DeMers named Northwest District Athletic Director of the Year

SANDPOINT — Sandpoint Middle School athletic director and teacher David R. DeMers has been honored as the Northwest District Athletic Director of the Year.

On behalf of the National Council of Secondary School Athletic Directors (NCSSAD) and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), DeMers was chosen by a panel of his peers and colleagues. The Northwest district is made up of educators from Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

NCSSAD and NASPE with the sponsorship and support provided by Herff Jones and Educational Communications, Inc., will be honoring all the district winners in Chicago on April 12-16 at the National AAHPERD Convention. DeMers will be honored on Wednesday, April 13, at a banquet to honor all six district winners. After that ceremony the six district winners will be interviewed separately on Thursday morning, April 14, by a panel of judges. The panel

will then announce one of the six finalists as the National Athletic Director of the Year at the National Athletic Directors Hall of Fame banquet on Friday night, April 15.

DeMers, who was named Idaho IAHPERD Athletic Director of the Year earlier this fall at the state convention in Moscow, is a graduate of Boise State University and has been teaching for more than 21 years. He has been the Athletic Director at Sandpoint Middle School since 1992. He has coached football, basketball and track at every level from 7th grade to varsity and is currently the boys and girls head track coach at Sandpoint High School.

DeMers said he greatly appreciates the state and regional honor.

"Professionally, it is huge to be honored like this," said DeMers. "I would like to thank the administration, teachers and the Sandpoint Middle School coaches for giving me the opportunity to lead these programs and believing in my ideas."

When asked about winning the national honor DeMers said, "It would be awesome to win but doing something I love to do has tremendous awards all by itself."

DeMers is planning on attending the convention with his wife, Cindy.