NEWS

2005 BLACK SCHOLAR-ATHLETES NAMED

NEWS RELEASE

 For Immediate Release

Event Contact:   

Cherise Belnavis 704-494 0748                                                  

The Alliance Announces Watkins Award Finalists

High School African American Scholar Athletes receive top Honors

 (December 13, 2004) – On Saturday, February 19, 2005, at 6:00 pm, The National Alliance of African American Athletes (The Alliance) will recognize another stellar group of high school athletes from across the nation for the Franklin D. Watkins Memorial Award. The award is presented each year to the nation's top African American male high school scholar athlete.

 The five finalists are:  

 Here are your finalists in alphabetical order:

Robert Kibble – Houston, TX - Westfield High School - 3.7 GPA

Mohamed Massaquoi – Charlotte, NC - Independence High School - 3.8 GPA

Shawn Oatis – Chino, CA - Chino High School - 3.7 GPA

Vincent Oghobaase – Houston, TX - Hastings High School - 3.96 GPA

Ekom Udofia – Scottsdale, AZ - Chaparral High School - 4.0 GPA

 The Watkins Award ceremony will be held at the Adams Mark Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina.  

The keynote speaker is former NFL player and Sportscaster Eugene Robinson.

 "The 2005 Watkins Award features another year of fine student athletes," Everette Pearsall, Executive Director of The Alliance, shares.  “Each of these young men is well equipped for success academically. We have continued to recognize and honor the premier African American Scholar Athletes in the United States.”

 Finalists are chosen based on their unweighted grade point average, their personal statements, extra curricular activities, community service, and letters of recommendation. Each winner will receive an award, ring, and dinner in their hometown.

 Sponsors of this year’s event include Dillingham & Taylor Wealth Management, LLC, Alex Haley Racing, Prestige Insurance Group, Compass, Guardian Sports, The Charlotte Post and Minneapolis-based Jostens Corporation who manufactures and donates the Watkins Award trophy and rings.

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Media representatives are invited to cover the awards ceremony.

 For more information about the Watkins Award, The Alliance, or to get tickets for the awards ceremony visit our website at www.naaaa.org

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 The Watkins Award is presented annually to African American scholar-athletes since 1992, the Watkins Award is named for Franklin D. Watkins, the coach of championship football and basketball teams in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  Previous winners of the Watkins Award include Arizona Cardinal Robert Tate, Grant Irons of the Oakland Raiders, Darnel Dinkins of the Baltimore Ravens, LaVarr Arrington of the Washington Redskins, and Ronald Curry of the Oakland Raiders.

The National Alliance of African American Athletes was founded in 1989.  The organization's mission is to empower African American males through athletics, education and public programs.

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