Bob Gray is known for his passion for athletic training and his devotion to the growth of his colleagues and the profession as a whole. Gray, a respected clinician, is the Coordinator of Athletic Training at the Cleveland Clinic Sports Health, his employer since 1991. Sought-after for his expertise, Gray was named as the ATC Observer for the National Football League, a position he has held since 2011, and was named the Head Athletic Trainer for the NCAA Division I basketball regional finals in 2015. Recognized at the local, district and national levels, he was awarded the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award in 1998, he was inducted into the Ohio Athletic Trainers' Association Hall of Fame in 1999 and, in 2010, he received the Golden Pinnacle Award from the Great Lakes Athletic Trainers' Association. Gray currently serves on the NATA Foundation Board of Directors.
NATA Hall of Fame
Michael Goldenberg has impacted the athletic training profession through his trailblazing efforts to integrate technology to improve and promote the profession. The District II webmaster since 1998, Goldenberg introduced listservs, text and voicemail campaigns, online voting and various online tools, and established many state and district websites. As the DII Director, he launched the Communicate, Activate, Serve program to increase communication, as well as membership involvement in District II programs. In 2000, he founded and chaired the NATA Webmaster's Advisory Group. As a member of the NATA Board of Directors, he was heavily involved in decisions that positively impacted the Association and profession, including the NATA logo change, the nomenclature study, the professional degree decision and the resurgence of the Joint Committee Meeting.
David Craig is known for his presence and leadership, both courtside and beyond. Craig graduated from Purdue University, where he was mentored by the legendary “Pinky” Newell. He spent 35 years as the Indiana Pacers' Head Athletic Trainer, working with the 1970 and 1971 ABA Championship teams and the 2000 Eastern Conference champions. In 1984, Craig was elected as the first president of the Indiana Athletic Trainers' Association and contributed to the licensure and reimbursement of ATs in his state. Craig served as an athletic trainer for the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo and the 2004 USA Olympic men's basketball team in Greece. Craig has held countless leadership positions at the state, district and national levels and received numerous awards including the Joe O'Toole NBA Athletic Trainer of the Year Award and the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award.
Thomas 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. Weidner has also provided benchmark research in athletic training education, particularly clinical education. He has authored an athletic training clinical education textbook, several textbook chapters and numerous papers and abstracts. His upper respiratory illness research continues to be cited in countless publications and television programs worldwide. An advocate for athletic training education, Weidner chaired the 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. He has been with Ball State University since 1991, where he is currently a George and Frances Ball Distinguished Professor of Athletic Training and Chair of the School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Science.
Sandra Shultz 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 leadership positions, including service as chair of the Convention Program and Fellows Committees, and as a member of the NATA Research & Education Foundation Research Committee and the NATA Pronouncements Committee and Strategic Planning Task Force. Shultz, who is currently a professor at UNC- Greensboro, has influenced the profession through the countless students she has educated and mentored.
Brian Robinson has impacted his profession through his passionate advocacy for athletic trainers, particularly those in secondary schools. As the head athletic trainer at Glenbrook South High School since 1977, he established an athletic training program that set a precedent for secondary school athletic training programs everywhere. 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.
Russ Richardson 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 NATA Board of Directors 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. Currently, Richardson is an athletic trainer and associate professor of Health and Human Performance at the University of Montana Western.
Terry Noonan has dedicated his career to advancing the profession and improving the education of athletic trainers. A former NATA district five director and one-time chair of the 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. He is also credited with singlehandedly saving the athletic training program at the University of Northern Iowa, where he served the program for 16 years. He is the current director of Athletic Training Services at the University of Iowa.
Malissa Martin 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. She 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. Martin 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. Currently, Martin is a Professor, Associate Vice Provost and Graduate Program Director of Athletic Training at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions.
Dave Carrier is recognized for his remarkable career accomplishments both in leadership and in practice. A volunteer for many years, Carrier served on both the NATA College/University Athletic Trainers' Committee and the Honors & Awards Committee. He also served as the Chair of the NATA Research & 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 twenty three years, which contributed financial support for state licensure. Dave was Head Athletic Trainer of the 1988 U.S.A. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team, the 1990 World Ice Hockey Championships, and the 1992 Olympic Ski Jumpers/Nordic Combine teams. His contributions to the profession are many, which include teaching Fundamental Techniques of Evaluation and Management of the Spine and Pelvis to athletic trainers from around the country. He also invented the “Carrier Technique” for Pelvic Superior Shears. Carrier is currently the Associate Head Athletic Trainer at Michigan State University, where he has worked for more than 30 years.