Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Award


Teams competing at the 2002 NSC Consolation Final

Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Award

Call for Nominations:

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Letters of nomination are now being accepted for the 2008 Benjamin Cooper Memorial Quiz Bowl Ambassador Award and the Young Ambassador Award, to be presented at the National Scholastics Championship. Letters of nomination are being accepted through email only.

Deadline for receipt of nominations: February 1

The Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Award is to be presented to a high school academic competition team member, advisor, or organization whose character best promotes the spirit and honor of quiz bowl competition. The text of nominations and other letters of support should be submitted in confidence.

Please limit your nomination to no more than 1000 words. Supplemental letters are optional but limited to two letters with no more than 700 words each. All materials received will be considered as one, and include any contact information in case the PACE Cooper Award Committee wishes to contact you for additional information. All information submitted to the PACE Cooper Award Committee will remain confidential and will become property of PACE.

Required in your nomination letter is contact information for you (the nominator) and the nominee, including e-mail or regular mailing addresses and evening phone numbers.

Refer to the Citation for the first Ben Cooper Award below for more information about the award itself.

All letters should be e-mailed to Patricia Southard.

A decision on the Ben Cooper Award will determined on or around April 15, with a public announcement to be made around May 1.

PACE intends to hold a reception on Saturday evening of the NSC in honor of the Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Award recipient. Consequently, we request that the awardee be available for this reception. PACE will make every effort to confer this award at the convenience of the recipient.

Benjamin Cooper & The Award

Whereas many teams are well recognized by the strength of their winning programs, sportsmanship and service to the academic competition community are not well appreciated. These virtues not only make academic competitions possible, exciting, and enjoyable, but also are fundamentally necessary for the further growth and promotion of this game at all levels of play. By recognizing individuals or organizations that by their example embody the positive aspects of academic competition, all participants involved in quiz bowl honor the competitive spirit and comraderie that quiz bowl competitions provide.

To encourage the appreciation of these individuals and organizations, be it resolved that the Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence establish a Sportsmanship and Service Award. This commendation is to be presented to a high school academic competition team member, advisor, or organization whose character best promotes the spirit and honor of quiz bowl competition.

To establish a precedent and standard for future recipients of this award, the PACE committee has further resolved to establish, present, and dedicate this award to the memory of Benjamin E. Cooper of the "It's Academic" team of Georgetown Day School in Washington DC, as

the Benjamin Cooper Memorial Quiz Bowl Ambassador Award.

Benjamin Cooper was a model student at GDS who was well-liked among his colleagues and the faculty. He participated in many activities in school and in service to the community. Because of his enthusiasm and encouragement to promote academic competition among his team members, he was selected as the captain of the varsity team for the 1997-98 school year. On August 12, 1997, Ben was tragically killed in an automobile accident while returning from his summer job. His death was traumatic to his family, the GDS community, and the members of the PACE committee who corresponded and worked with him. Even when discussing quiz bowl and the PACE network with us, the PACE committee was impressed with his enthusiasm about the upcoming year and our plans for the inaugural NSC.

The members of the PACE committee hereby honor and confer the first Quiz Bowl Ambassador Award to team advisor Sue Ikenberry and the Georgetown Day School academic team in Ben's honor. The GDS team has had a long history of promoting excellence in quiz bowl competition in the Washington, District of Columbia area and around the country, particularly through its web site.

This citation is hereby approved for presentation for June 19, 1998, at the inaugural National Scholastics Championship at Case Western Reserve University.

Recipients of the Ben Cooper Academic Ambassador Award

1998	Sue Ikenberry on behalf of Benjamin Cooper Georgetown Day School Washington, DC	First award. Citation above.
1999	Joe Hermiller E. L. Bowsher High School Toledo, OH	Although many of the people in the country have not heard of him - no appearances in national tournaments and a couple of appearences in Ohio state playoffs - he has run Toledo area quiz bowl for over 20 years. He is not able to walk well and move so he does not travel his team even to local tournaments. He has always put the enjoyment of the game for the students. He cares more about how the kids enjoy the game. He is a person dedicated to quiz bowl he has given as much as he can for the game.
2000	Academic Competition Enterprises Rick Barry Brookwood HS, Snellville GA James Garrick Paul Dorman HS, SC and Hodges Lewis Irmo HS, SC co-recipients	The 2000 Benjamin Cooper Quiz Bowl Ambassador Award was given to J. Rick Barry (advisor of the Brookwood High School Academic Team, Snellville GA), James Garrick, Jr. (advisor of the Paul Dorman High School Academic Team, Spartanburg SC), and Hodges Lewis (advisor of the Irmo High School Academic Team, Irmo SC [not shown]) for their contributions as Academic Competitions Enterprises to promote excellence in high school academic competition throughout the southeast and the nation. Individually, these three advisors have been responsible for the participation of thousands of high school students in quiz bowl competition in their respective home states through the running of academic competitions on their campuses. Together, they have collaborated to organize a summer quiz bowl retreat at Furman University, where many of the brightest high school students and their advisors learn about the “tricks of the game” in a collegial environment.
2001	Robert C. Grierson Editor, Scholastic Visions Illinois High School Scholastic Bowl Coaches Association Evanston, IL	The 2001 Benjamin Cooper Quiz Bowl Ambassador Award was given to Robert C. Grierson, for his service as founder and editor for Scholastic Visions the official newsletter for the IHSSBCA. Under his tenure as the treasurer of IHSSBCA and editor, Scholastic Visions has increased the visibility of academic quiz competitions in the state of Illinois and beyond. This network has been vital for the continued growth, success, and enjoyment of quiz bowl at both the high school and college levels.
2002	Douglas A. Tyson Benjamin Banneker High School Washington, DC	The 2002 Benjamin Cooper Quiz Bowl Ambassador Award was given to Douglas Tyson for his involvement with encouraging students in the Washington metro area. An acclaimed educator involved in science education, Mr. Tyson has increased the popularity of academic competition in the Washington DC area.
2002	"It's Academic" television program	The 2002 Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Award was presented to the family of producer Susan Altman for their contribution in producing "It's Academic" television programs nationally. Their effort over the last four decades has been seminal to the popularity of high school quiz programs throughout the country.
2003	Carolyn Hawkins Cookeville High School Cookeville, TN	The 2003 Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Award was presented to Carolyn Hawkins for her service in promoting high school academic competition in the state of Tennessee and nationally. Mrs. Hawkins, advisor to the Cookeville Academic Team, also serves as one of four regional liaisons and the Calendar Coordinator for the Tennessee Academic Coaches Association.
2004	Paul Cain Ysleta High School El Paso, TX	The 2004 Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Award was presented to Paul Cain for his service to developing and promoting quiz bowl in El Paso, Texas while serving as a role model in education.
2004	Matt Weiner Virginia Commonwealth University	The 2004 Benjamin Cooper Young Ambassador Award was presented to Matt Weiner for his contributions to the high school quiz bowl circuit, including the development and maintenance of the World of High School Quiz Bowl website.
2004	David Bykowski Formerly Furman University and University of Michigan	The 2004 Benjamin Cooper Young Ambassador Award was presented to David Bykowski for his outreach and dedication to developing programs for the high school quiz bowl circuit.
2005	Sue Korosa Copley High School Copley, Ohio	The 2005 Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Award was presented to Sue Korosa of Copley High School for her dedication and support for academic excellence as shown through building a championship program at Copley and creating a statewide academic team association (Ohio Academic Competitions).
2005	Tom Egan Maine South High School Illinois	The 2005 Benjamin Cooper Young Ambassador Award was presented to Tom Egan of Maine South High School for his efforts in supporting and improving academic competition in Illinois.
2006	Bob Weiser Solon High School Solon, Ohio	The 2006 Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Award was presented to Bob Weiser of Solon High School in recognition of his efforts to promote high school quiz bowl competition (particularly the tossup/bonus/NAQT format and pyramidal-style questions) in Ohio, both on his own and through his high school tournament at Solon.
2006	Dr. John Barnes Maggie Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies Richmond, Virginia	The 2006 Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Award was presented to Dr. John Barnes of the Maggie Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies in recognition of his leadership and mentoring efforts to help produce the student-run Governor's School Academic Competition (GSAC) tournament and his outreach efforts to promote quiz bowl competition in central Virginia.
2006	Eric Grunden Raleigh Charter High School Raleigh, North Carolina	The 2006 Benjamin Cooper Young Ambassador Award was presented to Eric Grunden of Raleigh Charter High School in recognition of his dedication and effort in building the North Carolina Academic Team Association following the potential elimination of the North Carolina Public Library Quiz Bowl.
2007	Julie Gittings State College Area High School State College, Pennsylvania	The 2007 Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Award was presented to Julie Gittings of State College Area High School in recognition of her years of mentoring players of high school quiz bowl and as an ambassador to the game over a history spanning more than three decades.
2007	Evan Silberman Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology Alexandria, Virginia	The 2007 Benjamin Cooper Young Ambassador Award was presented to Evan Silberman of Thomas Jefferson High School in recognition of his leadership in keeping the Thomas Jefferson team active in the absence of a formal coach or advisor as well as his support of the high school quiz bowl community in the Washington, D.C. area and nationally.