Area Residents Have a Chance to Rub Elbows with Sports Media's Best
The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NSSA) will hold its 56th annual Awards Weekend June 6-8 in historic Salisbury and couples from the area are needed to serve as hosts to those out-of-town guests who are in town to be honored.
By serving as hosts for the only national event held annually in Salisbury, area residents will get to experience three days' worth of events and rub elbows with some of the biggest names in sports media.
It is a chance for Salisbury to show itself off to the rest of the country by showing the rest of the country just how well Salisbury treats its guests. According to longtime host Joyce Goodwin, who with husband Joel, has been a regular at the NSSA's annual Awards Weekend for the past 15 years, "This weekend is not about us (the hosts), but about how special we can make our guests feel."
Marv Albert and Bob Costas
Over the years, everyone from Red Smith to Dick Vitale to Keith Jackson to Arnold Palmer to John Elway has been to Salisbury for Awards Weekend. This year, NSSA will induct Lesley Visser (Boston Globe, CBS, ABC/ESPN), Hal McCoy (Dayton Daily News), Bill Raftery (CBS, FOX Sports 1, ESPN, Big East Network, New Jersey Nets) and the late Dick Schaap into its Hall of Fame. National Sportscaster of the Year Mike "Doc" Emrick (NBC Sports) and National Sportswriter of the Year Tom Verducci (Sports Illustrated) will also be honored, along with 105 state sportscasters and sportswriters of the year.
Joyce and Joel Goodwin with Dan Collins (right)
Claude Hampton with Michael Childress
This year's three days' worth of events include the following events that hosts will be able to attend:
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Saturday, June 6th: Welcome Reception at Courtyard Marriott Salisbury, followed by Legacy Night dinner and panel, honoring Roone Arledge and Stuart Scott at Hendrick Motorsports in Concord
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Sunday, June 7th: National Athletic Trainers' Association Awards Brunch and Seminars at Lee Street Theatre, followed by Sports Book Festival at Waterworks Visual Arts Center; followed by NSSA BBQ at Historic Salisbury Train Depot
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Monday, June 8th: Claude Hampton Golf Classic or NSSA Tennis Tournament at Country Club of Salisbury; 56th Annual NSSA Awards Reception & Banquet at Goodman Gym, Catawba College
NSSA Executive Director Dave Goren credits his hosts, who actually were Joel and Joyce Goodwin, in helping him strive to obtain his current position with the organization. He shared his story in the first person:
The surprise came in late January, 2009, two months after my 20-year career at WXII-TV came to an end. My North Carolina peers, who were members of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NSSA), had voted me the state's Sportscaster of the Year.
Four months later, my wife and I drove to Salisbury for the start of a remarkable three days, the 50th NSSA Awards Weekend. Upon registering, we learned that we were matched with a pair of local hosts, Joel and Joyce Goodwin. They introduced themselves at the welcome reception and made sure that over the next 72 hours, my wife and I felt right at home.
The Goodwins, and their friends, the Lynches, sat with us at the various weekend events. They made sure we knew where we were going and when we had to be there. And when the Awards Weekend was over, we felt as if we had four new best friends.
Goren (middle) with Joyce and Joel GoodwinBecause of the way we were treated that weekend, I decided to apply for the NSSA's executive director job and started in that position in September of 2009. It is now my job to make sure our out-of-town guests from all over the country are treated the way my wife and I were six years ago.
As Joyce Goodwin says, "We are honoring people from all across the U.S. who tell us what's happening in the world of sports. They work long, hard hours and don't necessarily make the big bucks. This is a chance to give them some special recognition at a fun-filled weekend, to say 'thank you' for all of their hard work."
Once upon a time, those out-of-town guests stayed at Salisbury residents' houses. That is no longer the case. The NSSA puts up its guests in local hotels and provides transportation for them to all of the scheduled events. All that the organization asks of its Awards Weekend hosts is that they make those guests feel welcome.
"Sit with them at some of the events, answer their questions, listen to their stories… and most of all, have fun," Goren adds.
Joel Goodwin (right)
"It's a fun time for meeting fun people," Joel Goodwin says. "For me, NSSA is all about being an ambassador for North Carolina and for Salisbury."
Those interested in becoming NSSA Awards Weekend hosts ($200 per person before May 1st; $300 per person after May 1st) should contact the NSSA office at (704) 633-4275 or by emailing executive director Dave Goren at dgoren@nssafame.com. You may also register at www.nssafame.com.
The NSSA is headquartered on the campus of Catawba College. A formal agreement was made by representatives of both entities in November of 2014 and paved the way for future collaborations that will be mutually beneficial.
The College provides facility space to the NSSA Hall of Fame to house its offices and its collection of memorabilia related to sportscasters and sportswriters. The NSSA provides Catawba's students and faculty with access to its archives and memorabilia to help further develop and enhance the College's Sports Communication program that was launched with the start of the fall 2014 semester. A long term goal of this collaboration is the construction of a new building on the campus of Catawba College that will house the College's Communication Arts department and its Sports Communications program as well as the NSSA's headquarters and its Hall of Fame museum.
