Athletes in Action fifth annual Night of Champions a Success

By Rick Sheridan

An inspiring line-up of Olympic and professional athletes mingled with members of the public at the Athletes in Action fifth annual Night of Champions on May 6, 2010, at their World Training and Resource Center, in Xenia, Ohio.

The main focus of the event was to honor two new inductees into the prestigious AIA Hall of Faith. Jennifer Johnson Jordan, a top-rated professional beach volleyball player and Olympian was the female recipient of this national award and Jim Tressel, head football coach of The Ohio State University Buckeyes was the male recipient. The inductees are chosen for their faith, leadership, character and integrity on and off the field of competition.

The evening began with a VIP event hosted by news anchor Dan Edwards, the morning host for news on WDTN in Dayton. He briefly introduced an all-star list of athletes including: Anthony Muñoz, former Cincinnati Bengals lineman who was All-Pro for 11 consecutive years, Doug Yates, U.S. Olympic karate contender, Dan Christie and J.D. Grigsby, both former University of Dayton basketball stars, Trina Smith, head coach of the Wright State University volleyball team, E.J. Junior, former Alabama All-American and two-time Pro-Bowl selection, and current Central State University football coach, and several others.

"The Night of Champions represents the very best aspects of our faith being represented in the community. We see and hear concrete examples of teamwork, leadership, love, commitment, perseverance and humility with a firm connection to sports and the triumph of one's personal faith. This is something that goes way beyond sports and transcends into the very nature of our inner character and testimony. AIA has delivered a landmark platform for excellence to shine brighter and speak louder than any words will ever be able to....it is an honor to attend this event and celebrate the accomplishments of the recipients," said Chris Grindrod, program director of WEEC FM, and a member of the audience.

Jennifer Johnson Jordan was pleasantly surprised to see both of her parents in the crowd. Her father, Rafer Johnson, won the gold medal for the decathlon in the 1960 Olympics. He took a turn at the microphone and described his intense competition with a Russian athlete in the various events in the decathlon.

Clark Kellogg, the lead college basketball analyst for CBS Sports and former player in the National Basketball Association was the master of ceremonies at the banquet honoring Jordan and Tressel. Kellogg, who played for Ohio State, joked with Anthony Muñoz, formerly of the University of Southern California, about the OSU/USC rivalry.

Jim Tressel delivered a rousing keynote speech at the Schindler Banquet Center. He described his faith in Jesus as a crucial part of his success as a coach and his ability to inspire and motivate his players. Tressel was introduced by Jim Schmidtke, AIA staff member at The Ohio State University.

The Tressel family is actively involved with Athletes in Action, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the OSU Thompson Libraries and the James Cancer Center at The Ohio State University Medical Center.

During the first part of the banquet, a silent auction offered high quality sports memorabilia, including a jersey signed by Brett Favre, an autographed team photo from the 1964 Cleveland Browns and other items. Proceeds from Night of Champions benefit the World Training and Resource Center and further the development of the Sports Complex and Conference Center.

Rick Sheridan is a freelance writer, an assistant professor at Wilberforce University, and the faculty advisor for their student newspaper, The Mirror.

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