This is the fourth year of a program developed with the help of former Forest Park High School, University of Georgia, and Super Bowl XL MVP Hines Ward.
“We’re not putting out a search for the best athletes in Georgia,” said Hines Ward, “We’re searching for kids with positive attitudes whose efforts don’t necessarily show up on the stat sheets. These kids are also positive role models in their schools who get involved in charitable causes, have already learned the meaning of giving back at an early age, and many have overcome difficult circumstances and remained positive”.
Nominating a student athlete takes less than 10 minutes to do, and creates and opportunity for a student-athlete have something on his/her resume or job application even if they do not win an award. Nominations can only be submitted through the Positive Athlete GA Website via the online nominations form. Website: http://georgia.positiveathlete.org
There is no cost to nominate a Positive Athlete in Georgia. Last year over 3,400 student-athletes and coaches were nominated from over 350 high schools in 139 counties. Over $20,000 in college scholarship money and additional opportunities for the nominees will be available for the most qualified nominees, especially those nominated early. There will also be a SunTrust “Positive Booster Club of the Year Award” in which one high school booster club could receive a $4,000 gift from SunTrust Bank for significantly supporting the program. The state-wide award winners will again be honored at the College Football Hall of Fame in downtown Atlanta in June by Hines Ward and other sports celebrities.
“This is just an incredible opportunity to celebrate the great things our student-athletes are doing”, said Fulton County Athletic Director Dr. Steven Craft. “Too many times we only hear the negative things about high school sports, so anytime we can celebrate the positive we jump at the chance”.
“It’s a great program”, said Cobb County Athletic Director Steve Jones. “We can honor athletes who may or may not be the best athletes, but they are the best people”.
If you have any questions about the program, please feel free to contact Positive Athlete’s Director of Partnerships & Programming, Ryan Pederson at rpederson@celebratepositive.com.
