NATA Inducts Eight into 2015 Hall of Fame

Source: The National Athletic Trainers' Association

DALLAS, June 17, 2015 – The National Athletic Trainers’ Association, a nonprofit organization representing and supporting members of the athletic training profession, will induct eight individuals into its prestigious Hall of Fame at the NATA 66th Clinical Symposia and AT Expo in St. Louis on Thursday, June 25. The Hall of Fame is the highest honor an athletic trainer can receive. Honorees will be recognized for their significant, lasting contributions that enhance the quality of health care provided by athletic trainers and advance the profession. They have shaped the profession through their noteworthy accomplishments and dedication to service, leadership and professionalism. Since inducting its first class in 1962, the Hall of Fame now has 296 members.

The 2015 Hall of Fame inductees include Tina Bonci, MS, ATC, LAT; David Carrier, MA, ATC; Malissa Martin, EdD, ATC; Terry Noonan, MS, ATC, LAT; Russ Richardson, EdD, ATC; Brian Robinson, MS, ATC; Sandra Shultz, PhD, ATC, FNATA; and Thomas Weidner, PhD, ATC, FNATA.

Tina Bonci, MS, ATC, LAT, (posthumously) revolutionized health care delivery for elite student athletes, particularly females, during her nearly 30-year tenure with the University of Texas at Austin. She most recently served as associate athletics director, division of athletic training/sports medicine before her untimely death in 2014. Bonci was one of the first in the profession to research women’s predisposition to specific injuries and urged companies to create athletic shoes and apparel specifically designed for women. She pioneered a wellness program to prevent unwanted pregnancies and STDs among student athletes and served as lead author of an NATA position statement on the detection and prevention of eating disorders in athletes. Bonci was named the U.S. women’s basketball athletic trainer for the gold medal-winning 1984 team under Coach Pat Summit.
David Carrier, MA, ATC, is the associate head athletic trainer at Michigan State University, where he has worked for more than 30 years. A volunteer for many years, he served on both the NATA College/University Athletic Trainers’ Committee and the Honors and Awards Committee. He also served as chair of the NATA Research and Education Foundation Golf Classic for eight years, which raised thousands of dollars to help support the Foundation’s efforts. He served as president of the Michigan Athletic Trainers’ Society and was chair of the MATS golf outing for 23 years, which contributed financial support for state licensure. Carrier was head athletic trainer of the 1988 USA Olympic men’s ice hockey team, the 1990 World Ice Hockey Championships and the 1992 Olympic ski jumpers/Nordic combine teams.
Malissa Martin, EdD, ATC, is a professor, associate vice provost and graduate program director of Athletic Training at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions. She is a renowned educator and researcher whose work in professional development has dramatically improved the athletic training profession. A nationally recognized presenter with more than 200 presentations to her credit, Martin has authored several books and more than 100 publications. Martin developed the first home study programs in athletic training and chaired the first NATA Athletic Training Educators’ Conference, where she has been a key presenter since 1996. She was the first woman to be elected as president of the South Carolina Athletic Trainers’ Association, and her service and career accomplishments have been recognized with numerous awards.
Terry Noonan, MS, ATC, LAT, is the director of Athletic Training Services at the University of Iowa. He has dedicated his career to advancing the athletic training profession and improving the education of athletic trainers. A former NATA District Five director and one-time chair of NATA’s Finance Committee, Noonan’s decades of service, advocacy and leadership have made an immeasurable impact at the local, state and national levels. Through passionate campaigning and activism, Noonan was instrumental in obtaining licensure for athletic trainers in his home state of Iowa.
Russ Richardson, EdD, ATC, is an athletic trainer and associate professor of Health and Human Performance at the University of Montana Western. He is a leader of the profession, recognized for his tireless service and commitment to athletic training. Active at the state, district and national levels, Richardson served on the National Athletic Trainers’ Association board of directors representing District 10 and was named chair of both the 2012 Nomenclature Workgroup and the Executive Committee for Education, leading the association through controversial issues. An advocate for athletic trainers, Richardson contributed to licensure in California, Washington and Alaska.
Brian Robinson, MS, ATC, has impacted the profession through his passionate advocacy for athletic trainers, particularly those in secondary schools. As the head athletic trainer at Glenbrook South High School from 1977 to 2014, he established an athletic training program that set a precedent for secondary school athletic training programs across the United States. At Glenbrook, he developed a concussion management program, a rehabilitation program for injured athletes and a database for tracking injuries and treatment plans. Robinson’s efforts as chair of the Secondary School Athletic Trainers’ Committee, along with his countless presentations, articles and television appearances, have advanced the role and recognition of the secondary school AT and vastly improved the health care for secondary school athletes.
Sandra Shultz, PhD, ATC, FNATA, who is currently a professor at UNC-Greensboro, has influenced the athletic training profession through the countless students she has educated and mentored. She is a celebrated educator, researcher and clinician whose impact on the profession is immeasurable. She is considered a national leader in ACL research, and her focus on the underlying sex-dependent factors that contribute to a female’s higher risk knee biomechanics and increased susceptibility to ACL injury is recognized throughout the medical and scientific communities as benchmark work in the field. Shultz has served the profession through numerous NATA leadership positions, including service as chair of the Convention Program and Fellows Committees and as a member of the NATA Research and Education Foundation Research Committee, Pronouncements Committee and Strategic Planning Task Force.
Thomas Weidner, PhD, ATC, FNATA, has been with Ball State University since 1991, where he is currently the George and Frances Ball Distinguished Professor of Athletic Training and chair of the School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Science. Weidner is a national expert in research on upper respiratory illness. His work includes the influence of exercise on the duration and severity of a cold and the effect of a cold on athletic performance and exercise. He has also provided benchmark research in athletic training education and has authored an athletic training textbook, several textbook chapters, papers and abstracts. He chaired the NATA Clinical Education Committee and was instrumental in the training and development of clinical instructors. Weidner was a member of the board of editors of the Journal of Athletic Training for 18 years.

“We champion the outstanding contributions of these eight Hall of Fame recipients and their constant commitment and passion for the athletic training profession, says Chuck Kimmel, ATC, NATA Honors & Awards Committee chair. “We recognize and celebrate this tremendous class of 2015 and all they do to support NATA, its wide reaching programs and the members it represents.”

About NATA: National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) – Health Care for Life & Sport
Athletic trainers are health care professionals who specialize in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries and sport-related illnesses. They prevent and treat chronic musculoskeletal injuries from sports, physical and occupational activity, and provide immediate care for acute injuries. Athletic trainers offer a continuum of care that is unparalleled in health care. The National Athletic Trainers' Association represents and supports 39,000 members of the athletic training profession. Visit www.nata.org.