It's 'Game On' for the 17th Annual Wendy's High School Heisman Award

/PRNewswire/ -- Wendy's® is looking for the next class of remarkable students who excel in academics, athletics and community involvement. Celebrating its 17th year, the 2010 Wendy's High School Heisman(TM) award application process is underway. Now through Oct. 3, 2010, eligible students (graduating class of 2011) can apply and submit their applications at www.WendysHeisman.com.

"I'm proud to be part of a program that honors young men and women who embody the spirit of the Heisman tradition of hard work, dedication and an outstanding record both on and off the field," said Archie Griffin, two-time collegiate Heisman Memorial Trophy winner (1974 - '75). "The Wendy's High School Heisman award recognizes those individuals who have put forth tremendous effort in the classroom, in sports and in the community to deliver excellence in all they do."

The Wendy's High School Heisman (WHSH) award is a joint program between Wendy's and the Heisman Memorial Trust, host of the Collegiate Heisman Memorial Trophy. Just as the Heisman is known for being the top award in college football, WHSH is known for being the most prominent award at the high school level. To date, more than 250,000 high school students have represented their schools.

The elite recognition of the WHSH award also gives students the leverage they need to shine on their college applications and stand apart from their peers in the competitive process. "Being recognized as the Wendy's High School Heisman Winner has opened so many doors for me and has reinforced my confidence in taking on whatever challenges and opportunities may arise," said Kyle Pollock, 2009 WHSH winner.

All eligible seniors may submit an application online through Oct. 3, 2010. The first 41,100 applicants will receive a Wendy's gift card randomly valued from $5 to $50. From the completed applications, one male and one female winner will be chosen to receive the Wendy's High School Heisman award. For more information, students can visit www.WendysHeisman.com, call (800) 205-6367 or contact their local high school principal, guidance counselor or athletic director. Students can also visit the WHSH fan page on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/wendyshighschoolheisman.

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Eagle's Landing Country Club Named '2010 Georgia Course of The Year' by Georgia Golf Course Owners Association

/PRNewswire/ -- Eagle's Landing Country Club in Stockbridge has been recognized by the Georgia Golf Course Owners Association (GGCOA) as the "2010 Course of the Year." Eagle's Landing Country Club, a member of the ClubCorp family of clubs since 2000, offers a 27-hole, Tom Fazio-designed Championship course.

"The criteria we use to determine the award includes outstanding quality of the course, outstanding quality of management and ownership, contribution to the game of golf, and contribution to the community," said Cindy Acree, executive director of the GGCOA. "Eagle's Landing excels in all of these areas and was the clear choice to receive this year's award."

Since 2003, significant improvements to the course have included the opening of the New Nine, a new irrigation system with pump station for improved efficiency, renovation of greens to A1/A4 Bentgrass, renovation of greenside bunkers, and cart path replacement on the Creek Nine. In addition, this year the club developed a creative and cost-effective solution to erosion control by utilizing old cart path materials to stabilize creek bank areas.

In the last 13 months, Eagle's Landing has added more than 180 golf members to its roster, which is a testament to overall golf course conditioning and member support. The golf member growth and the quality of the golf course position the club strongly for the future.

Russ Curtis, CCM, has served as general manager at Eagle's Landing since 2002 and is a past Board member of GGCOA and a current Board member of the Georgia Chapter of Club Managers Association of America (CMAA). Superintendent Cecil Smith, with Eagle's Landing since 1998, has been the superintendent since 2001 and is active in the GCSAA. Lisa Chase, who has served as membership director at the club for more than 11 years, had the strongest performance in the company against sales plan in 2009.

Eagle's Landing is the host club to Georgia State University Men's and Women's golf teams. In 2010, the club hosted Eagle's Landing High School and Eagle's Landing Christian Academy golf teams as well as a fundraising golf event for Union Grove High School. Director of Golf Rick Burkardt, Head Golf Professional Mark Hall, and Director of Instruction Cathy Mant all actively teach players at all levels. The club, highly regarded in the Georgia golf community, has served as the venue site for the LPGA Tour 15 times.

Since 2002, the club has hosted the annual Charity Ball, which has raised more than $230,000 in net proceeds for local charities. The ClubCorp Charity Classic, founded three years ago, to date has raised approximately $30,000 solely at Eagle's Landing for worthy charities. The club is holding its 2010 event Sept 24. In the 15 years of LPGA tournament history at Eagle's Landing, more than $7.5 million was given to charities. The club has established a Charity Selection Board, which decides on local charities that will benefit from the club's charitable events and strives to be a good community supporter.

As GGCOA Course of the Year, Eagle's Landing is eligible to be named the National Course of the Year. Award winners will also be recognized at the National Golf Course Owners Association Luncheon at the Golf Industry Show in February in Orlando. Former GGCOA Courses of the Year include East Lake, Cuscowilla, RiverPines, Hawks Ridge, and Barnsley Gardens.

In addition to Eagle's Landing, ClubCorp owns or operates eight Atlanta-area properties, including Laurel Springs Golf Club, Bear's Best Golf Club, and the recently acquired Country Club of the South.

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Gatorade(R) National Baseball Player of the Year: Kaleb Cowart

/PRNewswire/ -- In its 25th year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, today announced Kaleb Cowart of Cook High School (Adel, Ga.) as its 2009-10 Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year. Cowart was surprised with the news while he was taking a baseball team photo at Cook High School by 13-year Major League Baseball veteran Delino DeShields, also a Gatorade State Baseball Player of the Year as a high school senior.

"It felt great to surprise Kaleb with the Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year award and welcome him into one of the most prestigious legacy programs in high school sports," said DeShields, who stole 463 bases in his distinguished career, capping the 1997 season as the National League leader in triples. "Gatorade has been on the sidelines fueling athletic performance for years, so to be recognized by a brand that understands the game and truly helps athletes perform is a huge honor for these kids."

By claiming the 219th National Player of the Year trophy to be awarded in the program's 25-year history, Cowart joins two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard (2003-04, Southwest Atlanta Christian, Atlanta) and 2010 NCAA Final Four MVP Maya Moore (2006-07, Collins Hill, Suwanee), both of whom were ultimately named Gatorade High School Athletes of the Year, as the only high school athletes from the state of Georgia to earn Gatorade National Player of the Year recognition in any sport.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Cowart as the nation's best high school baseball player. A national advisory panel comprised of sport-specific experts and sports journalists helped select Cowart from more than 473,000 high school baseball players nationwide. Cowart is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year award, to be presented at a special afternoon ceremony prior to The ESPY Awards in July.

The 6-foot-3 1/2, 195-pound senior right-handed pitcher and switch-hitting third baseman led the Hornets (31-5) to the Class 2A best-of-three state championship series this season, where they handed eventual champion Calhoun High (35-1) its only loss of the year before falling, two games to one. Cowart finished 10-1 on the mound along with a save, posting a 1.05 ERA and collecting 116 strikeouts in 73 innings. At the plate, he batted .654 with 11 home runs, 59 RBIs and 55 runs scored, concluding his senior campaign with a 1.206 slugging percentage, a.721 on-base percentage and 36 stolen bases in 36 attempts. His 2010 batting average ranks second all-time in state history among single-season totals.

A 2009 Aflac All-American, Cowart is a three-time First Team All-State selection and is rated the nation's No. 6 prospect in the Class of 2010 by Perfect Game USA and No. 13 by Baseball America.

Cowart graduated with a 94.5 GPA in the classroom. He has volunteered in association with the Cook High Anchor Club, participating in service projects to assist needy local families and children as well as blood-donation drives and a literacy-outreach initiative for elementary-age students. He has also donated his time on behalf of his Fellowship Baptist Church. A past member of the Cook High Student Leadership Team, which facilitates freshman assimilation on campus, Cowart has also served as an Adel-Cook Recreation Department youth sports volunteer.

"I think Cowart has the chance to become the next Chipper Jones," said Cook High Head Coach Bob Owsley. "He has all the skill and tools it takes to succeed at a very high level. He's without a doubt the best player I have ever coached."

Cowart has signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball on scholarship at Florida State University this fall, but is projected as an early round selection in next week's Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

"Without question, Kaleb is deserving of recognition as the nation's best high school baseball player based on his statistics on the field and the impact his accomplishments have had on Cook High School's success," said Gatorade Senior Vice President of Sports Marketing Jennifer Storms. "But he is also a shining example to peers and aspiring young players of what a leader and a student-athlete should be. He represents everything we hope for in a Gatorade Player of the Year recipient."

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by ESPN RISE and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

To celebrate the award's 25th anniversary, Gatorade wants you to vote for the All-Time Greatest Baseball Player of the Year at www.gatorade.com/POY25. For more information on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a complete list of former winners, and future announcement dates, visit the Gatorade Player of the Year Web site at http://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com/, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GatoradePOY or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Gatorade.


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Vince Dooley To Receive Paul 'Bear' Bryant Lifetime Achievement Award

/PRNewswire / -- The Paul Bear Bryant Awards committee of the American Heart Association has announced that former University of Georgia Head Coach and Athletic Director, Vince Dooley has been named the 2010 recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dooley will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Paul Bear Bryant College Football Coaching Awards Dinner Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010 at the Omni Houston Hotel. The award recognizes excellence in coaching on and off the field during a career, allowing recipients to take their place in history alongside legends such as Bryant. Recent Lifetime Achievement recipients include Barry Switzer, Tom Osborne, and Glenn "Bo" Schembechler.

Dooley served as head football coach at the University of Georgia from December, 1963, to Jan. 1, 1988, and as Director of Athletics from 1979-2004. Dooley is the most successful coach in Georgia history. He guided the Bulldogs to a career record of 201-77-10 becoming only the ninth coach in NCAA Division I history to win over 200 games. The Bulldogs won one national championship (1980) and six SEC Championships under his direction. He took his teams to 20 Bowl games and coached a Heisman Trophy winner (Herschel Walker, 1982), a Maxwell Award Winner (Walker, 1982), an Outland Award Winner (Bill Stanfill, 1968), 40 First Team All-Americans and 10 Academic All-Americans.

Under his watch as athletic director, Georgia teams won 20 national championships (ten in his final six years) including an unprecedented four during the 1998-99 year (women's swimming, gymnastics, men's tennis, men's golf). During Dooley's tenure Georgia athletic teams won 78 SEC team championships and numerous individual national titles in both men's and women's sports.

The Paul Bear Bryant Awards honor excellence in coaching while raising funds to fight heart disease and stroke. Bryant himself suffered a heart attack prior to his death in 1983. Funds raised benefit research, community education and outreach programs of the American Heart Association. For more information on the Bryant Awards, or to purchase tickets or a table for the event, visit www.heart.org/bryantawards or call 713-610-5000.

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