After moving to St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1972, Frank tested the waters
at the St. Pete North Shore Pool in 1973 and shortly thereafter was asked
to join the St. Petersburg Recreation Department AAU Masters team, because,
"We're having a meet at the Lido Pool in Sarasota." That was the
start of over 400 Masters swims that since 1993 have included 187 individual
USMS Top Ten swims as well as All-American honors, most recently in 2004
in the 50 and 100 meter breaststroke events in the 90-94 age group.
By 1979, Frank was president and newsletter editor for the St. Pete
Masters. During this time, he spent many hours organizing and coordinating
Masters swim meets and in 1983, he was nominated as Volunteer of the Month
of the City of St. Petersburg. Frank served on the Board of Directors of
the Florida LMSC as newsletter editor from 1984 to 1994. He served on the
USMS Zone committee, he was Dixie Zone Chairman from 1987 to 1991, and
he has continuously served on the USMS Legislation Committee since 1984.
After timing for the local USS swim club around 1984, Frank was asked
to become an official. He became a certified stroke and turn judge, and
before long, worked up to the USS classification of Certified National
Championship Swimming Official. He has worked at high school, YMCA, USMS,
USS meets, Junior and Senior Nationals, and the 1992 Olympic Trials.
Because of Frank's outstanding performance as a meet official, he was
nominated for and received the Fred Cruciger Award in 1996, which is given
by Florida Swimming to an official who has been available when needed and
who has been dedicated to the betterment of the sport of swimming.
He has competed in over 20 international meets. His first big away venture
was with Ernie Brisco in 1984 when they flew to Australia and swam at a
covered outdoor pool, then competed at the "1st Unofficial World Masters
Championships" in Christchurch, New Zealand. In 1986, he was the first
person in his age group to swim the 200 SCM fly, setting a world record
in the process. He received another All American status that same year
in the 400 SCM I.M.
Through his international travel and competition, Frank made many friends
and aquaintances. One was Vasile Pop, Romanian swimmer and coach, who Frank
met in Indianapolis in 1992.
In 1995, the only 50m pool and teaching pool in the Romanian area of
Cluj-Napoca was closed due to insufficient funds, and for five years, children,
adults and competitive swimmers had no pool. In 1999, the Romanian Education
Department transferred the pools to the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca.
The University had limited funds and needed additional money to complete
this project. Through Pop, the university asked Frank if he would consider
being the official "Sponsor Director." He immediately agreed,
and the money he helped raise went for filtration equipment from Jacksonville.
The pool was reopened in June, 2001.
Appropriately, in 2005, the Florida LMSC recognized Frank with a special
award honoring him as a World Wide Swimming Advocate..
Dick
Brewer
Dick Brewer began as a member of SWIM Florida Masters in Fort Myers
and later organized the San Carlos Merry Minnows in Estero and San Carlos
Park. He competes regularly in meets and has attained Top Ten and All-American
recognition as a relay member.
Although relatively new to Masters, he has already made an impact on
the Florida LMSC swimming community. He created a web site for SWIM Florida
Masters and expanded it into the first Florida LMSC web site, which has
received Top Ten recognition for its all-inclusive presentations. He now
does web sites for the San Carlos Merry Minnows, Florida Aquatic Combined
Team, Florida LMSC, and Dixie Zone, and helped start the web site for the
SUN Masters in Clearwater.
He diligently posts the Florida LMSC Top 5 and records for all three
courses and serves as a proof reader. Accuracy and recognition of swimmers'
efforts are very important, and he doesn't want to leave anyone's efforts
off the list. He expanded his efforts to create and maintain the Dixie
Zone web site. Zone records hadn't been updated in four years, and he helped
sift through stacks of results to insure they were current and accurate.
He also helped compile the Dixie Zone Top Ten lists.
He has a gift for communicating, creating LMSC forms, the on-line newsletter,
various fliers and programs for the LMSC, and he writes the e-mails that
are distributed to the team reps to encourage their participation in LMSC
activities and socials. He also posts meet information on the Dixie Zone
web site and sends out notices to clubs and LMSC officers throughout the
Dixie Zone.
In 2001 when SWIM Florida Masters hosted the Zone LCM Championships
in Sarasota, he researched and included all the LMSC, Zone and USMS records
in the heat sheet, was on the meet committee, helped on deck during the
rain delayed, soggy meet, and provided awards ranging from designing custom
ribbons to creating ceramic trophies for teams and most valuable individuals.
He also makes the awards for all of the Florida LMSC's awards banquets.
He served as a Florida LMSC delegate to the USAS conventions for three
years, and was in Dearborn for the 2002 USAS convention before that year's
convention was canceled. In absentia, he set up a calendar so zone meet
dates could be compiled for an up-to-date zone calendar. Dick Brewer is
a positive, enthusiastic contributor and an asset to our Florida LMSC and
Masters swimming.
Dick Brewer received both the Florida LMSC Frank H. Tillotson Award
and the USMS Dorothy Donnelly Service Award in 2002
Rogers
"Tiger" Holmes
Rogers Holmes, who many of us know only as Tiger, has been involved
in Masters swimming since 1982. In 1988, he sponsored the Holmes Lumber
Jax Masters Team that sent 170 swimmers from throughout the US to the World
Championships in Brisbane, Australia. This venture was to spotlight Jacksonville's
need for a 50-meter swim facility.
After returning from Australia, the team taught Jacksonville's underprivileged
children to swim. In three years, 12,000 kids had the opportunity to learn
to swim, thanks to his encouragement to many of his team members. In 2005,
over 2,000 swimmers participated in a marathon swim, hoping to make the
Guiness Book of Records, to again spotlight the need for a major swim facility.
Tiger has been a board member of the International Swimming Hall of
Fame since 1991 and was its Chairman for four years. The American College
Coaches awarded him the Charles McCaffree Award in 1989 for outstanding
contributions to swimming.
Tiger Holmes received the Florida LMSC Frank H. Tillotson Award in
2006
Sue
Moucha
Sue Moucha has been a member of the Blue Wave Masters Team for many
years. She has cerebral palsy and has competed at many of their National
and World Championships, but she prefers the challenge of competing in
Masters meets. She prefers the longer distances, and in 2003 and 2004 swam
all five postal events, earning her the LMSC's Leather Lungs Award.
In 2003, when St Pete Masters no longer held development meets, Sue
stepped up to the challenge and worked with the Brandon Swim and Tennis
Club to work out the details -- timers, officials, registration, seed cards
and even a social, afterwards. Their first meet was a success and she has
a good relationship with the USA coach to provide even more timers for
a meet this summer.
During the summer, when swimmers needed a 50m pool to swim their USMS
5K and 10K postal events, she was able to offer her pool. She worked out
a system whereby any swimmer so desiring could contact her and swim their
event. She had many inquiries and several took her up on her generosity
to promote this FL LMSC program.
When the Florida LMSC instituted its Leather Lungs Award for swimmers
who participate in all events in SCY, LCM, SCM, and/or USMS Postal Championships,
and no local meets offered an 800m free event that year, she organized
a special 800 free meet at the Brandon pool so swimmers would have the
opportunity to meet the requirements for the Leather Lungs Award. She also
organized an aerobics/synchronized swimming clinic at the Brandon pool
lead by Master swimmer Jane Katz. And in 2004, she was elected Sanctions
Chair for the LMSC.
Sue Moucha received the Frank H. Tillotson Award in 2004
Deb
Walker
Deb Walker's love for and service to swimming transcends everything
else in her life. Because of this devotion, she has affected the lives
of countless numbers of swimmers ... from a kid at his first swim lesson,
to the age group swimmer who sticks with it and doesn't quit, to the high
school swimmer who she helps get a swimming scholarship to college, to
a new Masters swimmer who is inspired to swim in his first swim meet, to
a world class swimmer at the Olympic trials.
One does not have to go far to know of her accomplishments, but you
will not hear about them from her. When she is promoting something, it
is a cause that promotes Masters swimming; it is never herself. Yet she
is a Masters All-American many times over and has set national and world
records.
Deb started the first Swim American swim lesson program in Sarasota,
was an assistant coach at the Sarasota Boys Club for nearly 15 years volunteering
without pay, and has been the backbone of the Suncoast Masters/Swim Florida
Masters in Sarasota team for decades. If she isn't the meet director for
their annual meet, she is behind the scenes doing everything that has to
be done.
Her efforts aren't confined to the pool or pool deck. When the head
Boys Club coach moved on to another job, Deb took it upon herself to advertise
for, interview, and hire a new coach. She is now on the Sarasota Masters
board of directors, and recently designed a welcoming brochure for her
Masters team to send out to current and prospective members; she thinks
of every detail to help out a new swimmer.
"First and foremost, she loves swimming," said Robert Davie,
president of SWIM Florida Masters/Sarasota. "How many times have I
witnessed a fun workout that she has created for the group she is training
with? She has brought recognition to our team with her consistent All-America
status, always raising the bar. There is no second place person behind
Deb Walker -- no one could fill her shoes. There may be people who know
more about Masters swimming, but I would be at a loss to think of anyone
who contributes so much and in such a caring manner."
"I have swum with her for the last 30 years," added Jim Donnelly.
"So I know firsthand what she had done. She is the hardest working
Masters swimmer I have ever known, ...but she has never rested on her laurels
and has given to the swimming community more than she could possibly ever
get back."
Deb Walker received the Frank H. Tillotson Award and the USMS Dorothy
Donnelly Service Award in 2005
Meegan
Wilson
Meegan Wilson, who swims for the 300 Club, regularly trains and competes
in meets and has earned USMS All-American and Top Ten recognition for her
efforts. Meegan has been the Florida LMSC Treasurer since 2000 where she
has been very diligent, conscientious, and fair in handling the responsibilities
of budgeting, paying bills, and writing reports, which she presents at
the LMSC meetings.
When the Florida LMSC chairman unexpectedly resigned in 1993, she served
as the temporary chairperson. When the LMSC newsletter editor didn't fulfill
her responsibilities in 2000, Meegan put two or three newsletters together
to fill the gap.
"She is always willing to take on any task that will benefit the
FL LMSC organization and always provides service with a smile," said
Florida LMSC chair Tom Bliss. "Whenever there is an issue or dilemma
that we face, Meegan always provides special insight that seems to be just
what we need to successfully get the job done. Meegan is faithful, diligent,
honest, caring and relentless in her support of the USMS Organization."
But her work is hardly confined to the Florida LMSC. "It's hard
to imagine that we'd have developed the excellent USMS Archives that we
have today without Meegan Wilson," said Carl House, USMS History &
Archives chair. "While Dorothy and I were playing with Top Ten files
and just beginning to explore stories and photos, Meegan told us she had
started digitizing our thirty years of All-American lists. Had someone
asked me to do that, I'd have said that's more than we can do, but Meegan
simply sat down and did it. She scanned pages of small print, often with
handwritten corrections and additions, and then painstakingly corrected
the mistakes made in the scanning process." This major piece of work
is ongoing and is documented on the USMS website.
When that work was finished, Meegan turned to gathering stories and
photos of USMS swimmers, using Swim Magazine as a source and serving
as a contact person for anyone wishing to contribute a newspaper story
or story from any other source. This required not only her taking administrative
responsibility but also required transcribing numerous stories.
In 2001, she also produced the first brochure circulated from the History
and Archives Committee. A year later, she produced an improved version
and mailed 200 copies to all Executive Committee members, LMSC Chairpersons
and Committee Chairpersons with a cover letter from USMS President Jim
Miller.
"For my part, I can simply say that the USMS archives would definitely
not be what they are today without the big boost of her All-American database
that was created solely on her initiative and with an immense amount of
her personal effort," said House. "Meegan, we owe you big time.
Thanks."
Meegan Wilson received both the Florida LMSC Frank H. Tillotson Award
and the USMS Dorothy Donnelly Service Award in 2003
.Frank Tillotson -- Swim in good health