First Ever Fan Awards Event to Premier in Buffalo
Ahmad Rashad Produced Event to Take Place May 21, 2009 at Historic Shea's Performing Arts Center
Fan Voting Now Underway Honoring High School, College, & Professional Athletes in Western New York
April 30, 2009- Buffalo, NY– Ahmad Rashad’s FAN Awards Network (FAN) will hold its first ever FAN Awards show on Thursday, May 21st at the historic Shea’s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, New York, it was announced by Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Rashad. The Buffalo Fan Awards event will honor local sports stars and legends from high school, college and professional sports in the Western New York area.
Information and tickets for the May 21st event can be obtained at the event’s official website www.buffalofanawards.com. Visitors to the site will have the opportunity to vote on all award categories and enter the Buffalo FAN Awards Sweepstakes for a chance to win tickets to the show. Almost 500,000 online votes have already been received.
Each nominee (which were selected by the FAN nominations committee) is featured on the official website. The nominations committee is comprised of local sports media and is led by Dick Gallagher, founder of Western New York High School Sports Magazine. The only award not selected by the nominations committee is the special Wilson Farms Sports Mom Of The Year Award which is both nominated and voted on by the FANS.
Some of Buffalo’s most beloved sports figures and celebrities expected to participate in the event include: Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith, Andre Reed, Ryan Miller, Matthew Barnaby, Billy Shaw, Joe DeLamielleure, Booker Edgerson, Ruben Brown, Rob Ray, Danny Gare, Alex Van Pelt, Goo Goo Dolls founder Robby Takac, and many more.
“The passion for high school and college sports in every local community nationwide was one of the reasons I wanted to create FAN Awards Network,” said Rashad. “I also wanted to develop top quality award shows that will honor and celebrate local student athletes and allow the fans to have their voices heard.”
The Buffalo FAN Awards will feature 40 awards in 26 different categories including:
* Buffalo Professional Football Player Of The Year
* Buffalo Professional Hockey Player Of The Year
* Buffalo Professional Athlete Of The Year
* College Team Of The Year
* College Coach Of The Year
* College Scholar Athlete Of The Year
* Men’s/Women’s College Player Of The Year
* Play Of The Year
* Men’s/Women’s Western New York College Player Of The Year
* High School Scholar Athlete Of The Year
* Boys/Girls Volleyball Player Of The Year
* Boys/Girls Hockey Player Of The Year
* Boys/Girls High School Athlete Of The Year (Large School/Small School)
* Boys/Girls High School Team Of The Year
* Boys/Girls High School Coach Of The Year
* Boys Baseball Player Of The Year
* Girls Softball Player Of The Year
* High School Lacrosse Player Of The Year
* High School Wrestler Player Of The Year (Large School/Small School)
* Boys/Girls Basketball Player Of The Year (Large School/Small School)
* Football Player Of The Year (Large School/Small School)
* Boys/Girls Soccer Player Of The Year
* Boys/Girls Track & Field Player Of The Year
The one additional award is the Wilson Farms “Sports Mom Of The Year” honoring the Mom most devoted to her tireless efforts on behalf of her athlete son or daughter. Nomination letters for this award can be submitted online at www.buffalofanawards.com.
Title Sponsor of The Buffalo FAN Awards is Wilson Farms. Wilson Farms Neighborhood Food Stores are locally owned and operated by the Nanula family. Founded in 1969, Wilson Farms now operates 190 stores throughout New York, and offers fresh prepared foods, special blends of premium coffee and cappuccino, and a wide variety of grocery, dairy and frozen foods.
FAN Awards Network has made a commitment to partner with local non-profit organizations such as: The Buffalo Bills Alumni Foundation; The Buffalo Sabres Alumni Foundation; The Steadfast Foundation; Music Is Art; Kelly For Kids Foundation; and Hunter’s Hope Foundation.
About FAN Awards Network, LLC (FAN)
Co-Founded by football legend, Emmy Award winning TV producer and host, Ahmad Rashad, FAN Awards Network, LLC (FAN) was created to produce the highest quality local sports award shows where hometown sports legends present awards to student-athletes as voted on by their local “fans”. FAN prides itself on our interactive online network dedicated to celebrating local student athlete achievements and humanitarian efforts year round.
FAN local websites also provide a proprietary platform for “fans” to vote on over 35 local awards, and an active online social network connecting local sports communities of student athletes, sports legends, current pros and passionate supporters of hometown sports. FAN Awards Network, LLC plans to roll out at least twenty regional websites and award shows by the end of 2010. For more information, check out www.buffalofanawards.com