FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 12, 1998


Commissioner search committee to meet May 16

GAINESVILLE – FHSAA President Rick Misenti has announced that the FHSAA Commissioner Search Committee will meet at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 16 at the FHSAA Office at 515 North Main Street in Gainesville to select the finalists for the position of Commissioner of the Florida High School Activities Association.

The meeting is open to the public.

There are a total of 21 applicants for Commissioner, which is the Association’s chief executive officer. They are:

• Ronald Allen, deputy commissioner of the FHSAA;

• Tom Apke, currently in private business and broadcasting in Charlotte, N.C.;

• Don Bridges, director of athletics for Polk County Schools in Bartow, Fla.;

• Donald Cifra, director of student activities and athletics for Broward County Schools in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.;

• Steve Duncan, director of athletics and associate principal at Valley High School in West Des Moines, Iowa;

• Dr. Isaac Espy, athletic director of schools in Scottsboro, Ala.;

• Col. Dennis Frisco, head basketball coach at Randolph-Macon Acadmy in Front Royal, Va.;

• Robert Gibson, asset manager with Center Pointe Realty in Palm Harbor, Fla.;

• Dr. David Hoch, athletic director for Eastern Technical High School in Baltimore, Md.;

• Michael Houtz, a St. Petersburg attorney;

• Robert Hughes, retiring superintendent of schools in Alachua County in Gainesville, Fla.;

• Dr. Thomas Maher, assistant superintendent for instruction and school operations in Citrus County in Inverness, Fla.;

• Paul McLaughlin, director of athletic operations for the FHSAA;

• Randy Merrill, a Naples attorney and member of the FHSAA Board of Directors;

• Dr. Deborah Moore, assistant commissioner for the Ohio High School Athletic Association;

• David Morgan, program manager for the Department of Social Services in Pinellas County, Fla.;

• Bruce Patrick, coordinator of student activities and athletic programs for Fairfax County public schools in Fairfax, Va.;

• Don Richetti, president of Whalen and Richetti Tennis Co. in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.;

• Larry Swearingen, athletic director for Norfolk Collegiate School in Norfolk, Va.;

• Ronald Violette, director of student services for Cabarus County Schools in Concord, N.C.; and

• Jack Watford, director of communications for the FHSAA.

The Search Committee will review the resumes of the applicants and narrow the field to not less than three finalists to present to the Association’s Board of Directors at its June 19-20 meeting at the Daytona Beach Hilton. At that meeting, the Board of Directors will interview the finalists and select the successor to current Commissioner Ron Davis, who has announced his retirement effective Jan. 15, 1999.

The Board of Directors’s selection is expected to join the FHSAA staff not later than Aug. 1 as Commissioner-Designate.

Members of the Search Committee are Rick Misenti, FHSAA President and principal of East Lake High School (Tarpon Springs); Bill Montford, FHSAA Vice President and Superintendent of Leon County Schools (Tallahassee); Dr. Howard Hinesley, FHSAA Board member and Superintendent of Pinellas County Schools (Largo); Buddy Vickers, FHSAA Board member and Gilchrist County School Board member (Trenton); Larry Simmons, FHSAA Board member and Manatee County School Board member (Bradenton); Sonny Hester, FHSAA Board member and athletic director at Jesuit High School (Tampa); Doug Thomas, FHSAA Board member and president of Weather Guard Inc. in Ormond Beach; Raymond Gaines, principal of Lake Mary High School ; Millie Fornell, principal of Miami Palmetto High School; and Dorothy Brunson, administrative assistant for the FHSAA.

Contact:
Jack Watford
Director of Communications, FHSAA
(352) 372-9551 ext. 170
jwatford@fhsaa.org