College Sports Information Directors of America

Related Content
• 2021 Special Awards Announcements and Features
• 2020 Special Awards Announcements and Features
• #CoSIDA21 Virtual Convention Home
• Past Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award Recipients

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Special note: Due to the cancelation of the in-person 2020 and 2021 conventions, our CoSIDA Special Awards winners from those two years are being honored online this year. Leading up to our 2021 June Convention, we will honor many of them via video tributes and interviews. Along with video interviews, you also will find links to the recipients' feature stories and photo galleries.

An interview with the 2021 and 2020 Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award Recipients

Inteview with Kenisha Rhone – 2019 Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award recipient

• See below to read more about 2021 winner Chris Mitchell of Granite City School District
• Click here for a feature on 2020 winner Patrick Walsh of Little Rock 

Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award
Presented annually to a CoSIDA member for civic involvement, community service and accomplishments within and/or outside of the sports information profession. Voted on by the Special Awards Committee.
 


Chris Mitchell – Granite City School District, Manager of District Communications

2021 Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award

by Jeremy Rosenthal – Indiana University, Assistant Director of Strategic Communications
 
Give back to those that have given to you.
 
Those are words that Chris Mitchell lives by.
 
Those that know Chris, know those are words he embodies.
 
"Sometimes many of us get consumed with work and find it hard to commit to doing for others, but not Chris,” noted Ann King, Sage College Director of Athletic Communications. “Not only has he continued to make our CoSIDA community both active and involved, but he continues to engage our members to be more involved and passionate about making a difference. He pushes each and every one of us to do more and help those in our communities that are in need.”
 
That is why Chris is deserving of CoSIDA’s 2021 Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award. This honor is given annually to a CoSIDA member for civic involvement, community service and accomplishments within and/or outside of the sports information profession. This is the second major CoSIDA honor for Mitchell/ In 2018, he was selected the Warren Berg Award recipient, an annual honor given to a college division member making outstanding contributions to the field of sports information.
 
 
Mitchell has been a member of the CoSIDA Goodwill and Wellness Committee since 2009 and served as the chair of the committee for five years.
 
Mitchell said one of the memorable projects with the committee was the CoSIDA convention service project on shoe distribution with Samaritans Feet along with a basketball skills clinic. Through donations, the CoSIDA membership provided new shoes to over 200 kids from low-income households. 
 
“It’s really nice to be able to give back to people and see the smiles on their faces,” Mitchell said. “That is one of the reasons I like to give back.”
 
Current CoSIDA president and former chair of the Goodwill and Wellness Committee Sam Atkinson had this to say about Mitchell.
 
"Chris Mitchell has been a leader and champion of giving back and promoting a healthy lifestyle,” Atkinson said. “His passion for the CoSIDA Goodwill and Wellness committee is obvious. Chris is a natural leader, who has given a ton of his time to steer this committee and push it to great heights. I have always been impressed by Chris's dedication to the athletic communications profession and his selflessness to volunteer his time to help others.”
 
After establishing a relationship with Samaritans Feet, Mitchell brought it back and coordinated a service project in his hometown of Granite City, Illinois.
 
For Mitchell, who served at Washington University in St. Louis until assuming his new communications position in his hometown of Granite City, Illinois, his involvement of community service goes well beyond his involvement in CoSIDA.
 
Mitchell is an active member of the Rotary in Granite City. Recently Mitchell observed that the landscaping around a park entrance that was donated by the club needed work. Mitchell purposed that the group cancel their meeting and clean it up. The group spent a couple hours together and transformed the park entrance.
 
Mitchell volunteers his time to help with the Granite City Sports Hall of Fame and the McKendree Sports Hall of Fame, where Mitchell was inducted in 2019.
 
The work of Mitchell has been noticed by his friends and colleagues across the country.
 
"Chris Mitchell is all about others,” stated Jeffrey Bernstein, Sports Information Director at New York University. “He devoted a two-decade career in sports information to not only helping student-athletes, but also reaching out for numerous charitable causes. His commitment through CoSIDA to people in need took up lots and lots of time and effort, but he always did it with love and compassion. A true gentleman and an outstanding human being. This profession is in such a better place due to his contributions."   
 
Cindy Potter, Senior Deputy Director of Athletics at Columbia College (Missouri) added the following
 
“There is truly no one more deserving of this honor than Chris,” said Potter, who serves as CoSIDA’s First Vice President. “He is the type of friend and colleague that lends a helping hand before anyone even asks. Chris goes out of his way to make sure others feel supported and that is extremely evident after witnessing all the work he has done for the Goodwill and Wellness Committee.
 
Chris has such a positive outlook on life and can turn any situation into an enjoyable moment. I’m forever grateful for his leadership in CoSIDA and honored to call him a friend.”
 
One of Mitchell’s biggest memories as chair of the Goodwill and Wellness Committee was putting together videos from the charity 5K run and community service project held at the convention cities and being able to present it to the CoSIDA members at the convention.
 
“I have so many great memories from that time as chair of the committee,” Mitchell said.  “There are so many good people on that committee that love to give back and some of my best friends in CoSIDA are on that committee.”
 
For Mitchell is has always been about making a difference.
 
“To receive an honor related to community service is very important to me and to be recognized by my peers means a lot,” Mitchell said. “I don’t do what I do to be recognized, I just want to help make a difference. That has been the moto of my life, trying to make a difference.”
 
Chris Mitchell has without a doubt succeeded in making a difference.