McCormack Annual Awards Banquet

Eight alumni and 26 students received honors and scholarships at the Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management’s Annual Awards Banquet in the Campus Center on April 10^th, 2018. 

Colleen Duffy Brace (BS ‘95), Jeff Goering (MS ‘97), David Hixon (MS ‘79), and Bob Schwartz (BS ‘84) were honored with Harold J. VanderZwaag awards, the department’s life-time achievement award, for their work in the sport and entertainment industries.

A second honor - McCormack’s Alumni-on-the-Rise Award - went to four recipients. Elissa Hollander (Dolacky) (BS ’11), Melissa Marchionna (MS ’09), Preetam Sen (BS ’10), and Kairon Serrette (MS ’08.

Our alumni award recipients exemplify the broad footprint of McCormack graduates in the spectator sport industry. Colleen Duffy Brace is the Senior Vice President for Venue Services at ANC. David Hixon just finished his 41st season as Head Men’s Basketball Coach for Amherst College. Jeff Goering joined the Baltimore Ravens in 1999 and currently oversees the finance, human resources and information technology departments as their Senior Vice President / Chief Financial Officer. Bob Schwartz is the Vice President of Marketing for Spectra by Comcast Spectacor. In this role Bob oversees the development and management of over 120 marketers.

Elissa Hollander (Dolacky) is the Senior Manager of the Hospitality & Events at MKTG, a global lifestyle marketing agency for leading brands activating in sport and entertainment. Melissa Marchionna is currently the Director of Social Media at Major League Soccer. Preetam Sen is Director, Partnership Sales (Americas) at Manchester City Football Club and City Football Group. Kairon Serrette is the Senior Manager of Business Development at The Sports Company of Trinidad and Tobago, where he’s worked for over five years.

Award recipients were able to share their experiences, wisdom, and advice with current students during small breakout sessions and when addressing the banquet attendees. Despite their varied career paths they all shared one common piece of advice – build strong relationships.

Our student award winners represent some of the best and brightest. With impressive internship and job offers, involvement in student organizations, and community service opportunities this group still manages to maintain average GPA of 3.5. The many scholarships awarded at the event will support students in a variety of undertakings, including academics, internships, volunteerism, and community service. Student award winners included:

Joan and Ed Barr Memorial Scholarship – Stephen Black ’19, Allison Baughman ‘19

Eastern League Scholarship – Jacob Barnes ‘20

Kristian J. Rose, Jr. Memorial Scholarship – Malika Antione Nicholson ‘20

Erik K.M. Kjeldsen Scholarship – Kate Avard ’19, Nicholas Sears ‘19

Marilyn & Richie Tannenbaum Scholarship – Lindsey Cunniff ‘19

47 Brand Scholarship – Marissa Pati ‘19

Harold J. VanderZwaag Scholarship - Jihwan Yoon ‘19

Glenn Wong Sport Law Scholarship – Jonathan Silverman ‘18

Alumni Scholarship – Grant Ossman ’19, Morgan Mueller ‘17

McCormack Center Scholarship – Jacob Coles ’19, Darius Webb ‘21

Senior Leadership Award – Tess Smichenko ’18, Sean Julius ‘18

Top Seniors -  Kayleigh Bishop-Kotarba, Will Campbell, Sean Julius, Marissa Light, Ryan Mahan, Mackenzie McCurdy, Jackson McDonnell, Marissa Randall, Tess Smichenko, Alli Steele, Brianna Stewart, Russell Wells