Chris Manfredonia is presented the NIAAA State Award of Merit from President Dan Scavone at the CAAD Awards Banquet on March 26.

Betty Remigino-Knapp accepts the Distinguished Service Award from President Dan Scavone at the CAAD Awards Banquet on March 26.

Essay Grant recipients (left to right): Alexander Ostberg, Darien; Jennifer Jacobs, Tolland; Gabrielle Richichi, New Fairfield; Ken Tenan, Bristol; Margarete Calmar, Stonington; and, Dan Schemetterling, Simsbury

Brian Fell (right) accepts the Past President Award from current President Dan Scavone at the CAAD Statewide Athletic Director’s Conference Awards Banquet on March 26 at the Sheraton Hartford South Hotel and Conference Center in Rocky Hill.

Mark Snyder is pictured with CAAD President Dan Scavone accepting the Robert Duncanson “Meritorious Service Award” on March 26 at the organization’s awards banquet.

By Fred Balsamo, Executive Director

On March 26-27, 2015, over 216 athletic directors and 61 exhibitors attended the 31st Annual CT Association of Athletic Directors (CAAD) Conference at the Rocky Hill Sheraton in Rocky Hill, Connecticut. This conference continues to be one of the most valuable professional development experiences for athletic directors, whether they are 25-year veterans or brand new to the profession. On the evening of Wednesday, March 25th, we offered two NIAAA LTC professional development courses. On Thursday, March 26th, the day began for the high school AD’s with the CIAC staff delivering a 2-hour workshop on the current rules and regulations governing our sports. Concurrently, the middle school attendees were in workshops dealing with middle schools issues and round table topics. The keynote speaker later that day was Billy “White Shoes” Johnson who spoke about what it took for a little guy to make it in the NFL, driving home the message of not letting anyone stand in the way of one’s dreams. There were three “nuts and bolts” workshops given that afternoon dealing with legal issues, using apps and Twitter, and retirement planning. The night concluded with the annual awards banquet where CAAD honored four outstanding individuals for their service to the students of Connecticut. Betty Remigino-Knapp, the athletic administrator for the West Hartford School District, received CAAD’s highest honor with the Distinguished Service Award. Merit Awards were given to Chris Manfredonia from Darien High School and Mark Snyder of AI Prince Technical High School. The CAAD past president, Brian Fell, was recognized for his tenure leading the organization. Additionally, we recognized four outstanding students from Connecticut who were recipients of the NIAAA Scholarship Essay Grant. Gabrielle Richichi from New Fairfield and Ken Tenan of Bristol won top honors and will advance to the regional competition. Other finalists included Jennifer Jacobs (Tolland), Margarete Calmar (Stonington), Alex Ostberg (Darien), and Dan Schemetterling (Simsbury). On Friday, March 27th, Olympic Medalist Rod Dixon spoke about motivating young people. The rest of the morning included the unveiling of this year’s new coaching education module 20 – “Sportsmanship & Citizenship.” Every CAAD member in attendance was trained as a statewide faculty member licensed to teach this course to his/her own staff. The day wrapped up with a closing general meeting hosted by CAAD president Dan Scavone followed by a league-based door prize drawing which concluded the conference on a festive note.

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Conference Evaluation (based on 4.0 being the highest score)
Once again, the conference evaluations were extremely favorable and many thanks go out to everyone who helped in the planning and coordination. We continue to improve the conference in many areas which I didn’t think was possible. Scores this high demonstrate CAAD’s commitment to excellence and provide a tremendous challenge for years to come. The results of the conference evaluations are as follows:

1. Conference Registration: 3.95
2. Conference Format: 3.9
3. Conference Organization & Details: 3.95
4. Hotel Service: 3.9
5. Hotel Accommodations: 3.8
6. Hotel Meals – Thursday lunch: 3.75; Thursday banquet: 3.9; Friday breakfast: 3.9; Friday lunch: 3.9
7. CIAC Workshop: 3.6; Middle School Workshop: 3.8
8. CAAD Annual Meeting: 3.8
9. General Session (Johnson): 3.1
10. Workshops – Legal: 3.8; Apps: 3.8; Retirement: 3.7
11. Awards Banquet: 3.9
12. Breakfast Meeting (Dixon): 3.4
13. Statewide Faculty: 3.7
14. Closing Meeting: 3.8