***News Release***
Fellowship of Christian Athletes Welcomes Hall of Champions Honorees to Kansas City
Class of 2017 Gathers for a Time of Fellowship, Inspiration and Gratitude
KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Inductees into the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ (FCA, www.fca.org) Hall of Champions recently gathered with their family members and the FCA family at the National Support Center in Kansas City for the Hall of Champions Induction Ceremony.
The May 9 event welcomed the Class of 2017 for induction into the Hall of Champions. These honorees have worked tirelessly to further the FCA vision: to see the world transformed by Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes. FCA Hall of Champions honorees over the years have consisted of a mix of coaches, athletes and volunteers, including sports greats such as Bobby Bowden, Tony Dungy, Tom Landry, FCA founder Don McClanen, Tom Osborne, Branch Rickey, Roger Staubach, John Wooden and Kay Yow, just to name a few.
“What an amazing time it was to welcome this impressive group of Hall of Champions inductees to our home in Kansas City,” said FCA President and CEO Shane Williamson. “These wonderful individuals have not only made contributions to the sports they love, but to the communities and teams to which they are committed. We are so thankful for the contributions to sports and to Jesus Christ through FCA, as we honored our inductees and brought them together in one location to fellowship, reminisce and bond over their service to the Lord through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.”
On Wednesday, the Class of 2017 was officially inducted at a ceremony attended by FCA leaders, staff and volunteers. These servant-leaders, Dan Boyd, Heather Goodrich, Dave Krider, Dan Wooldridge and the late Ken Sparks, who was honored in a separate ceremony shortly before his death last year, gathered for a time of fellowship, inspiration and gratitude.
Dan Boyd has served FCA as a board member in Colorado for more than 50 years. He is currently the State Advisory Board Chairman and also served for six years on the National Board of Trustees. Boyd first became involved in FCA as a student-athlete in the late 1950s. Although Boyd never played professionally, he was a decorated high school athlete. Along with a sterling reputation as an entrepreneur and business leader in the Denver community, he served as an officer in the Navy and has been the champion of the Denver Athletic Club Racquetball Tournament regularly. Boyd and his wife, Gay, live in Englewood, Colorado.
Known in FCA circles as “Momma G,” Heather Goodrich has been immersed in FCA for nearly her entire life, serving as a volunteer, Huddle Leader and board member. Goodrich was influential through FCA at Rising Starr Middle School and Starr’s Mill High School in Fayetteville, Georgia. After Goodrich moved to Delaware, she became a powerhouse advocate for FCA in the community of Fenwick as well. Goodrich was also known to encourage graduating high school seniors to start FCA on their college campuses or in their communities. Goodrich and her husband, Kent, reside in Fenwick Island, Delaware.
For more than 50 years as a sports writer, Dave Krider pioneered prep sports’ national prominence and has a place in eight halls of fame for sports writing, penning articles for USA Today, Sports Illustrated and Max Preps. A 42-year FCA Huddle Coach in Indiana, Krider also volunteered at FCA Camps. He embraced FCA’s vision and began praying for his town to start a Huddle at La Porte High School (LPHS), which launched in October 1975. Krider’s deep passion for Jesus, sports and kids uniquely combined to establish a ministry he’s led for the past four decades. He and his wife, Lois, who has co-led the FCA Huddle at LPHS for the past 30 years, reside in La Porte.
Dan Wooldridge serves as a Roanoke Valley FCA Board Member in Virginia, and he and his wife, Nancy, were one of the three families to establish Roanoke Valley FCA in 1964. Wooldridge pioneered sending student-athletes to FCA Camps and Bible studies, and also established the Roanoke Valley Wide FCA Breakfast that united high schools throughout region. A three-sport standout in college, Wooldridge played professional baseball and coached high school sports and went on to serve as a scout for NFL officials and a consultant for ACC football. He was also chosen to be one of two referees from the United States to officiate the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. The Wooldridges live in Roanoke.
Ken Sparks, who passed away March 29, 2017, was honored this past winter for his FCA Hall of Champions induction during the Carson-Newman (Tennessee) Football Championship Coaching Clinic, an event for coaches and their spouses Sparks spearheaded for more than 30 years. The longtime Carson-Newman coach served as an ambassador for FCA around the country. He spoke at countless FCA coaching clinics, banquets and rallies, presenting the Gospel to his audiences and sharing his faith with his players and teams. He was also a recipient of the FCA Grant Teaff Coach of the Year Award and Grant Teaff Lifetime Achievement Award. Along with his wife, Carol, Sparks was a member of Manley Baptist Church of Morristown.
Further information about the most recent class, including a complete list of previous Hall of Champions inductees, may be found at FCA’s Hall of Champions page.
Past FCA Hall of Champions honorees have included Olympic gold medal-winning softball player Leah O’Brien Amico; Ken Marks, who served FCA in Texas for decades as a Huddle sponsor and board member; retired NBA star Bobby Jones; daughter of evangelist Billy Graham, Anne Graham Lotz, as well as her husband, Danny Lotz; Frank Kelly III, who was instrumental in the success of FCA Lacrosse; Kathy Malone Sparks, who has been a champion for FCA for decades; Florida State University women’s basketball coach Sue Semrau; Donn Moomaw, one of the original FCA organizers and past board president; 1987 Masters Champion Larry Mize; member of the of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Bob Lilly; Olympic track legend Madeline Manning Mims; Albert Long Jr., considered one of the greatest athletes in University of North Carolina sports history; eight-time Boston Marathon champion Jean Driscoll; former Cleveland Browns quarterback Otto Graham; Dr. O.K. Bailey, who helped create the Northern Louisiana FCA; two-time PGA Tour champion Larry Nelson; NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Mike Singletary; Morley Fraser, who used his influence as a popular NCAA Division III football and baseball coach to impact hundreds of athletes with the gospel; FCA charter member and Major League Baseball player Carl Erskine; NFL standout Steve Largent; and three-time LPGA Player of the Year Betsy King, among dozens of others.
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes Hall of Champions was established in 1991, and 101 godly coaches and athletes plus board members and volunteers have received this special tribute. They make up a group of FCA servant-leaders who have faithfully served Christ through the avenue of FCA. Their commitment to the Lord’s work has impacted millions over the years. They are a body of teammates in Christ who have demonstrated a consistent commitment to the support of FCA, nominated by staff and board members and elected by a selection committee.
Criteria for the Hall of Champions nominations include: a personal belief in and commitment to Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord; a demonstrated commitment to participate in the ministry of FCA; a commitment to further FCA’s purpose; an involvement FCA ministry; a lengthy period of consistent service (minimum of 10 years); a personal involvement in the world of sport; not an FCA staff person (FCA’s Hall of Honor is for both past and current staff); and not a current member of FCA’s National Board of Trustees.
Read more about Fellowship of Christian Athletes here, visit FCA’s web site at www.fca.org, its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/fcafans or its Twitter feed @fcanews.
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