Olympic Run Leads to Northern Michigan
July 8, 2013
By Rob Kaminski
MHSAA benchmarks editor
To a generation of sports fans, Lake Placid, NY, will always conjure images of the “Miracle on Ice” orchestrated by the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team and the voice of Al Michaels counting down the seconds and asking, “Do you believe in miracles?”
Maureen Whidden grew up a sports fan in a sports household. She, too, has a memory of Lake Placid, but it’s unlike those of most other people in the world, let alone this country.
“Right from college I went to Lake Placid, NY, and was an intern for the Olympic Training Center, working operations and events,” she said. “I got to go down the bobsled run, which was awesome. We started from about halfway up and I clocked about 45 miles per hour. It was just cool.”
Now beginning her fourth year as athletic director at Houghton Lake High School, Whidden maintains a pace which on most days during the school year must feel like twice her speed down the icy track in Lake Placid.
A self-proclaimed gym rat, she wouldn’t have it any other way. Her father, Rick Radulski, was the varsity boys basketball coach at Utica High School. When she was not in the gym, she was, “watching game film with the guys. That’s how I grew up.”
After earning a master’s degree in sport administration from Central Michigan University, it was off to Lake Placid, and on the fast track – literally – to launching her career.
The unexpected bobsled run opened Whidden’s eyes in more ways than the obvious thrill of the moment.
“It was my introduction to non-traditional sports such as luge, skeleton; just awesome sports. Those athletes are so strong. Real power and strength athletes,” Whidden said.
Following her internship, Whidden was hired by USA Taekwondo in Colorado Springs, where she worked for a year and a half while in the process being exposed to yet another sport.
Her path then led to operations with the US Olympic Committee, working at the headquarters for three years. Whidden was involved with National Governing Bodies, coordinating events and processing athletes’ stays at the headquarters from start to finish.
Though vastly different than the sports she followed growing up, she could easily see a common thread in the people who participated.
“All athletes have the same goals and the same values; the same drive,” Whidden said. “Not all of them get the same publicity. Taekwondo, for instance, didn’t get the publicity that basketball or soccer got.”
It was that type of experience that helped in her transition to heading up a high school program of 15 sports, a couple of which were in their infancy for the 2012-13 school year. Whidden called upon her USOC experience as she welcomed bowling and cross country to Houghton Lake.
“Bringing new students into the athletic world, or exposing others to a new sport, really opened my eyes,” Whidden said. “On the bowling team we have 12 kids who may have never played another sport in their lives, and they just went to the Regionals. It’s not just mainstream sports – football, basketball, baseball – that can succeed .”
The two additional sports were a welcome addition to Whidden’s workload, at a school where 23 percent of the student body participates in at least one sport, and only 11.5 percent suit up in two different uniforms.
She wishes the numbers were higher, but several factors are at play for the Class B school of 468 students in one of Michigan’s prime resort towns – with the economy and funding posing the highest hurdles.
“We’re one of the poorest counties in the state of Michigan, based on average income,” Whidden said. “Our student count has dropped in recent years. People come here during peak seasons and support our businesses, and that’s great, but people aren’t moving here.”
Some, in fact, are moving away, which has left Whidden looking for football and boys basketball coaches in each of her three years.
Yet, if there’s one thing clear when meeting Whidden, the challenge is not too daunting. It is worth noting that the recent additions of bowling and cross country came to fruition through old school dedication and heart; the programs are self-funded, and the coaches are not paid.
Whidden knows all about paying dues. This is just her first year as a fulltime staffer at the high school, after starting as a half-time employee and then moving to three-quarters-time.
“Our community support has been the most amazing aspect of this job,” Whidden said. “We don’t have the budget to pay our event workers: ticket takers, announcers, scorebook ... anybody. But, I’m never scrambling to find workers. That’s amazing to me.”
Whidden often brings extra “volunteers” along – twin 5-year-olds, Troy and Blake – to afford them the same opportunities she had as a child and start them down the right track.
PHOTO: Houghton Lake athletic director Maureen Whidden stands in front of the press box at her school's football stadium. This fall, she'll begin her fourth year guiding the athletic programs.
This is the third installment of a series, "Career Paths," focusing on the unsung contributions of athletic directors. See below for earlier installments.
Adrian Madison's Isom Leads at All Levels
February 21, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Over more than three decades, Adrian Madison athletic director Kris Isom has taken on responsibilities not only in her league and regionally, but statewide as a member of the MHSAA Representative Council – in addition to her athletic department responsibilities at the high school and junior high.
And yet, she still teaches multiple classes and coaches at least one of the district’s teams every year, serving and building relationships at the most local level of her wide influence on educational athletics.
She’s made those relationships a priority, also serving as class advisor to Madison students through last year when her daughter Rachel graduated. One year during the 1990s, in fact, the graduating class even dedicated its yearbook to her.
“I like being in the classroom and coaching because I still have a connection with kids, know who they are,” Isom said. “Being at a smaller school, you’re able to know who kids are, but at the middle school especially I don’t know a lot. Getting involved in coaching has helped me put a name with a face so I will know them coming up.”
She continues to impact students at Madison and beyond, and will be recognized for her many contributions with the 32nd Women In Sports Leadership Award during halftime of the Division 3 Girls Basketball Final on March 23 at Calvin College’s Van Noord Arena.
Each year, the Representative Council considers the achievements of women coaches, officials and athletic administrators affiliated with the MHSAA who show exemplary leadership capabilities and positive contributions to athletics.
Isom is in her 33rd year as athletic director at Adrian Madison, taking over athletics for the high school and junior high after serving as a teacher and coach for a year at Clinton. She has served as part of the MHSAA Representative Council since 2008, representing Class C and D schools from the state’s southeastern section.
“I’m very honored by this award, not only because it’s for women in leadership. I’ve been doing this 33 years and I’ve seen more and more women in this profession … that for all things considered is a man’s profession,” Isom said. “Having a daughter, who while she’s not following my footsteps, but getting her in the business world eventually, it’s a good feeling.”
Isom’s contributions to high school sports and its participants are many and at all levels. Within her district, she has coached basketball, volleyball, sideline cheer, track & field and softball – at least one sport every year, including as the eighth grade girls basketball coach this season.
At the league level, Isom has served as president of the Tri-County Conference since 2002 after previously serving as vice president and secretary/treasurer. Serving more of her neighboring districts, Isom has hosted numerous District, Regional and Quarterfinal competitions and MHSAA Coaches Advancement Program (CAP) sessions.
At the statewide level, Isom has provided her expertise as a member of the Representative Council and as a 33-year member of the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association and National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association. She also assists MHSAA staff annually in selecting members of the 16-student Student Advisory Council.
She was named the MIAAA’s Region 6 “Athletic Director of the Year” in 2000 and received the MHSAA’s Allen W. Bush Award in 2016 to recognize her many behind-the-scenes contributions.
“Kris Isom continues to provide a steadying presence on our Representative Council. She researches issues and really brings a voice of reason to the discussion – not only to the full Council, but to the Executive Committee as well,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “She does a great job representing the southeastern corner of the state, bringing a small-school perspective to the table time after time. We’re thankful for her leadership and glad to present her with the Women In Sports Leadership Award.”
Part of leadership is being an example, and Isom has served as one for many. Of course that growing group included her daughter who this year left home to study in the dental hygiene program at Jackson College but has frequently been by Mom’s side for the many activities.
“Hopefully, (she learned) to be assertive, that she needs to be a good listener, and obviously you have to be a mediator,” Kris Isom said. “Hopefully seeing all those aspects, and dealing with situations and different issues, she’ll be a better problem solver, be more open (to the idea) that there is more than one side of a story.”
A graduate of Clinton High School, Isom received her bachelor’s degree in science and teaching certification in physical education and health in 1984 from Michigan State University. She earned her master’s in elementary education in 1986 from Eastern Michigan University and also has completed graduate courses from Fresno Pacific University.
In addition to the MIAAA and NIAAA, Isom is a member of the Michigan Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (MAHPERD) and the Michigan State University Alumni Association. She’s active with The Clinton United Church of Christ in various service projects, including an annual fundraiser for cancer research, and also participates in local Meals on Wheels, American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity projects.
The first Women In Sports Leadership Award was presented in 1990.
Past recipients
1990 – Carol Seavoy, L’Anse
1991 – Diane Laffey, Harper Woods
1992 – Patricia Ashby, Scotts
1993 – Jo Lake, Grosse Pointe
1994 – Brenda Gatlin, Detroit
1995 – Jane Bennett, Ann Arbor
1996 – Cheryl Amos-Helmicki, Huntington Woods
1997 – Delores L. Elswick, Detroit
1998 – Karen S. Leinaar, Delton
1999 – Kathy McGee, Flint
2000 – Pat Richardson, Grass Lake
2001 – Suzanne Martin, East Lansing
2002 – Susan Barthold, Kentwood
2003 – Nancy Clark, Flint
2004 – Kathy Vruggink Westdorp, Grand Rapids
2005 – Barbara Redding, Capac
2006 – Melanie Miller, Lansing
2007 – Jan Sander, Warren Woods
2008 – Jane Bos, Grand Rapids
2009 – Gail Ganakas, Flint; Deb VanKuiken, Holly
2010 – Gina Mazzolini, Lansing
2011 – Ellen Pugh, West Branch; Patti Tibaldi, Traverse City
2012 – Janet Gillette, Comstock Park
2013 – Barbara Beckett, Traverse City
2014 – Teri Reyburn, DeWitt
2015 – Jean LaClair, Bronson
2016 – Betty Wroubel, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
2017 – Dottie Davis, Ann Arbor Huron
2018 – Meg Seng, Ann Arbor Greenhills
PHOTO: Adrian Madison athletic director Kris Isom, right, presents the Division 8 football championship trophy to Reading coach Rick Bailey in November at Ford Field.