New NFHS Officers, Board Members Elected

Kevin Charles, executive director of the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA), is the new president of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) for 2012-13. Charles, the 53rd president of the NFHS, began his one-year term July 12 following the NFHS Summer Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee.

Harold Slemmer, executive director of the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA), was elected by the NFHS Board of Directors to the position of president-elect for the upcoming year.

In addition, three new NFHS Board of Directors members were approved for four-year terms. All Board of Directors members were approved by the NFHS National Council. Marty Hickman, executive director of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), Section 4; Tom Welter, executive director of the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA), Section 8; and Michael Rubin, principal of East Boston (Massachusetts) High School, at large, Sections 1 and 4, will begin their terms this year.

Charles joined the DIAA in 2004 as coordinator of officials and was named executive director in 2005. He previously was employed by the Delaware Division of Public Health for 25 years before his retirement in 2004.

A longtime member of the Delaware Wrestling Officials Association (DWOA), Charles was a wrestling official for 31 years and served on the DWOA Board of Directors for more than 25 years. In addition, he served 17 years as an officials assignor and worked seven years as the DIAA state wrestling rules interpreter. He chaired the DIAA State Wrestling Committee for five years and was the DIAA State Wrestling Tournament Director for five years for both dual and individual tournaments.

In addition to his service on the NFHS Board of Directors the past three years, Charles currently serves on the NFHS Sports Medicine Advisory Committee and the NFHS Annual Summer Meeting Advisory Committee. He also is a member of the Delaware Sports Commission’s Board of Directors.

A graduate of Dover (Delaware) High School, Charles has a bachelor of science degree in biology from the University of Delaware and a master of science degree in athletic administration from Delaware State University.

Slemmer was named executive director of the AIA in 1999, after nine years as inaugural principal of the award-winning Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix. Under Slemmer’s leadership, Mountain Pointe received numerous awards, including A+ Schools Recognition semifinalist three times.

Slemmer has been recognized as a leader in curriculum development, high school administration and instruction at the high school and university levels. He was the recipient of the Distinguished Arizonan Award in 2001 and the North Central Accreditation Association’s Circle of Excellence. In 2002, in response to his efforts in character development, Slemmer was appointed to Arizona’s Governor’s Commission of Character Education.

Slemmer has made presentations in 20 states on educational and ethics training programs and policies, including AIA’s “Pursuing Victory with Honor” initiative. At the national level, he served on the National Presence Subcommittee of the 2002-2005 NFHS Strategic Planning Committee.

An NCAA Division I athlete at Arizona State University, Slemmer played football for Frank Kush while working toward his bachelor’s degree in 1975. He also received his master’s (1976) and doctorate of education (1986) from Arizona State.

Hickman joined the IHSA staff in 1991 as assistant executive director and was promoted to associate executive director in 1999 and executive director in 2002. A graduate of New Berlin (Illinois) High School, Hickman earned a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Illinois University and a master’s degree from the University of Illinois, Springfield. In 1994, he received a doctorate in education from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.

Hickman began his career in education as a teacher and coach at Girard (Illinois) High School, and then served as a principal at Bluffs (Illinois) Junior-Senior High School and Joy (Illinois) Westmer Secondary School. In 1987, he was named principal of Monmouth (Illinois) High School and served in that capacity for four years before joining the IHSA staff.

Among his previous contributions to the NFHS, Hickman was chair of the NFHS Strategic Planning Committee in 2005. He also has served on the NFHS Citizenship Committee and NFHS Basketball Rules Committee. His other service at the national level includes the National Association of Secondary School Principals’ Contests and Activities Committee and the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel (CSIET) Board of Directors.

Welter, a native of Oregon, joined the OSAA in 1995 as assistant executive director and was chosen executive director in 2001.

After graduating from Oregon State University in 1971, Welter taught in Whyalla, South Australia, for three years before returning to Oregon in 1974, where he began a 20-year term of service at Central Catholic High School in Portland. He began as a teacher and coach and was the school’s athletic director for 18 years and vice principal/dean of students for 15 years.

During his years at Central Catholic, Welter was president of the Oregon Athletic Directors Association (OADA) in 1990-91. In 2010, he received the OADA Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as the Oregon Athletic Coaches Distinguished Service Award. He also was honored by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) with the NIAAA State Award of Merit in 1993 and the NIAAA Distinguished Service Award in 1996. In 2005, Welter was inducted into the Central Catholic High School Hall of Fame.

Among his previous service to the NFHS, Welter was a member of the Sanctioning Committee (1995-98), Football Rules Committee (1995-2004) and the Strategic Planning Committee (2008). He has made several presentations at the NFHS Summer Meeting, NFHS/NIAAA National Athletic Directors Conference and NFHS Legal Meeting.

Rubin has been principal of East Boston High School for the past nine years after serving as a teacher, coach and administrator at the school for 24 years. During his time as the school’s basketball coach, Rubin led East Boston to four state championships.

Raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Rubin was an orphan at the age of 11 after the tragic death of his parents. He graduated from the Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, in 1974 and later earned his bachelor’s degree from Tufts University (Massachusetts) and his master’s in educational administration from the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

Rubin serves on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Secondary School Administrators’ Association and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association. He was Boston Globe Coach of the Year in 1985 and 1992 and was an assistant coach in the 2000 McDonald’s All-American Game.

Among his other awards, Rubin received the Mayor Thomas Menino African- American Achievement Award in 1999, the Action for Boston Community Development Service Award in 2007 and the Henry L. Shattuck Public Service Award in 2010.