We’re doing things a little different this year. Instead of choosing a single Person of the Year we’re choosing a couple as Persons of the Year. That’s because the winners, Kristi and Fred Albers, have brought so much happiness and fame to El Paso.
Kristi started the First Tee Program in El Paso and spent many, many hours throughout the past year helping and teaching the game of golf to countless young people in our city and holding tournaments for them.
MEANWHILE, Fred has put El Paso on the map by becoming a play by play announcer for the Professional Golf Association (PGA) Tour Network on Sirius XM radio. He has become one of the sport’s best known announcers, traveling throughout the world while still working as KTSM-TV’s sport director.
By the way, Fred will be traveling to Hawaii for his next PGA assignment and will be taking Kristi and their son, Austin, with him. You see, Kristi and Fred will be celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary in January.
There have been many great photos taken of Kristi and Fred but the one you see accompanying this column taken several years ago is this writer’s favorite.
As for our other 2011 awards:
COLLEGE COACH of the Year. – Tim Floyd. The award is for his performance last winter when in his very first year as basketball coach at UTEP he led the Miners to 25 victories. He’s already shown signs this season of good things to come.
HIGH SCHOOL Coach of the Year. – Robert Morales, who led the El Paso High School Tigers to a 7-3 record and their first football playoff game in 13 years. What a delightful surprise he and his team turned out to be.
COLLEGE ATHLETE of the Year – Randy Culpepper whose brilliant play and thundering dunks made UTEP basketball so exciting last season.
HIGH SCHOOL Athlete of the Year – Jack Fields of Americas High School who became the first high school player from El Paso to rush for more than 2000 yards. He’s rated one of the best college prospects ever to come out of El Paso.
MEDIA PERSON of the Year – Steve Kaplowitz of KROD Radio and a sports columnist for the weekly What’s Up who just seems to keep getting better and better each year. His sports talk show is a big hit and his weekly sports column in What’s Up has gotten more and more informative and insightful.
SPORTS WRITER of the Year – Bret Bloomquist of the El Paso Times, one of the hardest working and most productive newsmen ever to come along here. His coverage of the UTEP Miners this past football season was so thorough he kept us well informed of the ins and outs of the team and was a joy to read.
SPORTSCASTER of the Year – Jon Teicher, whose clear voice and deep knowledge of UTEP athletes make listening to Miners games on KFOX FM radio a delight. UTEP and El Paso are so lucky to have him here.
SPORTSMANSHIP Award — Luis Zuniga. As sports anchor of KINT-TV he has been reporting local and other sports five nights a week for 28 years and his sportscast has often been rated No. 1 in El Paso. He’s been nominated for induction into the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame three times in recent years and has been turned down three times. He’s shown absolutely no rancor and has accepted the snubs with the graciousness of the gentleman that he is.