Swim Team Friends,

Forgive us for the additional email today however we wanted to tell you about the end-of-season awards banquet for those who may be new to the team and even for those of you who are ancient to the team. :-) We’ve evolved the event this year to modernize award categories while respecting the team’s traditions, elevate the impact of the awards, and better communicate the overall contributions of our team – including parents.

One of the most important takeaways is that you need to RSVP by Saturday, June 22^nd. We are not taking walk-ins for this event. Please RSVP here. We have arranged for the pool to be closed to the general public during our event as we want to present you with an exclusive event that has a swim team family feel. More logistical event details are below, but first some information about the awards that will be presented.

Most Valuable Swimmer

These are the swimmers (1 male and 1 female per age group) who scored the most points and therefore are the most valuable in their age group for individual events at dual meets.

Most Inspirational
This is a new award this year and will go to one individual. Our coaches compiled a list of 8 swimmers (male and female across age groups) whom they felt embodied the ability to inspire confidence, motivation, and a sense of purpose. The nominees in this category have demonstrated a commitment to the team and to the sport. From the coach’s nominated list, our swimmers voted for their top choice. Voting took place through ballots on 6/18 and 6/19 and the final winner will be announced at the banquet.

Andee Poulos Award

For those of that do not know Andee, we hope you will…her story will move you. Andee is a Mountaire Barracuda having swum for the team for 14 years. In 2011 (at the age of 14), Andee had a stroke and for 20 months she bravely pushed through having endured hours of surgery and months of rehabilitation. She even returned to swim for the Barracudas following her injury, an event and story which prompted the creation of the Andee Poulos Award – for courage and determination. Today, at the age of 22 Andee is attending college and with her family’s help, oversees Andee's Army, an Atlanta-based non-profit dedicated to funding the recovery and rehabilitation of children who have sustained brain and spinal cord injuries. Andee is an incredible inspiration and an Atlanta Hero as recently honored by our Atlanta Braves baseball team.

We are pleased to announce that Andee will attend our event and she will share her story with all of you and will present the 2019 Andee Poulos award for courage and determination to a most deserving athlete on our team. Please take a moment to watch her story poignantly captured by 11Alive news.

Susan Wells Stone Award

The Susan Wells Stone award is given to the swimmer who has demonstrated one or more of the ideals of sportsmanship, including fairness, civility, honesty, respect and responsibility. This is the individual who is cheering for their teammates at the end of the lane in meets or practices, who shakes the hand of the competitor in the lane next to them after the race, who encourages and compliments younger and older athletes not necessarily for what they achieved but for what they accomplished along the way. This is the person who relentlessly thinks of others and maintains a spirit of integrity and respect for the sport, their coaches and the spirit for which the season represents.

Volunteer of the Season

The heartbeat of our swim team are our volunteers. These are parents, caregivers, friends and family who relentlessly show up and support our team through action. They roll up their sleeves, take on “unpaid” responsibility, and do it with a smile. Some of these folks are behind the scenes and you don’t even realize the “good” that they do to keep this program running. We are humbled by them and forever grateful for them. It is only fitting that we choose a recipient for “volunteer of the season”…an individual that has gone over and beyond not because they had to but because they sincerely wanted to.

In addition to awards, the evening will include a catered dinner from Carl's Cafe (bourbon chicken, green beans, mac & cheese, assorted drinks and dessert) plus free swim and pool games. The schedule is as follows:

• 5:00 PM doors open, free swim, pool games, dinner
• 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM awards presentation
• 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM free swim, pool games
• $10.00 per person/$40.00 family cap (register all family members attending and pay in total, partial reimbursements will be made if registration total exceeds family cap)

We hope you will join us for this special event. Our team has worked so hard over these past 8 weeks. Let's join together one last time to celebrate the collective spirit that we represent while recognizing the individual contributions of our swim team family.

It has been an honor to swim with you.