Written by: Brandon Wells
Over 150 attendees came to Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, TN for the 2020 Tennessee Athletic Trainers Society Annual Meeting and Symposium. The two-day event brought a jammed packed schedule aimed to educate, innovate, recognize, and provide advancement of the athletic training profession. Thank you to all our great speakers who came to educate us:
Colby Mangum, Ph.D, ATC
Justin Tatman, MA, LAT, ATC
Stephanie Wise, MS, LAT, ATC, CSCS
Nick Heebner, Ph.D, ATC
Jennifer Ross, E-RYT 500, YACEP
Jennifer Novack, MS, CSCS
Ian Huff, DO
Toni Torres-McGehee, Ph.D, ATC
Edward Strapp, FP-C, NRP, LAT, ATC
Eric Fuchs, LAT, ATC, AEMT, SMTC
Alex Diamond, DO, MPH, FAAP
Ashley Goodman, Ph.D, LAT, ATC
Tiffany Harrison, MS, RD, CSSD, LDN
Susan Rozzi, Ph.D, ATC, SCAT
Timothy Neal, MS, ATC, CCISM
The highlight of TATS 2020 was the Awards and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Congratulations to all our awards winners!
HALL OF FAME – Mike Van Bruggen, MS, LAT, AEMT
PRESIDENTS’ AWARD OF MERIT – Matt Rappe, MD. Knoxville Orthopaedic Clinic
SPORTS MEDICINE PERSON OF THE YEAR – Paul Naylor, MD. Tennessee Orthopaedic Clinic
JOE WORDEN CLINIC/PROFESSIONAL ATHLETIC TRAINER OF THE YEAR -_Alon Madden, LAT, ATC. Campbell Clinic
EUGENE SMITH/MICKEY O’BRIEN COLLEGE ATHLETIC TRAINER OF THE YEAR – Matt Cahoon, DAT, LAT, ATC. Carson-Newman University
SANDY SANDLIN HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC TRAINER OF THE YEAR – Robbie Williams, LAT, ATC. Girls Preparatory School, Center for Sports Medicine and Orthopaedics
JERRY ROBERTSON EDUCATOR AWARD – Benito Valasquez, DA, LAT, ATC. Lincoln Memorial University
BACKBONE OF THE YEAR – Larry Reynolds, MS, LAT, ATC. University of Memphis
CORPORATE AWARD WINNER- Tom “Rocky” Rokovitz. Henry Schein, INC.
GRADUATE ATHLETIC TRAINING STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP AWARD – Cassandra Peck, LAT, ATC. Trevecca Nazarene University
ATHLETIC TRAINING STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP AWARD – Bailey Griffin, Middle Tennessee State University
Additional awards information can be found at https://www.tnata.org/honors-award
The keynote speaker was NATA Hall of Fame member Lindsy McLean. McLean is a Retired Athletic Trainer and a former Head Athletic Trainer for the San Francisco 49ers, University of Michigan, San Jose State University, and UC Santa Barbara. McLean’s Keynote speech was titled “The Best is Yet to come (Creating Monstrosities Isn’t All Bad)…..Reflections on 61 years of NATA Membership.”
If you missed his speech, you can view it here: https://www.icloud.com/photos/#03ADcFFdwY0rOiLCNnvt3a-vQ
Lastly, a big “Thank you” to NCATA for the Bojangles chicken biscuits and Cheerwine from our friendly miles competition. We’ll be coming for you again this year!
