Ohioans Bruce Brown of Strasburg and Ray Ebersole of Hudson recently received award recognition from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) during festivities at the 46th annual National Athletic Directors Conference sponsored jointly by the NFHS and the NIAAA.

Brown, Executive Director of the Ohio Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (OIAAA), was one of eight individuals to receive a 2015 NFHS Citations Award on Dec. 14 for demonstrating outstanding service 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.

Brown began his administrative career at Lake High School in 1998 as director of athletics, where he oversaw the development of five major facility projects, including new softball and baseball field enhancements and dugouts, artificial turf for the school’s multi-use stadium and a new press box.

In addition, Brown won more than 220 games as a high school basketball coach, which included several league championships and coach-of-the-year awards.

Among his many awards, Brown was selected OIAAA Athletic Director of the Year in 2007, Ohio Association of Secondary Schools Principals’ Athletic Director of the Year in 2009 and the NFHS National Coach Educator of the Year in 2011.

In addition to earning his CMAA designation as an athletic director, Brown has earned his Accredited Interscholastic Coach (AIC) and Certified Interscholastic Coach (CIC) through the NFHS.

In 1999, Brown helped create Hoops 4 Healing, Inc., a non-profit foundation that has generated more than $250,000 to support liver disease research, organ donor education and individual assistance to stricken families.

Ebersole is the Athletic Director at Hudson High School. He is one of nine individuals to receive a 2015 Distinguished Service Award from the NIAAA on Dec. 15 in recognition of his length of service, special accomplishments and contributions to interscholastic athletics at the local, state and national levels. Nominations are submitted by state athletic directors associations, screened by the NIAAA Awards Committee and selected by the NIAAA Board of Directors.

In 1991, Ebersole was named athletic coordinator of Lakewood City Schools. From there, he worked as an athletic administrator at Fairview Park and Lorain High Schools before taking his current position at Hudson in 2004. At each school, Ebersole has successfully overseen major facility improvements using private funds or corporate sponsorships. Under Ebersole’s direction, Hudson High School completed four major renovations or construction projects, including a $5 million campaign to build a new stadium and $2 million to establish an athletic center.

Throughout his career, Ebersole has been active at the local, state and national levels. He has managed numerous OHSAA sectional, district and regional tournaments in boys basketball, field hockey, football, boys and girls soccer, volleyball and baseball, and most recently served on the OHSAA Division I Evaluation Committee. This year, Ebersole was named athletic director of the year by both the Northeast Ohio Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NEOIAAA) and the OIAAA.

The NEOIAAA also honored him with its Citation in 2012 and its Meritorious Service Award in 2014.