FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 28, 1998


Commissioner Ron Davis' letter of resignation to President Rick Misenti

January 22, 1998


Mr. Rick Misenti, President
Florida High School Activities Association
515 N. Main Street
Gainesville, FL 32601


Dear Rick:

The final reports from Davis Monk & Company, the independent auditors, and Lucius Dyal, Jr., of Shackleford, Farrior, Stallings, and Evans, P.A., independent counsel, have been received and reviewed at this office. As you are by now no doubt aware, I have been completely exonerated in regard to the false allegations made by Bruce Nearon. Likewise, the slanderous allegations made against my wife and other family members have also been disproved.

I feel that I am now at a crossroads with the Association and it is an appropriate time for me to seriously reevaluate my future with the organization. After considerable consideration and consultation with members of my family, I have decided to tender my resignation as Commissioner of the Florida High School Activities Association effective January 15, 1999. It is my hope that this will give you and the Board of Directors adequate time to select a new Commissioner and insure that the new Commissioner will have a period of time during which to familiarize himself or herself with the demands, commitments and responsibilities of the job.

I am pleased with what has been accomplished during my tenure as the Commissioner of the Association. We have worked with our corporate partners to increase association revenue by leaps and bounds. We made a sound economic decision to purchase the building which now houses our entire operation and provides additional revenue to the Association in rental income.

The championship series’ revenues have increased, in some cases, fourfold. For instance, baseball revenues have increased from $28,000 to $100,000. Football has increased from $125,380 to $185,000. Basketball has increased from $120,000 to approximately $225,000. Volleyball has increased from $13,000 to $17,028, track from $21,000 to $27,500, and wrestling from $18,000 to $36,770. Sale of officially licensed FHSAA souvenir merchandise totaled $75,000 this year - something that had never been marketed prior to my arrival.

The following awards programs have been established during my tenure:

• FHSAA Hall of Fame
• Fred E. Rozelle Sportsmanship Award
• Floyd E. Lay All-Sports Award
• Academic All State Team

We have also established various committees made up of coaches, athletic directors, officials, and medical experts to advise the Board of Directors of current concerns in these fields. These committees have made innovative proposals which have improved the athletic programs throughout the state to the benefit of every student athlete in the state of Florida. Perhaps the most important of these committees to be established is the Public Liaison Advisory Committee, whose purpose is to study and evaluate the functioning of the Association and make direct report and recommendations to the Board of Directors and the Florida Legislature. In fact, the composition of the current board was first proposed by myself to this committee.

Another area in which the Association blazed new ground as a result of my vision has been the establishment of Quick Elig, a computer software program that enables schools to submit eligibility electronically. Currently 427, or 71%, of our 601 member schools are Quick Elig users. Of these, 101 schools are transmitting data over the Internet, as of today’s date.

I trust that the future of the Association will be more secure as a result of my efforts. It is my sincere hope and desire that the Association continue to move forward on the positive path which we have established in the past seven years.


Sincerely,



Ronald N. Davis
Commissioner


RND:hw