The NEOIAAA puts on another successful conference and banquet…

The Northeast District held our annual spring athletic director’s conference and awards banquet on April 7th and April 8th. This was our 54th Annual Awards Program. The Sunday night banquet was hosted at the Sheraton Suites in Cuyahoga Falls. The Northeast district had over 110 athletic directors attending our Spring conference.

The agenda for the day was kicked off by NEOIAAA Presiddent Kevin Leigh addressing the attendees to highlight the current initiatives of the OIAAA. The keynote presentation this year was delivered by the Cleveland Indians Bob Dibiasio.  Bob has been with the Cleveland Indians for 39 years and is currently the Vice President of Public Affairs.

The workshop also included presentations from Solon Soccer Coach Ryan Conner on Building Positive Relationships with parents. Coach Conner was followed by John Smith who spoke about Emergency Action Plans.  Finally, Mike Elder, Human Resources Director at Avon High School, presented on building relationships and culture in your school and community.

The OHSAA also provided us with the Town Hall and Referendum Update.  Thank you to Dr. Deborah Moore and OHSAA Commissioner Jerry Snodgrass for presenting at our conference and providing critical updates from the state office.

Lastly, a special thank you to Phil Cassella for all of his help and organizational efforts in putting on this year’s conference. Phil announced his retirement this year as Treasurer of the NEOIAAA.  In honor of Phil, the NEOIAAA Scholarship will now be named the Phil Cassella Scholarship.  Thank you Phil for our your years of service!  You will be missed!

To view award winners, go to http://neoiaaa.org/

IN HONOR AND REMEMBERENCE OF FORMER OIAAA TREASURER, RALPH YOUNG

The OIAAA is saddened to announce that Ralph T. Young, the longtime Treasurer of both the OIAAA and OHSAA Central District Board, has passed away. Ralph (along with his wife, Nancy) have lived in Delaware in recent years.

Ralph served on the OIAAA Board of Directors beginning in 1985 and became the OIAAA Treasurer in 1989, a position he held until his retirement from that post in 2012. In addition to his duties with the OIAAA, he served the OHSAA Central District Board of Directors in numerous positions before he became their Treasurer.

Ralph was also instrumental in helping form and administrate the Ohio Capital Conference in the greater Columbus area. He served in various roles for the OCC and was part of several league expansions and division re-alignments. For his OCC efforts, he was selected as a charter member of their Hall of Fame in 1997.

He received numerous awards at both the state and national levels of athletic administration associations. In addition to receiving “Athletic Director of the Year” accolades, Ralph was inducted into the OIAAA Hall of Fame in 1987, while receiving the NIAAA’s Distinguished Service Award and the NFHS Citation Award in 1990 and 1997, respectively.

In 2016, the OIAAA Board of Directors added an additional student scholarship in honor of Ralph and Nancy Young and continue to award the scholarship on an annual basis.

Our sincere condolences to the family of Ralph Young. Please keep Nancy and the family in your thoughts and prayers. https://www.snyderfuneralhomes.com/obituary/ralph-t-young/‬