ILMSA

A pessimist, they say, sees a glass of water as being half empty;
an optimist sees the same glass as half full.
But a giving person sees a glass of water and starts looking for someone who might be thirsty.
G. Donald Gale

On October 11th, 2010, the Illinois Masters Swimming Association (ILMSA) Board of directors voted to rename the annual ILMSA Service Award the John Sloan Memorial Volunteer of the Year Award. The person who embodies this award will have characteristics that bring to mind John Sloan of Coho Masters (Deerfield, IL), a USA Swimming Coach and Masters swimmer who passed away in 2010 while swimming in an Open Water event in Crystal Lake, IL. These demonstrated characteristics include but are not limited to volunteerism, sportsmanship, good character, leadership, supportiveness, inspiring to others, generosity and a passion for the sport of Masters Swimming.

Nominations for the JOHN SLOAN MEMORIAL VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD may be submitted via email only to awards AT ilmsa DOT com. The award is presented at the ILMSA Spring Meeting, which takes place following the Saturday session of the ILMSA State Championships. The next upcoming meeting will be held at Vernon Hills High School the afternoon of April 9, 2011. For more information, please contact the ILMSA Recognition and Awards Committee via email at awards AT ilmsa DOT com.

For press release purposes, a PDF copy of the above can be found here. More on John Sloan can be found here (thanks to Steven Munatones and Michael Lawrence for this article).