December 3, 2008
Naperville (North) Athletic Director Doug Smith was honored recently when the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) announced the recipients of its 2008 NFHS Citations. The Citations are presented annually to outstanding athletic directors in recognition of contributions to interscholastic athletics at the local, state and national levels. State associations nominate athletic directors for NFHS Citations and the NFHS Board of Directors approves the honorees.
“I was humbled when I found out that I had been chosen for the award,” said Smith. “This ranks right up there with some of the top moments in my career. This is one of the top awards you can get in our profession and there are a lot of talented athletic directors in the state of Illinois and in our section.”
Smith will be honored along with seven of his colleagues at the 39th annual National Conference of High School Directors of Athletics on December 16 in San Diego, California. The other 2008 NFHS Citation recipients hail from Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Oregon and South Dakota.
Smith has been an athletic director in Illinois for the last 26 years, including stops at Woodstock (H.S.), Monmouth (H.S.) and East Peoria before joining the Naperville North staff in 2003.
Past honors for Smith include the NIAAA Distinguished Service Award in 2001 and being named an IADA Outstanding Athletic Director of the Year in 1993-94 and 1994-95.
Smith added, “This is really not an individual award because you don’t get to this point without the assistance of great coaches, athletes and administrators. I have been blessed to have a long career that has allowed me the opportunity to be surrounded by so many good people. I am accepting this award on behalf of all of those people.”
At the national level, Smith has been an NIAAA member since 1984, was a member of the NIAAA Board of Directors, was a member and chairman of the Credentials Committee, was a liaison for Illinois and served as an NIAAA delegate seven times. He has written numerous articles on leadership, fundraising and office management for national magazines, and earned his CAA in 1996 and his CMAA in 2008.