We Always Will Remember Our Friend, Tom Rashid
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 8, 2021
In these days following the death of Thomas Rashid, many mourning across Michigan have recalled the late MHSAA Associate Director as truly one of a kind – both in his work, which has had as significant an impact on the day-to-day processes and policies of school sports as anyone’s in this state’s history, and as a person who made everyone feel like a close friend moments after first meeting him.
We are glad to pass on tributes that have been made to him this week, as well as his visitation and funeral arrangements and a video interview with Tom that has provided us great comfort this week as we remember our friend – who also played roles as leader, mentor, advisor, supporter, consoler and many more through the years.
Visitation will take place from 4-8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10, at Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes in East Lansing, and will include a Rosary service at 7 p.m. Visitation also will take place Saturday, beginning at 11 a.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in East Lansing, with the funeral Mass to follow at noon – Click for details. Saturday’s Mass also will be streamed live on the Diocese of Lansing’s Outreach Mass YouTube feed – Click to watch.
Tom always felt the focus should be on students and what they could learn from school sports – with the beauty of that philosophy meshing well with how his vast contributions mostly took place away from the spotlight. Deservedly so, it’s been shined on his legacy this week:
Obituary | Detroit Free Press | Detroit News | Detroit Catholic | MHSAA
On a related note, in lieu of flowers, the family has suggested donations including to the Thomas Rashid and Vic Michaels Scholarship Fund for Catholic student athletes at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan – Click to learn more.
We have been thankful this week for these 36 minutes to hear Tom’s voice again – this video from Michigan Lacrosse Review, an interview with Greg Normand after Tom was selected for the Michigan High School Lacrosse Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2018 – is Tom to a T as he, in his own words, explained what drove his life’s work.
Retired AD Smith to Receive NFHS Honor
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 26, 2019
Retired longtime athletic director Fred Smith has been selected to receive a Citation from the National Federation of State High School Associations during the 50th National Athletic Directors Conference sponsored by the NFHS and National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) on Dec. 16 in National Harbor, Md.
NFHS 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 recipients.
A 1979 graduate of Western Michigan University, Smith began his career at St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic Schools, serving for 11 years. In 1991, he joined Comstock Public Schools, where he served for 16 years. Smith move to Buchanan Community Schools in 2007, where he remained until 2015 before departing for his final stop as athletic director at Benton Harbor for two years. He retired in 2017, serving 38 years total as a teacher, coach and administrator, and resides in Stevensville.
Among his accomplishments, Smith instituted awards programs to recognize three-sport (or more) student-athletes who participated for their full, four-year high school career. Additionally, he assisted with the development of an evaluation tool for coaches and helped provide funding for coaches to attend the MHSAA's Coaches Advancement Program.
Smith was a member of the MHSAA Representative Council from 2005 to 2017, including the final four years as vice president. He also served on several MHSAA committees, and he hosted countless MHSAA District and Regional tournaments. With the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA), he has served as chair of its Professional Development Committee as well as a member of its executive board from 1993 to 1998.
Smith was a member of the NIAAA Board of Directors (1996-98), Credentials Committee (1989-96) and Hall of Fame Screening Committee (2010-18). He has been heavily involved in the NIAAA’s Leadership Training Institute. He is national course chair for LTC 501, and he has presented Leadership Training Courses in 14 states. Smith also served on the NIAAA Executive Director Search Committee, and he has attended 34 National Athletic Directors Conferences.
Smith has been honored with numerous awards. He has previously received the NIAAA Distinguished Service Award, the NIAAA Thomas E. Frederick Award of Excellence, the NIAAA Frank Kovaleski Professional Development Award, and the MHSAA Charles E. Forsythe Award.