The Rochester Area Sports Banquet is about two months away and planning is well under way. In the past few weeks we have secured our speaker for the Jan. 30, 2012 event.
Mark Johnson, leading scorer of the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" USA Men’s Hockey Team, will be our keynote speaker on a night that honors the great accomplishments of the Rochester area’s amateur athletes.
The Sports Commission staff and banquet committee members are also busy collecting items for the banquet’s silent auction. All proceeds from the silent auction will be given to the Boys & Girls Club of Rochester. Over the past two years, nearly $12,000 has been donated to this organization that does so much good for our community. Items ranging from sports memorabilia to guided fishing trips will be available for bid this year.
As I watch the evening sports highlights and see many of our local athletes and teams advancing to the fall sports season's state tournaments, I see many great potential finalists for the Rochester Area Sports Banquet awards. The deadline to nominate your favorite area amateur athlete, coach or team is Dec. 1. We have received several great nominations so far, but could always use a few more. We want to make sure all worthy candidates who excelled during the 2011 calendar year are considered. Nomination forms and ticket information can be found on our website, www.rochsports.com.
Once we close nominations, the selection committee will go to work reviewing all nominations and determining the five finalists in each of the six categories (organization/event of the year, team of the year, coach of the year, female athlete of the year, male athlete of the year and adaptive athlete/team of the year).
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Once this committee, composed of media members and sports enthusiasts from across the award-eligible area of southeastern Minnesota, determines those finalists then each committee member will vote for the finalists they believe should win each category. The results of this vote will be kept "under lock and key" until they are revealed during the banquet program on Jan. 30.
I know that our staff and the banquet committee are looking forward to this fun-filled evening. And we hope you will be able to attend to honor all the accomplishments, both on and off the field, of our area’s amateur athletes.
