INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) has named Eric Hess as the recipient of the 2012 Dr. Thomas Kearns Service Award, it was announced Wednesday by the conference office. Hess, the sports information director at former GLVC member school Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, has been recognized by current conference members for his efforts in streamlining the communication between the GLVC office, its member institutions, and the conference’s fan base.
Hess will be recognized by the GLVC at the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Spring Awards Banquet in St. Louis on May 22.
Having served in his current position since February 1990, Hess made significant contributions to the GLVC while SIUE was a Division II member in the league from 1994 to 2008. Among his most notable achievements, Hess was asked by then-GLVC Commissioner Carl McAloose in 2002 to create the conference’s official website and oversee all online content pertinent to the GLVC. The site quickly expanded to include full coverage of statistics in all sports, championship events, and special recognition pages. The GLVC Handbook was first uploaded online in 2003 to provide an accurate and updated copy for coaches and administrators. Hess also introduced online voting as an efficient method of selecting All-Conference postseason awards and spent countless hours to enhance the coverage of each GLVC Championship event.
His efforts, which included serving as the conference’s sports information contact for volleyball, baseball, and soccer, were all in addition to his daily responsibilities at SIUE. By devoting those extra hours to the promotion of the GLVC, his work personified the very meaning behind the Service Award.
The GLVC Service Award is named in honor of Dr. Thomas Kearns, who was Northern Kentucky’s faculty athletic representative for 23 years and provided unparalleled service to the GLVC during that period. Kearns served the GLVC as both treasurer and president during his tenure at NKU and assisted with the budget reporting system and the current revenue sharing policy. He spearheaded the league’s first major expansion, wrote the GLVC Hall of Fame guidelines, served on the initial GLVC Awards Committee and developed and maintained the GLVC Handbook. Kearns spent countless hours developing the GLVC into one of the premier NCAA Division II athletic conferences.
In honor of Dr. Kearns, the Service Award is presented to an individual or group that has contributed to the success of the GLVC as it relates to the NCAA Division II attributes of learning, balance, resourcefulness, sportsmanship, passion and service.