Jamie White to Receive 2006 Robert E. Smith Achievement Award
 
Courtesy of the NAIA

Sept. 30, 2005

The NAIA Baseball Coaches Association Executive Committee has selected Lewis-Clark State College (Idaho) athletic administrator Jamie White as the recipient of the 2006 Robert E. Smith Achievement Award.

White, the local tournament director for the NAIA Baseball National Championships since its return to Lewiston, Idaho in 2000, will receive the award on January 6 during the NAIA Baseball Hall of Fame and Honors Luncheon at the ABCA Convention in Chicago, Ill.

"In his position as the Series administrator, he has distinguished himself as an organizer and a promoter; while all the time maintaining his focus that this event is for and about the players," said NAIA-BCA President and Hastings College coach Jim Boeve. "Each year he makes 11 days in Lewiston not only a goal but also an unforgettable experience for the participants and the thousands of fans in attendance."

Total attendance for the 2005 AVISTA-NAIA World Series in Lewiston exceeded 35,000 and 3,000 fans saw Oklahoma City capture its first NAIA baseball championship with a victory over Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Fla.). The 2006 tournament will be the 50th anniversary of the NAIA Baseball National Championship and the 15th that has been played at Harris Field on the campus of Lewis-Clark State College.

"This is a tremendous honor and it is extremely gratifying to be recognized with this award," said White. "I share this award with my entire staff and the more then five hundred volunteers in the Lewis-Clark Valley who work so hard to make the NAIA National Baseball Championship a great event each year."

Established in 1999 by the NAIA-BCA, the Smith Award is presented to an outstanding NAIA coach or administrator who has demonstrated unselfish promotion of NAIA baseball. The award's namesake, Robert "Ish" Smith, was the first recipient of this award in 1999. Smith, an NAIA Hall of Fame baseball coach and former President at Greenville College (Ill.), also served as the President of the International Baseball Association.