SAMMY

This weekend I had the privilege of being the guest speaker at the SAMMY awards, hosted by USA Today and Body By Milk, the makers of the Got Milk? Ads.  The event was in Disney World, and I had a blast!  SAMMY stands for Student-Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year, and its award given to only 25 seniors nationwide, seniors who represent the best student-athletes in the country.  All of these students are incredibly well rounded and give so much back to their communities, it was an honor just to be a part of it.   The athletes receive a scholarship, a trip to Disney World, and appear in an ad for milk in ESPN the Magazine and USA Today.  Oh yeah- and did I mention I won this award in 2002?  lol  Not only did I speak at their welcome reception, I also got to know many of the student-athletes and attended shared fireworks and dessert with them and their families at Epcot.  It was truly a great experience and I had a lot of fun and everyone should look out for these superstars- cause they're amazing!

As part of my speaking, I created a poem about the SAMMY winners, and I promised them I would post it here on my blog. So here it is:

So you graduated from high school and thought you were done,

4 years of hard work, now look what you’ve won!

Winning a SAMMY award is a quite a big deal,

I’m sure you’ve pinched yourself, not believing its real.

There’s 25 of you all, so let’s break it down for the masses,

So we can applaud what you’ve done on the fields and in your classes.

SAMMY winners come from all over this great nation, our homeland,

Zak Aossey hails from Texas, where everything is grand.

Lauren Boden from Georiga, reppin’ the A,

Kansas is the home state of the one and only, Casey McVay.

Celeste Hoelzl hails from CT- home of my Olympic teammate,

Katherine Skinner from NY- my new residing state.

Mary Bennion from Oregon with a coastline so great,

And Eric Steingruber of Idaho, who’s zip code starts with 8.

David Daines of Utah, home of a bobsled run,

While Alexandra Geesey surfs in Florida, which sounds like lots of fun.

Can’t forget Ashley Vandolah of Montanta- I’ll be there very soon!

Lauren Peterson sings Beautiful Nebraska, as that’s her state’s tune.

SAMMY winners compete in all sorts of sports,

 You’ll find Annie Rempel starring on the tennis courts.

Tevin Hood and Ellie McCardwell hold it down for cheerleaders,

And 11 of you run track at various distances and meters.

You’ve got Nicholas Hadorn of motor cross fame,

Emma Lucken and Amanda Hall call skiing their game.

Speaking of games can you leave out Aleksandr Golovin with chess?

While Hannah Fitton proves she’s one of swimming’s best.

Leah Coats and Kyle Pollock spend their winters on wrestling mats,

While Stetson Thacker spends his spring swinging baseball bats.

James Matthew Mackovjak and Wynton El both enjoy a day on the pitch,

And Shelby Lawson proves that basketball’s her niche.

I haven’t covered everything about you as there’s so much more to say,

But I don’t want to ruin the surprise because you’ve got icebreaker games to play.

So congrats on your SAMMY award- this is a moment to remember.

And remember your time at Disney World, during your first college finals in December.


If you are a senior and would like to apply for a SAMMY award, visit http://www.bodybymilk.com/sammy_scholarship.php