NATA Hall of Fame

Tom Koto's legacy centers on legislative recognition and job opportunities for athletic trainers. He helped get athletic trainers hired by the Boise, Idaho, school district and played a key role when the Idaho legislature adopted registration in 1989 and licensure in 2003. He currently works at Intermountain Orthopaedics and volunteers as a physician extender at a free clinic for the homeless.

Joe Iezzi has been an athletic trainer for 30+ years, and his proudest achievements center on motivating students. A leader in Pennsylvania and a former NATA board member, Iezzi introduced changes in the Pennsylvania law and initiated a new law to be directly under the Medical Practice Act. He has been at Downingtown High School since 1988.

Michael Ferrara has taken athletic training to the global scene. He was the founding president of the World Federation of Athletic Training & Therapy, and in 2010 he earned distinction as a Fulbright Scholar, teaching athletic training in Ireland. Ferrara has also been active in providing care for Paralympic athletes and the U.S. Disabled Sports Team. He is a professor and program director at University of Georgia.

Dave Pursley played a pivotal role in getting licensure adopted in the state of Georgia, and he is a founding member of the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers' Society. After caring for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves for 52 years - 44 of them in the Major Leagues - he retired in 2002.

DC Colt takes pride in being a member of the first curriculum class at West Virginia University, where he graduated in 1977. He has been active with the NATA board, Foundation and Board of Certification - all while becoming a treasured member of Northwest Missouri State University, where he worked for 27 years. In 2008 Colt became an athletic trainer for the U.S. Air Force Academy.

NATA President #9

Julie Max became the first woman elected as NATA president, in 2000. She has spent her career developing students and promoting the profession. Since 1979 Max has worked at California State University Fullerton, where she was the driving force behind the development of an athletic training education program that has received national acclaim.

Sam Booth has long been an advocate of educational excellence. As a leader in District Four, she served on the NATA board during the transition to accredited curricula. During 11 years as head athletic trainer at Minnesota State University Moorhead Booth created a model athletic training program. She now works at Rochester General Hospital in New York.

Steve Bair has been a champion of accreditation, credentialing and legislation throughout his career. He leads by example, having served on the NATA board, Foundation board and Board of Certification, in addition to state and district offices. Bair, a member of the New Jersey Secondary School Coaches Association Hall of Fame, has worked for 20+ years at Overbrook (NJ) Senior High School.

Tom Abdenour has been in the National Basketball Association since 1987, tirelessly advocating for proper terminology and polishing the public image of athletic trainers. He has organized the NBATA/NATA student cadaver workshop for many years, and he is a founder of a guidance center for homeless or underprivileged men in Oakland, Cali. Abdenour is head athletic trainer for the Golden State Warriors.

Richard Ray serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Athletic Training, was co-chair of the NATA's Education Task Force and chaired the association's Nomenclature Task Force. In 2008 Ray directed NATA: Involve & Evolve! initiative to restructure NATA's volunteer processes. He is the dean for social sciences, professor of kinesiology and assistant athletic trainer at Hope College.