‘NOLE NATION NEWS • INAUGURAL ISSUE • MAY 24, 2010
‘Noles Newsletter Begins By Jay Hendrix Welcome to ‘NOLE NATION NEWS, a new interdepartmental newsletter for Florida State athetlics!! Please allow me to introduce myself to you. My name is Jay Hendrix, and I am one of the summer interns in the Sports Infomration Department. I am a graduate student pursuing my Master’s degree in Sports Administration. In an attempt to establish a line of greater communication within the athletics department, we hope this newsletter will provide a sense of unity and togetherness that allows all facets of athletics to
have an awareness and knowledge of activities that are going on in the daily lives of fellow staff members and their families outside the office. This bi-weekly publication will have several segments
and pieces that will include but are not limited to: a summer series highlighting the day and life of an individual staff member in athletics and what his or her position encompasses, stories about staff members’ children and their accomplishments, event announcements and outside of the office gatherings. This new endeavor will only be successful with your help so if you have any story lines, contributions, ideas, announcements, photos or upcoming events that you would like to be featured, please contact Jay Hendrix at:
jmh09u@fsu.edu or 678-367-5179
LOCAL HARRIER TURNS HEADS PHOTO AND INFORMATION COURTESY OF BOB THOMAS
Chiles High sophomore CARLY THOMAS, 16, placed in both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs in the Florida Class AAA state track & field championships at Winter Park’s Showalter Field on May 7. Thomas recorded a personalbest of 5:14.78 to finish eighth in the 1,600 for the Timberwolves. Approximately 90 minutes later, she posted a fifth-place finish in the 3,200 meter (11:22.77), helping Chiles’ girls to a fourth-place team finish. Thomas also helped Chiles to a second consecutive AAA state cross country championship this past fall, capturing the individual title. Carly is the daughter of FSU Football SID Bob Thomas and Gilchrist Elementary fourth-grade teacher Kim Thomas.
CARLY THOMAS, left, sprints to the finish during the 1600 meter race. Sports Information Department • Moore Athletic Center P.O.Box 2195 • Tallahassee, Fl 32316 Phone: 850-644-1403 • www.seminoles.com
LOL CLUB:
Recipe Corner
Next outing… Wednesday, June 2nd at 11:30 a.m. at Pepper’s on Capital Circle.
Seminole Salsa
Submitted by Tina Dechausay
PICTURE DAY With many new faces now on staff in our athletics department, we will be providing an opportunity for head shots to be taken on May 26th between 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. in the ADMIN DINING ROOM in the Moore Athletic Center. We would like ALL NEW STAFF to have their picture taken at this time. Any other staff members wishing to retake their photo are also free to do so at this time. We also request that all male coaches and support staff have a picture in a coat & tie and a polo on file so please plan accordingly. Please note that we will still hold the annual ALL-SPORTS PHOTO DAYS in September as usual. Thanks and contact Tina Dechausay if you have any questions.
YOU WILL NEED: *3-4 large tomatoes *1-2 bunches of green onions *1-2 cans chopped green chiles *1-2 cans chopped black olives *1 bag of shredded monterey jack/cheddar cheese *KRAFT zesty Italian dressing *Garlic salt *Chili powder *Tabasco sauce Chop up the onions and tomatoes and add remaining canned ingredients; add garlic salt, chili powder and tabasco (to taste); mix in the Italian dressing - don’t drench it, but make sure it’s plenty coated; add shredded cheese last (stay away from finely shredded if possible) and mix thoroughly DO NOT SUBSTITUTE TABASCO OR KRAFT ZESTY ITALIAN DRESSING -- IT WILL ALTER THE TASTE! Chill and enjoy with your favorite tortilla chips!
THE NEXT STEP FORWARD
What happens when there is an injury or one of our beloved Seminole studentathletes has to undergo physical therapy or rehabiliation? Well that is where Adrian Dixon comes in. During his eight years at Florida State, Dixon, who has two bachelor’s degrees in Athletic Training and Exercise Science, has overcome many obstacles and hardships to accomplish his goals and aspirations. Today, Dixon can say that one very important goal has been accomplished: a Master’s degree in Sports Administration. Dixon, who is a Graduate Assistant in Athletic Training for Football, has worked with Seminole Athletics since his arrival on campus. He credits his mentor,
Randy Oravetz, Director of Sports Medicine, for this acheivement. “Randy helped me to come out of my shell and to open up with people,” Adrian said. “Athletes need that trust and relationship through communication and Randy was that stepping stone for me.” In his time at Florida State, Dixon lists his three most memo‘Nole Nation News • 2
rable moments: receiving the Graduate Assistantship, being there for former FSU head football coach Bobby Bowden’s last game and receiving his diploma after eight years of hard work. In the near future, Dixon plans on attending Physical Therapy School where he will pursue a Doctorate degree in Physical Therapy while working towards his ultimate goal of working in the front office of any professional level sport or on the collegiate level as an Associate Athletic Director or Strength & Conditioning Coordinator. Congratulations on your accomplishment Adrian!
The Summer Series
By Jay Hendrix “Be sure to spay and neuter your pets,” boomed through a voice full of excitement when the Seminole women’s basketball team defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs, advancing to the Elite 8 for the first time in program history. Unlike no other, it’s a familiar voice to the Seminole nation that can be heard live on radio broadcasts throughout the basketball season. However, do you know the man and his alter “ego” at Florida State University? Enter Ryan Pensy. Pensy, who is the Director of Digital Media for Seminole athletics, manages Seminoles.com and all its revenue components. Each day, Pensy monitors the all-access video and photo gallery components that give fans access to Seminole athletics in real time while maintaining the Facebook and Twitter accounts along with YouTube and Podcasts streams of social media. Pensy and his staff, team together with Seminole Productions, Seminole ISP, and CBS College Sports and FSN networks and affiliates to broadcast a majority of Seminole athletics live on the Internet. Pensy received his start with the Seminoles “by luck of the draw.” After completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Central Florida in 2002, Pensy ventured to Florida State where he earned his Master’s degree in Sports Administration while serving as the Graduate Assistant in the Seminole ticket and business offices. In 2003, Pensy became a full-time member of the Florida Sate athletics staff as the Information Technology Manager. In 2005, Pensy was promoted to his current position as the Director of DigitaMedia. One afternoon while working with
IT at the basketball offices, Pensy ran into a frantic Nadia Flaim, the former Director of Basketball Operations for women’s hoops. The semester and basketball season had ended and the university was without an announcer and “voice” for the upcoming season. Pensy immediately told Nadia he would be interested. A few days later, Pensy auditioned using old game footage. The rest is history. Pensy’s never-quit-attitude and passion for Florida State and the athletics programs is very evident in his work and broadcasts. During his seven years of calling games, Pensy notes his favorite game time experiences as the ‘Noles’ upset win over then number two ranked Stanford and the “39-39” performance of FSU’s Roneeka Hodges and Maryland’s Shay Doron when FSU defeated 15th-ranked Maryland in overtime during his second season with the program. Pensy credits this work ethic to the influences received from his grandmother and parents. While he just “really wants to win,” Pensy takes pride in watching the development and progression of all
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Seminole athletes over the years. “My goal and heart is put into graduating athletes and winning championships while doing it the right way.” When Pensy “grows old” and his time at Florida State has come to a close, he wants to see that Florida State has built the best working website in all of collegiate athletics. He wants to see that the athletic department and digital media services as a whole are being visionary while being edgy and pushing the envelope towards rapid growth and creative edge and spirit. He believes and hopes that, in the end, his “lasting legacy is that each day I worked with passion towards the continual growth of all our digital media services and that when the torch is passed, the staff and incumbent are able to continue where I left off.” Overall, Pensy’s heart and enthusiasm for Florida State, and its studentathletes, motivate his work ethic and continual drive to advance the Florida State’s athletics department and digital media productions. Whether it be announcing games, creating revenue, managing productions or implementing his work, Pensy’s efforts and passion for Florida State will be felt and appreciated for years to come.
A Fond Farewell
Emily Woods and her husband 1st Lieutenant Beau Woods and on their wedding day.
Florida State women’s basketball program assistant, Emily (Schuman) Woods, ended her tenure as part of the “team” on May 21, 2010. Woods started out as a student worker in the women’s basketball office and earned a full-time position. Emily will be moving to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina to join her husband, 1st Lieutenant Beau Woods, who is on active duty with the United States Marine Corps. Emily has been an instrumental example of sacrifice and loyalty to the staff and players at Florida State while patiently waiting for Beau’s deployment to end; all the while enriching our program with her energy and zeal. She has been a wonderful asset and instrumental part to our basketball program and will be greatly missed! Thank you for your time, positive attitude and wonderful service while being a part of Seminole Nation. Best of luck to both Emily and Beau!
More Hardware! Seminole Productions received notification from the Aurora Awards competition that they will be adding five new pieces of hardware to their bustling collection. Seminole Productions was recognized for its work with FSU athletics on both Athletic TV Programs and for content running on FSU's Big Screen Displays. Of the five Aurora Awards received, one was a Platinum Best of Show Award recognizing the top production in the category, while four others were Gold Awards recognizing production excellence. The Platinum Best of Show award went to Jim Garbarino for his creation of Graphics and Visual Effects in the 2009 Bobby Bowden Show open. This season Garbarino updated the Bowden show to give fans watching the show that exciting game day feel by incorporating video footage on a massive video display. This is the second year in a row that the Visual Effects and Graphics in the Bobby Bowden Show open were recognized with a Platinum Best of Show Award. "It's always nice to be recognized by your peers and being that it is an
international competition makes it even a little sweeter," said Jim Garbarino, Seminole Productions Associate Director of Video Operations. "For me personally, Coach Bowden's show which I did myself, has won Best in Show two straight years. Winning these awards speaks to the fact that we are here doing network quality work associated with a university and people recognize that. It's nice to get the accolades for that." Two of the four Aurora Gold Awards went to the popular Seminole Gametime programs, one highlighting the FSU Soccer team and the second highlighting the Seminole Volleyball team. These "behind the
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scenes" programs were created by Seminole Productions for Fox Sports. These shows offer viewers unparalleled access into their favorite FSU programs with content usually only seen through the eyes of coaches and players. The Gold Award for the Seminole Gametime soccer went to Jerry Tootle, while the other Gold Award for Seminole Gametime volleyball went to Zachary Judkins. Two Gold Aurora's were also awarded to Seminole Productions staff members, Brant Wells for his 2009 FSU Football Open that was shown on the big screens as the Seminole football team hit the field, and another Gold Award went to Phil Jackson and Brant Wells for the "In The Doak" Music Video. Previous Aurora Award winners include Disney I.D.E.A.S, The History Channel, A&E Network and Fox Sports Net. The Aurora statue itself was commissioned specifically for the competition by a nationally renowned sculptor. The statues are cast in the same foundry that creates the Emmy, Oscar and Clio statues.