1936 - 2012
Denis Isrow was dubbed the “Father of Athletic Training in North Dakota” in the late 1980s. He was the first full-time athletic trainer in state and North Dakota State University history and remained a full-time faculty member there for 39 years. Isrow, who continues to teach part-time at North Dakota State, has built a reputation as a teacher, listener, friend and healer.
1951-1991
Gail Weldon was the second woman to join NATA and one of the first 10 women ever certified. Her other “firsts” include being the first female athletic trainer hired by the U.S. Olympic Committee, first female head athletic trainer for the 1979 Pan American Games and first female chief athletic trainer for the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team. She was director of athletic training and physical therapy for the 1984 Olympic Games and was the first woman inducted to the NATA Hall of Fame.
Dale Mildenberger is a senior associate athletic director at Utah State University, where he has worked since 1975. He spent 1969-70 as head athletic trainer with the Harlem Globetrotters. He then served a stint in the Army as assistant athletic trainer at West Point, on Ed Pillings' staff. Mildenberger has been active on a local, state, regional and national level with the NATA.
Dean Kleinschmidt's fundraising efforts helped build the NATA Foundation scholarship program. He has served three terms as president of the Professional Football Athletic Trainers' Society and he has been a member of two NFL advisory committees to the commissioner. He is coordinator of athletic medicine for the Detroit Lions, after spending most of his career with the New Orleans Saints.
1921-2003
Garnett Detty founded Pro Orthopedic Devices in 1975 and ran the company until his retirement in 1994. While working for the Philadelphia Eagles he invented the neoprene rubber knee sleeve. He was owner of 22 patents on sports medicine products. His awards included the Professional Football Trainers Association Outstanding Alumnus Award and Sports Medicine Person of the Year Award.
Gary Craner was the head athletic trainer at Boise State University from 1972 until his retirement in 2008. He was the first athletic trainer in the state of Idaho to be certified by NATA and was a primary force behind Idaho state licensure. Craner's other contributions include service as president of the Idaho Athletic Trainers' Association, vice-president and president of the Northwest Athletic Trainers' Association. He continues to mentor athletic trainers around the country.
Gordy Graham developed one of the first three NATA approved athletic training curriculums in 1969 and was head athletic trainer and curriculum director at Mankato State until his retirement in 1993. He helped organize and was first president of the Minnesota Athletic Trainer's Association, and he served on the NATA board. Graham is now retired.
Ken Murray, whose parents were missionaries, was raised in Africa with a focus on service. He has worked for the Atlanta Falcons, East Tennessee State, Eastern Kentucky and University of Southwestern Louisiana. Murray has worked in many capacities in district, state and national athletic training programs. He now is the senior associate athletic director for sports medicine at Texas Tech University.
Mike Nesbitt was head athletic trainer and associate professor at Northern Arizona University when he retired in 2006. During his tenure at NAU, he promoted and justified athletic trainers in numerous Arizona high schools. He was a leader at the state, district and national levels, representing the Rocky Mountain Athletic Trainers' Association on the NATA Board of Directors from 1986-92. He now serves as president of Jonesco Trucking.
1937-2002
Wes Jordan served as the head athletic trainer at the University of Maine for more than three decades, beginning in 1965. He served two terms on the NATA Board of Directors and served on the NATA Ethics Committee and the NATA Honors and Awards Committee. His dedication and loyalty to the University of Maine and to the athletic training profession are well known throughout the State of Maine and the New England area.