Bobcat Garrison Dodge named Heart Walker award winner

(Peru, Neb.) – Peru State football student-athlete Garrison Dodge (Oakland) has been named the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) recipient of the Dr. LeRoy Walker Champions of Character award. All the Heart's major awards were announced at the conference's annual Summit on Monday in Olathe, Kan.
 
Dodge noted he is very honored to be named as the Heart's Walker Award winner. He said, "I am truly honored to be considered for an award such as this, not only representing the Heart of America Athletic Conference, but every midwest student athlete who joined our team A4C team to raise money for the Children's Hospital." In closing, Dodge noted, "I want to thank my parents for being supportive in everything I do, as well as all my coaches and teammates – past and present."
 
He is the first Walker winner from Peru State since 2018 when former Bobcat football player Dan Boshart (former Wood River/now Bruning) was named as the winner. Prior to that, Peru State golfer Marisa (Pribnow) Zornes (Lincoln) won the conference award in 2015.
 
The NAIA Dr. LeRoy Walker Champions of Character Award for student-athletes is one of the most prestigious awards in the NAIA and was created in association with National Sports Foundation, a group of sports organizations that promote and recognize sportsmanship. Dr. Walker was a former president of the NAIA and president emeritus of the U.S. Olympic Committee. The award honors outstanding student-athletes for their academics, athletics, leadership, and dedication to living the core values of Champions of Character.
 
To be nominated, a student-athlete must be at least a junior in academic status with a 3.0 grade point average or higher; be involved on campus and community leadership; embrace the five core values of the NAIA Champions of Character and have athletic achievements. Dodge had to submit a resume and an essay on how he demonstrated one of the core values of the Champions of Character. Also, three letters of recommendation were required as part of the nomination process.
   
Dodge, a junior K-12 health and physical education teaching and coaching major, with a business administration minor, has a perfect 3.687 grade point average. Some of his academic achievements include being on the President's List (perfect 4.0 grade point average) twice and being on the Dean's List (3.5 and above) three times. Dodge as been the recipient of the Phyllis Davidson Scholarship.
 
Some of Dodge's campus activities include being a three-year member of the football team, a member of the Peru Association of Student Athletes (PASA) for two years. This past spring, Dodge was elected as the vice president of PASA.
 
Long-time football coaching assistant Lou Varley wrote this of Dodge in his recommendation letter, "Garrison is someone who exemplifies the best in the NAIA as a Student-Athlete and the five core values of the Champions of Character. He leads the team in on-campus and community service projects. While competing, Garrison always displays good sportsmanship. He is a highly respected role model who leads by example of hard work and positive attitude."
 
He is a three-year letter winner on the football team and been a part-time starter during his time in a Bobcat uniform.
 
Other campus and community service activities in which Dodge has been involved include participating in the Peru City-Wide Clean-up, assisting with the Football Booster Club's Powerlifting meet, and participating in the Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) activities. With the SAAM events which took place in April, he helped assist with a Scavenger Hunt throughout the campus, organized the Chalk the Walk event, and encouraged teammates and other student-athletes to attend various events. The past two years, Dodge has helped coordinate the PASA donation drives for Project Response which resulted in securing over 1,000 different personal hygiene types of projects.
 
In addition, to all of his community service events, Dodge has found the time to coach a sixth-grade volleyball team this past spring and has previously coached a fourth-grade softball team.
 
However, all of the previous community service information listed pales in comparison to perhaps his biggest community service effort – "Athletes 4 Children." Dodge started this charity fundraiser as a senior in high school and has continued with it since 2018. So far, his efforts have helped raise over $18,000 for the Children's Hospital in Omaha where he actually spent quite some time in the NICU as a baby. This effort has continued to expand over the year with the concept of securing student-athletes to pledge for their outstanding play.
 
Alyssa DeFrain, Development Officer for Children's Hospital and Medical Center Foundation stated this in her letter of recommendation, "We can't thank Garrison and his family enough for starting the Athletes 4 Children program. Throughout many changes during the pandemic, Garrison has continued to be an inspiration to the student athlete participants and exemplified the mission of A4C. His leadership and dedication have brought stability and growth to the program and rallied participants, making Garrison well deserving of this award."
 
Former teammate Dylan Dittman (Omaha) noted, "Garrison embodies what it means to be a student-athlete regarding his work in the classroom. Even on long road trips, Garrison is always sure to stay on top of his studies. During my years as his teammate, many nights after practice were spent on various assignments and studying for future exams. Having someone to help keep me on track and to push in return was immensely helpful for my own academic career and will serve him well in his future role as an educator."
 
Dodge's nomination has been forwarded by the conference to the NAIA national office for judging with the others conference nominees. The winner will be announced in September as part of the NAIA National Awards Day.