by Jack Neumann (University of Calgary), CoSIDA Hall of Famer see also: May 17, 2010:
2010 CoSIDA Awards: Seven to be honored for Lifetime Achievement
CALGARY, Alberta, Canada - Former longtime University of Toronto Sports Information Director
Paul Carson will become the first Canadian to receive the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Lifetime Achievement Award.
Carson will receive the honor at the CoSIDA Convention kickoff luncheon on Monday, July 5, at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis in San Francisco, Calif., site of this year's workshop.
The CoSIDA Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to members who have served a minimum of 25 years in the profession and have retired or left the profession.
A 1967 graduate of the University of Toronto, Carson worked at the U of T for more than 40 years, including serving as sports information director for 26 years prior to being executive assistant to Dr. Bruce Kidd, the dean of faculty of physical education and health, for 11 years. Carsoon retired from the university on June 30, 2009.
Professionally, Carson was and remains a leader in the profession. He was instrumental in forming of the Canadian Association of Sports Information Directors (ACUSID) in 1980, serving as the organization’s president from 1989 through 1994.
Carson has been an active member of CoSIDA, attending and participating in numerous workshops. In addition he served on a wide spectrum of committees. For the past six years, Carson has been and remains a member of the Workshop Program Committee that establishes and implements the professional program for the annual Workshop. In 2004 he served as assistant chairperson for the 2004 CoSIDA Workshop held in Calgary, the only time the workshop has been held outside the continental United States.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is Carson’s second recognition from CoSIDA. In 2004, along with University of Calgary Sports Information Director Jack Neumann, he received the CoSIDA 25-Year Award that is presented to members who served the profession for 25 years. He and Neumann are the only Canadians to have been accorded the honor.
In recognition of his dedicated service to the University of Toronto, the Paul Carson Student Leadership Award was created in 2009 for annual presentation to a deserving student on the basis of leadership and involvement on an athletic varsity team and/or demonstrated administrative leadership, and academic achievement.
Carson was the media officer for The Vanier Cup University Football Championship - Canada's largest single-day annual amateur sporting event - for 18 years, most recently serving in the role in 2003. He also was the media officer for The University Cup - the CIS Men's Ice Hockey Championship Tournament - for seven years, last serving in the role in 1994.
He was coordinating SID for 27 Canadian national university championships hosted by the University of Toronto from 1973-96 and in 2001 was the assistant chief - media for Canada at the World University (FISU) Games in Beijing.
For the past 12 years, Carson has lived in London, Ontario, with his wife Dawn Munday, a senior academic counselor at the University of Western Ontario who also recently announced her retirement.