January 19, 2005
January 19, 2005 - New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. announced today that Woodrow Wilson High School from Camden, NJ has been named the winner of the Sixth Annual $10,000 New Balance Marty Glickman Award. Suffern High School's track program from Suffern, NY, was selected as runner-up, earning a $5,000 award.
The award, which pays homage to the deceased track star, legendary sports broadcaster and humanitarian Marty Glickman, will be given during a special ceremony at the Tenth Annual New Balance Games on Saturday, January 22 at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armory in Upper Manhattan.
The New Balance Marty Glickman Award was established by New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. in 1999 to recognize outstanding achievement in academics, school spirit, team enthusiasm, and community service. The award is part of New Balance's ongoing support of grassroots youth athletics.
"It is an honor to present the 2005 New Balance Marty Glickman Award to such worthy track and field programs as those at Woodrow Wilson High School and Suffern High School," said Paul Heffernan, Executive Vice President, Global Marketing, Design, and Development. "Marty personified the 'Achieve New Balance' philosophy that recognizes the importance of perseverance and success on and off the playing field."
In addition to a cumulative grade point average of 3.26 out of 4.00, Woodrow High School's community service achievements include volunteering their time every summer to the Special Olympics, as well as assisting with the Browning Ross Winter and Summer Series 5K races. Woodrow Wilson High School plans to use the scholarship money to purchase much-needed equipment, to create a weight room facility, and to help fund the creation/renovation of a new track which is currently in very poor condition.
Suffern High School also excelled in the academic arena, however the students' level of community service activity was particularly noteworthy. Suffern High School's track program recently raised $3,300 for Relay for Life, a signature event of the American Cancer Society. Additionally, individual members of both the boys and girls track team are very active in the community and have donated their time to various charities and community service projects including Meals on Wheels, Toys for Tots, St. Jude's Hospital and Youth Against Cancer. Suffern High School plans to use the award to help offset costs for travel to various meets, and to fund the purchase of much-needed new track and field uniforms.
Glickman, a New York native who passed away at age 83 on January 3, 2001, was a Hall of Fame sports broadcaster. He was the mentor for several top sports announcers, including Bob Costas and Marv Albert. Prior to his broadcasting career, Glickman was a standout runner (as well as an All-East halfback) at Syracuse University. A member of the 1936 Olympic 4x100 meter relay team, Glickman was unable to compete in the Games in Berlin due to his religious background. In 1999, the United States Olympic Committee presented Glickman with a plaque to recognize the fact that he was denied his place on the gold medal sprint relay team because he was Jewish. During his 55-year sports broadcast career, Glickman was the voice of the New York Knicks, the New York Giants and the New York Jets.
Glickman cited his achievements at Brooklyn's James Madison High School as the springboard to his future successes, which is one reason New Balance established the award in his honor. During both his junior and senior years, he was the indoor and outdoor City and State Champion in the 100-yard dash, as well as the National Scholastic Sprint Champion in his senior year.
In addition to the Marty Glickman Award, New Balance will present seven additional awards at the New Balance Games. The $1,000 Armory Prep Team Award goes to Washington Irvine High School which has made it a point to consistently tie education and athletics together. They have had 100% of their track team attend the Armory Prep Program since its inception, which helps students prepare and apply for college. Two $1,000 Armory Prep Diligence Awards go to Mt. St. Michaels Academy and East New York Transit Technical High School. This award benefits two high school teams who, despite facing budgetary challenges, found a way to attend this year's New Balance Games. And finally the four Armory Prep Academic All-Star Awards of laptop computers go to Steve Delice of Sheepshead Bay High School, Andre Easton of Mt. St. Michael's Academy, Denise Jones of Dewitt Clinton High School, and Sasha Barrett of Harry Truman High School. These four high school students have become productive members of their community, have been model students in the classroom, and have volunteered their services to the school in general.
New Balance, headquartered in Boston, MA, is a leading manufacturer of technologically innovative width-sized performance footwear and athletic apparel for women, men, and children. The range of product categories includes running, walking, cross training, basketball, tennis, adventure, and kids. Dunham joined the New Balance family in Fall 1998. Dunham an outdoor performance brand known for its technologies, innovations and development of footwear that is lightweight, comfortable and inspired by the world outside. New Balance acquired the rights to the PF Flyers brand in February 2000. First introduced in 1937 by the B.F. Goodrich Company, PF Flyers was re-launched in Spring 2003 as an authentic brand of active casual footwear. Aravon® comfort performance brand footwear debuted in January 2004 as an unsurpassed blend of fit, comfort, support and style. In early 2004, New Balance acquired Warrior Lacrosse, widely recognized as the world's most cutting edge manufacturer of lacrosse equipment, after introducing the Warrior Burn by New Balance lacrosse shoe. New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. employs more than 2,600 people around the globe, and in 2003 reported worldwide sales of $1.3 billion. For more information please visit http://www.newbalance.com.
