A message from your MCA Past President, Linda Paull...
Here is hoping that everyone is staying healthy and has had a good summer getting re-energized and ready mentally and emotionally to take on the fall of 2020. As we continue to deal with the loss of 2020 spring sports and the uncertainty of fall sports, we need to remember that everyone in the sport community is feeling the impact of COVID-19, so we need to stay positive and help one another. We all want fall sports to happen not only for us but more importantly for our student/athletes. We want things to be back to normal as we knew it before but there is a new normal and we are all trying to figure what that is going to look like. The whole world is facing this challenge that is changing the way we live. If we want our sports to happen this fall, we need to follow the guidelines set by our leaders in the communities that we live in.
The MCA board was saddened by the cancellation of the clinic because of this pandemic and know that many of you were also disappointed. The clinic is a great place to reconnect with friends, hear great speakers and to get excited about the upcoming year. Don and Marian did everything possible to make it happen, but the virus continued to grow throughout the state and there was no way that we could hold the clinic and make sure to try and keep everyone safe. I would like to congratulate the award winners for the 2019-20 school year. The clinic is a time for us to recognize you for all your hard work and success. We usually introduce the longevity award winners, coaches of year in each sport and classification, scholarship winners and the 2020 Hall of Fame Inductees. This year’s Hall of Fame Inductees are Tony Arntson (Helena High), Jim Carroll (Conrad), Bill Lepley (Shepherd), John Sillitti (Manhattan), John Smith (Columbus), Dan Stanton (Custer County), Rob Stanton (Billings West), Steve Weston (Hamilton) and Fred Volkman (Cut Bank). A well-deserved honor for each one of you and thank you for all that you do and have done for sports in Montana.
We can view this challenge as an opportunity to learn, to support one another and to grow both as individuals and as a society. Make sure to stay connected with friends and family and to know it is alright to have feelings of uncertainty, fear and anxiety. Best of luck as we enter this fall and let’s hope that we can continue with schooling and sports.
Linda Paull