CAL SOUTH'S BEST & BRIGHTEST LAUDED AT THE 2009 NIKE AWARDS BANQUET

Soccer Nation Expo 2009 // L.A. Wilshire Grand Ballroom

Produced annually in conjunction with Soccer Nation Expo, the Nike Awards Banquet is Cal South's opportunity to say "thank you" to its best and brightest, from players to coaches to administrators to, in a first this year, a pair of Cal South alumni who have gone on to great professional and international success and renown.Over five hundred attendees packed into the main ballroom of the L.A. Wilshire Grand on Saturday, February 21 for the 2009 Nike Awards Banquet.

Scanning the crowd would have brought glimpses of several soccer world luminaries amongst the mix of Cal South board members, staff, volunteers and award winners: United States Adult Soccer Association Chairman Brooks McCormick, US Futsal Chairman and CEO Alex Para, LA84 Foundation Vice-President of Education Wayne Wilson, US Youth Soccer Assistant National Coaching Director Dr. John Thomas, International President of Youth for Human Rights Dr. Mary Shuttleworth, California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce Chairman Joel Ayala, and Raul de Quesada, Fox Soccer Channel's Senior Vice President of Marketing and On-Air Promotions. Representatives from Cal South sponsors and partners such as Nike, Northwestern Mutual, Chivas USA, Los Angeles Galaxy and Velocity Sports Performance filled the tables of the happily dining crowd as well.

Cocktails, dinner, keyboard accompaniment by Mark Kelly, and a robust version of the National Anthem sung by Dominic Domingo, Cal South player and grandson of world-famous tenor and conductor Placido Domingo, kicked off the evening's festivities. This was followed by a three-song dance performance by Kids on Stage for a Better World, a group representing Youth for Human Rights, a Cal South partner, and then a newly produced Public Service Announcement featuring Chivas USA player and Cal South alumnus Jonathan Bornstein was debuted before the banquet crowd.

Then it came time for the awards themselves. Nearly three dozen Cal South members were honored during the show, included the first two Cal South players inducted into the Cal South Hall of Fame: Cobi Jones, former U.S. National Team mainstay and L.A. Galaxy player and current assistant coach, and Joy Fawcett, winner of a pair of Olympic gold medals and World Cup titles with the U.S. Women's National Team.

Other awards of note included the Fox Soccer Channel Team Spirit award, handed out this year to the Crusaders Soccer Club Spirit Girls U14 Red team, the L.A. Galaxy Volunteer of the Year award given out to Maria Lenhoff, and the Chivas USA Parent of the Year award, won this year by Don and Eleni Maurer. The Maurers were recognized for establishing TOGA: Temecula Outgrown Game Attire, which provides used soccer gear to underprivileged players. (For more information regarding TOGA, please contact donald.maurer@yahoo.com.)

Cal South would like to thank the sponsors of this year's show: Nike, Fox Soccer Channel and Sport Pins International, for helping to bring about such a grand show. Cal South would also like to congratulate all of this year's winners, and thank everyone who attended the 2009 Nike Awards Banquet.