Vote for top 2014-15 Haier Achievement Award recipient begining Friday, March 6
Georgia Tech's Alex Grady has earned the eighth the final Haier Achievement Award (below) of 2014-15. Beginning on Friday, March 6, Haier is inviting fans to vote online at http://achieve.haieramerica.com for the Haier Ultimate Achievement Award winner who will earn his/her school a $5,000 donation to the general scholarship fund and a Haier 48-inch LED HD television.
Additionally, all fans who vote will be entered into a drawing to win a Haier 48-inch LED HD TV.
WAYNE, NJ & ATLANTA, GA – MAR. 2, 2015 —
Alex Grady, a sophomore on the Georgia Tech men’s cross country and track and field team, has been selected as a recipient of the eighth and final
Haier Achievement Award, which is presented to deserving student-athletes for their accomplishments beyond sports.
The announcement of the eighth
Haier Achievement Award being presented this year was made by John Homlish, senior vice president, Digital Living Business Unit for Haier America, one of the world’s leading television and appliance manufacturers, and Doug Vance, Executive Director of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
“The Haier Achievement Award program brings to light those student-athletes who have achieved success beyond sports,” said Homlish. “By recognizing inspiring student-athletes like Alex we hope to further motivate other young people to achieve and succeed both on and off the field. We were especially impressed that Alex, just a sophomore, already has such a strong commitment to helping others.”
Grady, a graduate of Newton High School in Gulfport, Mississippi where he was the valedictorian of his graduating class, is majoring in mechanical engineering. He was one of six Georgia Tech student-athletes to receive the ACC Top Six for Service Award in 2014. In less than two years he has amassed more than 210 community service hours volunteering for many groups including Peachtree Academy where he helps students with concepts and put in more than 60 hours reading and editing essays written by students for scholarship applications. In additional he has assisted with the Georgia Tech SAAB’s Michael Isenhour Toy Drive and the “Thank-a-Thon,” organized by the Student-Athlete Advisory Board and Alexander-Tharpe Fund where student-athletes thanked donors for their support
A distance runner for the Yellow Jackets cross country and track and field teams, he competed in all six cross country meets in 2014. Grady placed third at the Florida Mountain Dew Invitational with a career-best 8K time of 25:07 and in the ACC Championships where he ran an impressive 25:21. He finished fifth at the NCAA South Regional with a career best 10K time of 32.31. On the track, Grady competed in three meets this indoor season thus far in three events – the mile, 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters.
“I am very honored and blessed to receive the Haier Achievement Award. However, my work is far from done. If I can help just one more person to realize their true potential, I have done my part in truly making a difference in a lifetime,” said Grady.
“Alex is a wonderful young man and very deserving of this honor. Being a mechanical engineer and a Division I student-athlete are huge commitments. That Alex devotes so much of his valuable free time to give back to others speaks to his great character, and is a tremendous example of servant leadership,” said Georgia Tech head cross country coach and track distance coach Alan Drosky.
Haier will officially recognize Grady with a plaque and certificate during at an upcoming Georgia Tech sporting event. In addition, Haier will donate $2,000 to the Georgia Tech general scholarship fund and award a Haier 48-inch LED HD television to the school’s athletic department.
Here are the other seven Haier Achievement Award winners for 2014-15:
•
Elisha Hande (North Carolina State University) - a three-year member of the women’s tennis team who maintains a 4.0 GPA with a major in economics
and a minor in German and has been honored for her work in the community;
) - a football player that is active in the community through Big Brothers, Big Sisters and is a three-time Academic All-Big 12 Second Team honoree
• Richie Suarez (Rowan University) - overcame a diagnosis of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Avascular Necrosis (AVN) by undergoing 40 months of treatment to prove the doctors wrong and take the mound for the Rowan baseball team for his junior and senior seasons;
• Alysssa Brandt (DeSales University) – a three-year member of the women’s soccer team and four-year track & field athlete has gone on medical missions to help the less fortunate in Haiti, Hondouras and Ghana since she was 15-years-old;
• Averee Fields (West Virginia University) – the captain of the women’s basketball team has earned All-Academic honors every year and done extensive work in the community with numerous local organizations including Stepping Stones for special needs individuals.
• Corey Petros (Oakland University) – starting center for the men’s basketball team and four-time Academic Honor Roll selection currently working towards his MBA who is very active in volunteering his time to literacy programs throughout Michigan.
• Angela Lowak (Texas A&M University) - a junior volleyball co-Captain is active in numerous campus organizations and has volunteered her time at many local, national and international projects including
Adventures and Missions to help people in AIDS-stricken Swaziland.
Student-athletes from all sports, all schools, and all divisions were eligible for the Haier Achievement Award which began during the fall of 2014.
Again, beginning Friday,, March 6, fans can vote online at
http://achieve.haieramerica.com for the
Haier Ultimate Achievement Award winner from the eight honorees listed above. The Ultimate Achievement Award winner will earn his/her school a $5,000 donation to the general scholarship fund and a Haier 48-inch LED HD television. Additionally, all fans who vote will be entered into a drawing to win a Haier 48-inch LED HD TV.
About Haier
Haier America (
www.haier.com/us/) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Haier Group, the world’s No. 1 major appliance brand as ranked by Euromonitor International 2014, and a global leader in consumer electronics. Haier employs more than 70,000 people around the world and distributes products in more than 100 countries and regions with global revenues reaching $32.1 billion in 2013.
About CoSIDA
CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America,
www.cosida.com) was founded in 1957 and is a 3,000-plus member national organization comprised of sports public relations, media relations and communications/information professionals throughout all levels of collegiate athletics in the U.S. and Canada. CoSIDA has two primary missions: 1) Assist communications and public relations professionals at all collegiate levels with professional development and continuing education, 2) Play a significant leadership and resource role within the overall collegiate athletics enterprise, thus helping other management groups and their respective memberships deal with the set of communications-based issues that is the most complex and challenging in history.