Feb. 22, 2006
ORLANDO - UCF head football coach George O'Leary was presented with the John Young Spotlight Award Wednesday by the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce. Each year the Chamber may bestow the John Young Spotlight Award on a person or group that has directed national or international attention to Central Florida. Candidates must be distinguished by their accomplishments and the arduous preparation, education and effort that contributed to these achievements.
O'Leary is the first person to be honored since 2001 when the Honorable Mel Martinez was given the award. O'Leary led the Golden Knights to their first-ever bowl appearance in 2005 as the team finished with an 8-5 record , including a 7-1 mark in Conference USA as the Eastern Division champions. The Golden Knights hosted the inaugural C-USA Football Championship game in front of a school-record crowd of 51,978 fans.
O'Leary, Conference USA's Coach of the Year, engineered the fourth-best turnaround in NCAA history. He was named National Coach of the Year by CBSSportsline.com and SportsIllustrated.com.
Selection Process
Candidates for the John Young Spotlight Award are identified through a nomination process.
Choosing a recipient for the John Young Spotlight Award is a highly confidential process. A panel of four community leaders, serving anonymously, works with the committee chairman to identify an honoree. Selection guidelines for this honor are stringent; in fact, if no candidate can meet the determining criteria, the award will not be given that year.
Purpose
To pay special tribute to one who has particularly distinguished himself in some field by reason of arduous preparation and effort on his part similarly as John Young underwent a very intensive, long period of preparation for his space ventures. It is aimed primarily at those who, through their efforts, have focused the attention of the nation on Orlando and its environs, and brought national acclaim and public notice through their efforts and by reason of their outstanding accomplishments.
Recipients
1965 Astronaut John Young1966 Martin Andersen, Publisher, Sentinel Star Publisher1967 Dr. Hugh McKean, President, Rollins College1968 Dr. Marshall W. Nirenberg, Nobel Prize Winner1969 Roy O. Disney, Walt Disney World1970 Liz Allen, Women's World Water Ski Champion1971 Admiral Joseph W. Fowler, Walt Disney World1972 Astronaut John Young1973 Buddy Ebsen, Orlando Born Actor1974 Did not find appropriate recipient1975 Roy Crane, Comic Strip Artist1976 Arnold Palmer, Golfer, Bay Hill1977 Rev. John Bruce Medaris, General1978 Jeannette Morse Genius McKean, Philanthropist1979 Curtis H. Stanton, Orlando Utilities Commission1980 Dick Pope, Sr., Cypress Gardens1981 Charlie McClendon, Florida Citrus Sports1982 Bob Snow, Creator, Church Street Station1983 John F. Simpson, Jr., Harness Racing Champion1984 Joe E. Kittinger, World Record Balloonist1985 Rollins College1986 Pat Williams, The Orlando Magic1987 Michael Eisner and Frank Wells, Walt Disney World1988 Jane Healy, The Orlando Sentinel, Pulitzer Prize Winner1989 Bill Frederick, Mayor, City of Orlando1990 John Wyckoff, Director, Orlando International Airport1992 W. D. "Bo" Randall, Jr., Randall Made Knives1993 Shaquille O'Neal, Basketball player, The Orlando Magic1994 Joanie Schirm-Neiswender, World Cup Soccer1995 Dr. Jim Henry, First Baptist Church of Orlando1996 Davis Gaines, Phantom of the Opera1997 University of Central Florida1998 Henry Landwirth, Give Kids the World1999 Doc Rivers, Coach, Orlando Magic2001 The Honorable Mel Martinez, Secretary HUD2005 Coach George O'Leary, University of Central Florida
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