northwest Indiana HIGH SCHOOL SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARD ficulty OR who has assisted someone else in doing the same. The award-winner This annual award is intended to provide recognition to a graduating high must be a high school, college or professional athlete, coach, administrator or avid school senior football player who exemplifies excellence as a student, an athlete supporter. The award is sponsored by Franciscan Health Sports Medicine. and a citizen. Scholarship money from the National Football Foundation is Selection process: Nominations are accepted in early winter from members of provided to the winner as long as he is not receiving full athletic aid to attend the this chapter. Nominations are evaluated by the awards committee, which recom- college of his choice. He is not required to continue his career as a football player. mends no more than one recipient per year. This recommendation must be ratified Selection process: Nominations are accepted in early winter from high school by the Board of Directors and the presentation should be made at annual Honors coaches and/or administrators in the counties covered by this NFF chapter. Nomi- Dinner. nations are evaluated by the Scholar-Athlete Committee, which recommends at 2012 Honoree: Danny Anthrop of Lafayette Central Catholic H.S. least one recipient per year. This recommendation must be ratified by the Board of 2013 Honorees: Cooper Fulmer of Winamac/Patrick Mackey of Lafayette Directors and the presentation should be made at the annual Honors Dinner. Other Central Catholic H.S. nominees will also be recognized at the Honors Dinner. 2014 Honoree: Jack Folkers of West Lafayette H.S, 2005 Honoree: William Bowman of Lafayette Jefferson H.S. 2016 Honoree: Josh Turanchick of Oak Hill H.S. 2006 Honoree: Brett Courtney of West Lafayette Harrison H.S. 2017 Honoree: Riley Lowder of Delphi H.S. 2007 Honoree: James Wodicka of West Lafayette H.S. 2018 Honoree: Tyler Trent of Purdue University 2008 Honoree: Griffin Richeson of Lafayette Central Catholic H.S. 2019 Honorees: Cody Payne/Drew DeBoer of Lafayette Jefferson H.S. 2009 Honoree: *Matt Lancaster of West Lafayette H.S. 2020 Honoree: Isaiah Harris of Bowman Leadership Academy 2010 Honoree: *Daniel Wodicka of West Lafayette H.S. 2011 Honoree: Alex Hegg of Seeger Memorial H.S. TYLER TRENT COURAGE & RESILIENCE AWARD 2012 Honoree: Dayton Snyder of West Lafayette H.S. This award is a tribute to Tyler Trent, a former Purdue student who valiently 2013 Honoree: #Ryan Spesard of Carroll H.S. battled cancer while fervently supporting “his” Boilermakers until the very 2014 Honoree: *Andrew Ralph of Chesterton H.S. end. He died Jan. 1, 2019, at age 19. The recipient receives a full scholarship at 2015 Honoree: Joshua Brune of Bellmont H.S. Purdue, funded through a combination of gifts. It is awarded to undergraduate stu- 2015 Honoree: Cody Colbert of Tri-Central H.S. dents at Purdue’s West Lafayette campus who have encountered serious physical 2017 Honoree: Jack DeGroot of Winamac H.S. or similarly daunting adversity in their pursuit of higher education. 2018 Honoree: #August Schott of West Lafayette H.S. Selection process: Nominations/applications are accepted by the President’s 2019 Honoree: #Jack Kiser of Pioneer H.S. Office throughout the year from Purdue students. The decision is made by the 2020 Honoree: #Ayden Ayres of Carroll H.S. president and announced in the spring with possible recognition provided at the * Midwest Region S-A of Year; # State of Indiana S-A of Year annual NFF Honors Dinner or Honors Reception. 2019 Honoree: Sean English of Northville, Mich. IMPACT AWARD 2020 Honoree: Kamryn Dehn of Frankfort, Ind. This award, originally named “Purdue is Proud of You” Award, has been repurposed to provide recognition to a person from Purdue who has made a BERNIE FLOWERS AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING major impact on the game of football and who has provided positive exposure for CONTRIBUTION TO AMATEUR SPORTS Purdue through his or her efforts. The recipient will have maintained a lifetime of This annual award is intended to provide recognition to an individual whose interest in the football while exhibiting exceptional qualities in his or her profes- efforts and activities support the goals of the National Football Foundation on the sion or activity even beyond that game.