Jim Albright, who worked from 1970-93 for Eastman Kodak Company ending as Coordinator of U.S. Sports Programs, and who was a significant contributor to the College Sports Information Directors of America Convention each year and to college sports information, has been selected to receive the Keith Jackson Eternal Flame Award by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
He will receive his award at the organization’s special awards luncheon on Tuesday, July 5 at the CoSIDA Workshop to be held in Philadelphia, Pa.
The Keith Jackson Eternal Flame Award is presented to an individual who, or an organization that, has made a lasting contribution to intercollegiate athletics, has demonstrated a long and consistent commitment to excellence and has been a loyal supporter of CoSIDA and its mission.
There have been only four previous winners of this award – Keith Jackson, Dick Enberg, The GTE Corporation and Rosa Gotti, an ESPN vice president.
Albright represented Eastman Kodak Company in all of its long-standing sponsorship activities with CoSIDA from 1979-98.
He helped create the Kodak Good Person Award in 1993 and personally presented it from 1993-98 at the CoSIDA Workshop. The award is now named after Bob Kenworthy, legendary former SID at Gettysburg College. He also helped establish the Kodak Black – SIDA SID of the Year, and played an important role in the annual presentation of the Kodak All-America Teams for women’s basketball and football as well as Kodak’s sponsoring the Heisman Trophy and the Eastman Award for the college basketball player of the year.
For many years, through his efforts, Kodak was also a sponsor of assorted activities involving the Football Writers Association of America and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.
Even after his 1993 retirement from Kodak, Albright remained involved with intercollegiate athletics. He worked several additional years as a consultant to Kodak and its collegiate sports programs.
Albright, a Syracuse University graduate, also formed The Write Solutions consultation firm after leaving Kodak. Current and former clients include(d) Kodak; H&R Block Rochester District; the Wegmans Rochester LPGA Event; Birds Eye Foods; and the Gymnastics Training Center.
He has received other citations from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, ECAC-SIDA, BCSIDA, Women In Communications, and the Rochester Press-Radio Club.
Albright and wife Dorothy are kept busy with the activities of their three daughters (Jessica, Rebecca and Kasey), a significant other, and two sons-in-laws ((Ben, Mike and Jake) and two grandchildren (Jenna and Grace).