Dec 15, 2006
Rusty Lee Recognized by NIAAA

The Distinguished Service Award is presented annually to individuals from within the NIAAA membership, as well as those outside the field of athletic administration, in recognition of their length of service, special accomplishments and contributions to interscholastic athletics at the local, state and national levels. Nominations are submitted by state athletic director associations, screened by the NIAAA Awards Committee, and selected by the NIAAA Board of Directors.

Long considered as one of the outstanding athletic administrators in North Carolina, Rusty Lee, CAA, of Greensboro (North Carolina) Page High School is making a major impact on the local, state and national levels.

Over the past 16 years, Lee has been host/coordinator of tournaments in the sports of baseball, tennis, golf and basketball. From 2002 to 2004, he was president of the Metro 4A Conference, and he served four years on both the Metro 4A Scheduling Committee and Constitution Committee. In addition, he has served on the Greensboro City Recreation Department Athletic Advisory Board for five years.

Within the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association (NCADA), Lee was a Board of Directors member from 1995 to 1998, and served as the organization's secretary, vice president and president. Since the inception of the NIAAA Leadership Training Program, he has been the North Carolina training coordinator, and has taught at least one course during both the NCADA's spring and summer conferences. A presenter at several NCADA conferences, Lee has coordinated the Summer Conference Breakfast 12 times, and currently is a mentor in the NCADA mentoring program.

Lee has been equally involved with the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA), where he served as chairman of its sectional basketball committee, and as director of the Midwest 4A tennis and golf regional tournaments. He also has been a member of the NCHSAA "Fireside Chat Committee," and served as coordinator of the Region 5 Student-athlete Summer Institute.

A member of the NIAAA Publications Committee since 2000, Lee is a committee vice chairman. He has been a regular attendee of the National Conference of High School Directors of Athletics, and has been a presenter at two conferences. Lee is a member of the National Teaching Faculty, and is vice chairman of LTC 502. In addition, he has been an NIAAA delegate three times.