Minneapolis, Minn. - March 8, 2011 - The Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFFMN) will honor several outstanding individuals from the world of professional and amateur football at the chapter's annual awards dinner April 17.
The event, which will be held at the University of St. Thomas, will feature a keynote address by University of Minnesota head football coach Jerry Kill. In 2009, Coach Kill claimed the NFF Chicago Metro Chapter's Courage Award. College and professional football Hall of Fame inductees are scheduled to attend the event, and WCCO-TV news personality Frank Vascellaro will return for his fourth year as Master of Ceremonies.
The Minnesota Chapter will present the 2011 Distinguished Minnesotan Award to Ray Christensen for his contributions to Minnesota football. Christensen's career in broadcasting began at University of Minnesota radio station KUOM. He joined WCCO Minneapolis/Saint Paul in 1963, where he was involved not only in sportscasting but also news and music. For 50 consecutive years (1951-2000), Christensen was the play-by-play announcer for Gopher football, calling 510 games. He also handled play-by-play duties for Gopher basketball for 45 years (1956-2001), tallying 1,309 games. He is widely known as the Voice of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. In 2000, Christensen received national recognition from the NFF as the fifth recipient of the organization's Chris Schenkel Award for excellence in broadcasting.
Todd Fultz will be awarded the 2011 Courage Award. After sustaining serious injuries in a head-on vehicle collision on June 5, 2008, Fultz faced a long recovery. Fultz has said of his experience, which included five major surgeries and having to learn to walk again, "It has been a challenging two years of recovery but through this I have learned gratefulness, seen love, and felt true compassion like no other time in my life." An active member of the Minnesota football community, Fultz played football for St. John's under College Football Hall of Fame Coach John Gagliardi.
Jerry Seeman will be honored with the 2011 Outstanding Officiating Award. During his 16 seasons as a line judge, head linesman, and referee in the NFL, Seeman was selected to officiate in 15 playoff games, including two Pro Bowls and two Super Bowls: XXIII in 1989 and XXV in 1991. Super Bowl XXV was the last game he officiated. Seeman served as the senior director of officiating for the NFL. During his tenure, he modernized the training and grading system for officials, and communication increased between his office and NFL teams.
Gordon L. "Gordy" Graham is the 2011 recipient of the Fred Zamberletti Award. The award, named for the legendary athletic trainer for the Minnesota Vikings, honors an outstanding Minnesotan athletic trainer who has had strong impact in the athletic training profession. Rochester native Gordy Graham was head athletic trainer at the University of Minnesota Mankato from 1964-1993. Because of Graham's efforts, Mankato can claim to have the nation's oldest, continually accredited athletic training education program.
For the first time this year, the chapter will present the Bob Stein College Scholar-Athlete Award. Bob Stein was the first collegiate football player in Minnesota to receive an NFF Natioanl Scholar-Athlete Award, accepting honors in 1968. The 2011 recipient of the Bob Stein College Scholar-Athlete Award is Isaac Odim, a senior from University of Minnesota Duluth. He was one of 16 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award recipients in 2010 and was named ESPN Academic All-American of the Year in Division II.
Nine young men will receive recognition as outstanding high school scholar-athletes. Nominated by their football coaches, the scholar-athletes were evaluated on their academic achievement (3.0 GPA or better), football ability, performance, leadership, attitude, and service to their community. Remarkably, the average GPA among the finalists was 3.89. The 2011 honorees are Sam Berg (New Life Academy), Ryan Beyer (Springfield HS), Ryan Buria (Mountain Iron/Buhl HS), Tyler Hamblin (Cretin-Derham Hall), Joe Hatch (New Prague HS), Zach Horejsi (Little Falls Community HS), Andrew Hughes (Holy Family Catholic HS), Dillon Olson (Grygla HS), and Alex Taray(Floodwood HS).
The 4th Annual "Honoring Legends-Inspiring Leaders" awards dinner will take place Sunday, April 17, at 6:00 pm on the campus of the University of St. Thomas. To purchase tickets to the event or to become a member of the Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation, please visit the Minnesota Chapter website (www.nffmn.org).
