OKLAHOMA CITY – Council members and tournament hosts were honored by USA Softball, the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, during the 2023 Wilson Awards Luncheon – presented by Wilson Sporting Goods – m at the 92nd Annual Council Meeting earlier today. Awards were given in multiple categories, including excellence in conducting 2023 USA Softball National Championships and dedicated years of service to USA Softball as well as the 2023 USA Softball Complex of the Year, Benchmark Awards and Communications Awards.
2023 JAMES FARRELL AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
Named in honor of former USA Softball of St. Louis Commissioner and National Office staff member, James Farrell, the James Farrell Award of Excellence recognizes cities that do an outstanding job of hosting USA Softball National Championship Finals.
NINETEEN OF THE HIGHEST RATED TOURNAMENTS:
Burlington, North Carolina
FIVE OF THE HIGHEST RATED TOURNAMENTS:
Salem, Virginia
FOUR OF THE HIGHEST RATED TOURNAMENTS:
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Salem, Oregon
THREE OF THE HIGHEST RATED TOURNAMENTS:
Roseville, California
Watertown, South Dakota
Worcester County, Maryland
TWO OF THE HIGHEST RATED TOURNAMENTS:
Fargo, North Dakota
Houston, Texas
Loudoun County, Virginia
Portland, Oregon
Shakopee, Minnesota
South Bend, Indiana
ONE OF THE HIGHEST RATED TOURNAMENTS:
Bismarck, North Dakota
Evansville, Indiana
Johnson City, Tennessee
Moorpark, California
North Mankato, Minnesota
Osage, Missouri
Papillion, Nebraska
Rockford, Michigan
Topeka, Kansas
Warwick, Rhode Island
COMPLEX OF THE YEAR
The Complex of the Year award honors an outstanding facility within USA Softball.
Tahpah Park
Shakopee, Minnesota
USA Softball of Minnesota
2023 BENCHMARK AWARDS
The Benchmark Awards are presented for increases in the number of registrations of adult teams, youth teams and umpires. An association needs to have an increase of at least 10 percent and/or a total registration of more than 100 teams or umpires on average over the last five years.
BENCHMARK AWARD RECIPIENTS:
USA Softball of Alabama – Tracy Morgan
USA Softball of Central Virginia – John McPhail
USA Softball of Hawaii – Mia Rodrigues
USA Softball of Louisiana – Bill Skinner
USA Softball of Montana – Jim Pellegrini
USA Softball of New Jersey – Michael Warner
USA Softball of North Dakota – Dick Gulmon
USA Softball of Texas – Rodney Cobb
USA Softball of Washington – Rick Hansen
DOUBLE PLAY (INCREASES IN TWO OF THREE CATEGORIES):
USA Softball of Wyoming – Ron Merritt
MOST JO TEAM REGISTRATIONS:
USA Softball of SoCal – Chris Drumm
4,063 JO Team Registrations
MOST ADULT TEAM REGISTRATIONS:
USA Softball of Pennsylvania – Jeff Sell
1,886 Adult Team Registrations
MOST UMPIRE REGISTRATIONS:
USA Softball of Pennsylvania – Jeff Sell
843 Umpire Registrations
MOST TOTAL REGISTRATIONS:
USA Softball of Texas – Rodney Cobb
6,274 Total Registrations
2023 USA SOFTBALL YEARS OF SERVICE
Members of the USA Softball National Council were also honored at the luncheon with USA Softball Years of Service Awards.
FIVE YEARS:
Manuel Alderete – USA Softball of Central California
Debbie Boone – USA Softball of Utah
Jessica Caro – USA Softball of Connecticut
Worcester County – USA Softball of Maryland-DC-Delaware
Tina Gale – USA Softball of Tennessee
Richard Merritt – USA Softball of Texas
Brett Williamson – USA Softball of Indiana
10 YEARS:
Dan Bennett – USA Softball of Portland
Lori Chafe – USA Softball of Washington
Walker Clark – USA Softball of Arkansas
Jimmy Derrick – USA Softball of Georgia
Dave Devine – USA Softball of Dallas/Fort Worth
Jim Donner – USA Softball of Seattle
John Durrant – USA Softball of Idaho
Roger Garcia – USA Softball of Alaska
Brian Neuhardt – USA Softball of North Dakota
Jim Pellegrini – USA Softball of Montana
Derek Smith – USA Softball of Detroit
Traci Spear – USA Softball of Kansas
Troy Stowell – USA Softball of Michigan
Ron Taylor – USA Softball of St. Louis
Mike Thomas – USA Softball of Oklahoma
15 YEARS:
Donn Addante – USA Softball of Cleveland
Paul Drake – USA Softball of Ohio
Craig Pippert – USA Softball of Piedmont Virginia
Billy Powers – USA Softball of Oregon
Bill Robison – USA Softball of Pennsylvania
Salem Parks & Recreation
Special Olympics International
Special Olympics Oregon
Tualatin Hills Parks & Recreation
20 YEARS:
Kristi Allen – USA Softball of SoCal
Darrin Duistermars – USA Softball of Michigan
Ron Merritt – USA Softball of Wyoming
Joe Pavone – USA Softball of Chicago
Henry Pollard – USA Softball of Central Virginia
Steve Shortland – USA Softball of Texas
30 YEARS:
Dick Gulmon – USA Softball of North Dakota
Carol Pipgras – USA Softball of South Dakota
Alabama Parks & Recreation
Michigan Parks & Recreation
NFCA
35 YEARS:
James Ellis – USA Softball of Tennessee
40 YEARS:
Clyde Brewer – USA Softball of Dayton
Andy Dooley – USA Softball of Piedmont Virginia
Dave Epperson – USA Softball of Kansas
Bob Rowling – USA Softball of Montana
2023 COMMUNICATIONS AWARD RECIPIENTS
The Communications Awards are presented by the Communications Committee in combination with the National Office Communications Department. The Best Website Award will go to the association with the highest website average who finished the year with a 100 percent rating. The Most Improved Website Award is presented to the association who has improved their website review score the most from the previous year. The Best of Social Media Award is presented to the association that best promotes and engages with their USA Softball community through their social media platforms.
MOST IMPROVED WEBSITE:
USA Softball of Massachusetts – Phil McElroy
BEST WEBSITE:
USA Softball of Sacramento – Jeff Morrow
BEST SOCIAL MEDIA:
USA Softball of Florida – Dwayne Sealy
USA Softball congratulates all council members, administrators and tournament hosts and looks forward to continuing the celebration of success in the 2024 season and beyond.