Volunteers, Athletes Honored at Nebraska Sports Council Awards Banquet

Five top athletes and a dozen volunteers received awards Oct. 26 at the Nebraska Sports Council (NSC) (NebraskaSportsCouncil.com) Awards Banquet at the Grand Manse in Lincoln.

Cornhusker State Games (CSG) Athletes of the Year included BMX racer Joseph Mather, 6, of Omaha; chess player/swimmer Jacey Tran, 12, of Lincoln; taekwondo athlete Carl Steffens, 35, of Lincoln; powerlifter Grace Bogner, 24, of Lincoln and badminton player Kaiguo Chang, 56, of Gretna.

Husband-wife volunteer duo Dan and Jan Ericson received the Joe Neal Memorial Volunteer of the Year Award. The retired couple helped out on 10 different Nebraska Sports Council projects or events including: CSG packet stuffing, CSG packet pickup, the Gravel Grinder, Adventure Race, Opening Ceremonies, 5K Race, Triathlon, Bass Fishing Tournament, Mud Run and the Pumpkin Run. Trish Souliere, Director of CSG Fencing which grew in participation for the 9th straight year in 2017, received the Russ White Memorial Sport Director of the Year Award, which is voted upon by the CSG Sport Directors. CSG Disc Golf Director Anita Jackson earned the John Axe Board Service Award in recognition of 10 years of service on the NSC Board of Directors.

Sport Directors receiving anniversary-year service awards included: 5-Year — Cliff and Amber Hall – Armwrestling; Todd Johnson – Basketball; Colleen Arnold and Aimee Guzman-Jones – Ice Hockey; Thom Sisson – WalkOmaha; John Lefler – Road Bike Race and Glen Williams – Rifle Shooting. 10-Year — Dave Tunink – Youth Trapshooting; Steve Morrison – Track & Field and Jim Tubbs – Archery. 15-Year — Keith Stewart – Pocket Billiards.

The following event dates were announced for 2018: Cornhusker State Games – July 20-29, Mud Run – Aug. 25, Pumpkin Run – Oct. 6 and NE150 Challenge – year-long beginning Jan. 1. Events in development with 2018 dates to be announced include a four-person golf scramble and a multi-sport corporate games competition.

The Nebraska Sports Council is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization with platinum partners including Farmers Mutual of Nebraska, Nebraska Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine and LinPepCo. Sponsors for the Awards Banquet include Venue, Lone Tree Brewing Company and the Nebraska Pork Producers Association. Learn more at NebraskaSportsCouncil.com.