Cleveland-Caldwell Advancement Award of the Sport Award

The Cleveland-Caldwell Advancement Award of the Sport Award is one of the most prestigious awards given by Gulf Winds Track Club. Our recipient tonight deserves this honor one hundred fold, and it is my pleasure to be able to present it to him.

Tonight’s honoree is a very unassuming and private individual, yet he has made outstanding contributions to the community. Friends and family hold this individual in high esteem, and although we all know he would never toot his own horn, tonight is a great night for us to do so.

Where do I start? This person has inspired countless numbers of young children to this day. He has often been acknowledged by former students who thank him for their success in life and for helping them to develop a love for the sport of running.

To reveal a little more about his background, this individual lettered in four high school sports: baseball, track, basketball, and football. He ran cross-country in college for two years and then entered FSU on a track scholarship. He has spent the past 25 years coaching both track and cross-country.

So far, I’ve kept you in suspense, but now it becomes more difficult for me.

So what the heck! Now I’ll expose more of his life.

He received the 12th annual Night of Champions Illuminating Lives Award (2003) from Kids Incorporated.

He has received the EVERYDAY HERO AWARD from TMH for his outstanding contributions to this community (2004).

As a role model, he has mentored disadvantaged children from Leonard Wesson Elementary School by bringing one child at a time to his home or into the community or on a weekend outing.

He has taught at Leonard Wesson Elementary School as a P.E. Instructor, full-time, for 25 years. In that time, he never missed one day of school for any reason.

He has volunteered and worked with the TPRD summer programs for at least 15 years. I have had the pleasure of working side-by-side with him for many years at the Summer Evening Track meets.

He can be found at the starting line in his signature Lincoln green hat at every summer track meet. Ask any track coach at any level, and they will all tell you that all you have to do is ask, and he will be there to volunteer for you.
He maintains friendships with his college running buddies, and he is a member of the FAT BOYS running group, who run together every single week.

It is with great pleasure, as a fellow Fat Boy, and friend, that I introduce our recipient of the Cleveland-Caldwell Advancement of the Sport award to Papa Clown…Coach Perry Shaw.