Chris Gillespie is director of athletic training education at Samford University where he has worked for more than three decades. Past president of the Southeast Athletic Trainers' Association and co-founder of its annual student meeting, Gillespie also served on the NATA College/University Athletic Trainers' Committee. As one of the first athletic trainers to support sickle cell trait screening and be an advocate for athletes with this condition, he was part of the NATA Inter-Association Task Force on Sickle Cell Trait and the Athlete and has spoken extensively and published on this topic. Gillespie's work with endurance athletes through TEAM 413 - GRACERUNNER MINISTRIES, a non-profit ministry he founded in 2003, is of significant importance.
NATA Hall of Fame
Dennis Hart's athletic training career began in 1970. He was the athletic trainer at North Mesquite High School for 33 years and has worked for the Sports Medicine Clinic of North Texas. Hart chaired the founding committee of the Texas State Athletic Trainers' Association. He also served as a TSATA regional director and was the first chair of its board of directors. An active leader in the Southwest Athletic Trainers' Association, Hart served on its executive board as Texas representative and president. Hart remains actively involved in SWATA, NATA, and TSATA, and he recently co-authored the Texas HB 2038, Natasha's Law, which mandates a standard of care for secondary school athletes suffering sports-related concussions.
Jay Shoop is known for his keen interest in the history of the profession and reimbursement. As head athletic trainer at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, he developed and implemented an international medical poly-clinic model within the Olympic Village and established a communication process that has been utilized since at the Games. Shoop was active with instituting Georgia's favorable licensure bill and is a member of the East Tennessee State University and Georgia Athletic Trainers Association halls of fame. Formerly head athletic trainer for the Buccaneers and the Detroit Lions, Shoop is currently director of sports medicine at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
During his 36 years with the Philadelphia Phillies and a World Series title, Jeff Cooper has promulgated a legacy of leadership, education and advocacy. A founding member of the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society, Cooper was a two-term president, serving 18 years on the PBATS executive committee. By drawing attention to the widespread use and dangers of smokeless tobacco, Cooper is credited with helping to change the face of baseball by breaking the sport's strong connection to spit tobacco. Cooper modeled for other professional baseball ATs how to maximize Capitol Hill visits and promote athletic training to legislators.
Throughout his decades as an athletic trainer, Jeff Stone has been known for his devotion to colleagues and to the profession. A past president of the Athletic Trainers of Massachusetts, “Stoney” remained active with District One and the EATA, and has been the recipient of both the EATA Henry Schein/MBM and Cramer Awards. He represented District One for two terms on the NATA board of directors, and has been a long-time medical volunteer with the Bay State Games. Stone was instrumental in establishing the Rebecca Payne Memorial District One Scholarship, honoring the memory of the late athletic training student from Northeastern University. Currently, he is the head athletic trainer at Suffolk University in Boston.
As the former head athletic trainer for the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts , and more than 40 years of experience at the high school, collegiate, clinical and industrial sports medicine settings, John Lopez has made a strong contribution to athletic training. Widely known for his efforts advocating for the clinical setting, Lopez was a founding member and first chair of the NATA Clinical/Industrial/Corporate Committee and established one of the first physician extender programs in the country. Lopez served on the NATA CAQ Task Force, is the current chair of the Service Award Sub-committee and is a past recipient of the PFATS Outstanding Alumni Award. He is the current director of sports medicine at Coppin State University in Baltimore.
Throughout John Spiker's career as an educator at West Virginia University and as a clinic owner, he has focused on improving the athletic training profession and creating opportunities for students and young professionals. Spiker was selected as Collegiate Athletic Trainer of the Year in 1980 and Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer in 1994. He was honored by the WVU School of Physical Education as the Outstanding Alumnus in 2007 after being named to the Hall of Fame in 1993. He has served as the president of the WVU Fellowship of Christian Athletes board and has received many local civic and business awards.
Dr. John W. Powell is a distinguished athletic training educator, researcher and clinician whose sports injury epidemiology work has made sports safer at all levels. Powell has conducted injury surveillance studies for NATA, Big Ten, NCAA, NHL and NFL and served on the NFL Injury & Safety Panel, NHL Injury Panel and Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee. He developed the Sports Injury Monitoring System, an injury tracking software for athletic trainers and was the first NATA Research and Education Foundation president. Powell is currently an athletic trainer and faculty member at Michigan State University.
Dr. Marjorie King's research and publishing activities, athletic training education accomplishments, her work advancing women in the profession, and clinical experience in multiple settings make her a respected mentor and much sought after presenter. King was the first woman president of the Eastern Athletic Trainers' Association and was selected to give the EATA “Pinky” Newell address. She served as the second chair of the NATA Women in Athletic Training Committee, and was on the executive boards of the New Hampshire Athletic Trainers' Association and the Athletic Trainers of Massachusetts. King is the current director of graduate athletic training education at Plymouth State University.
Matt Webber is known as a compassionate athletic trainer who cares for his students, as well as an advocate for his colleagues and profession. A president of the Arizona Athletic Trainers Association and the first chair of the Arizona Board of Athletic Training, Webber worked to draft and implement athletic training licensure laws and regulations in the state. In addition to his legislative efforts, he is credited with writing the bylaws and constitution of both the AzATA and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Trainers' Association. A longtime high school athletic trainer, Webber served on the NATA board of directors and numerous committees.