Thank you for taking some time out of your busy day to watch one, two, or all three of the fun and insightful conversations that I had for this month’s entry in the “You Matter” series.
This month, I decided to focus on flag football and had the privilege of talking to Mieke Rowe, Wesley “Wes” Davis, Roger Jerez, and Josh Hale.
Mieke Rowe
Mieke is the quarterback for the University of Florida’s women’s flag football club team. The team is the current back-to-back NIRSA National Flag Football Champion and has played in three straight national championship games. Mieke was a part of the club’s most recent championship team and has been playing flag football for a long time—this includes time playing at the varsity level in high school in Florida.
Wesley “Wes” Davis
Wes currently works at Delaware State University where he serves as the Assistant Director for Facilities Operations & eSports within the Department of Wellness and Recreation. Wes also serves on the HBCU Coalition where he is both the Extramural Coordinator and the Tournament Director. We talked about the HBCUnity Bowl (extramural flag football tournaments) and the HBCU Classic hosted by the HBCU Coalition (a basketball tournament) as we discussed excitement around both these legacy events. We also shared some of our experiences related to attending the Emerging Recreational Sports Leadership (ERSL) Conference. For more information about the HBCUnity Bowl and HBCU Classic, feel free to reach out to Wes at wjdavis@desu.edu.
Roger Jerez and Josh Hale
Of course I decided to connect with the awesome team that is Roger Jerez and Josh Hale, Chair and Vice Chair respectively for the NIRSA Championship Series’ Flag Football Work Team. Roger and Josh have been hard at work alongside other volunteer members of the work team to prepare for this year’s regional and national NIRSA Championship Series flag football championships. There will be some surprises taking place at the NIRSA National Flag Football Championships, which will be hosted at the Clay County Sports Complex located near Jacksonville, Florida. For this tournament, the NIRSA Championship Series will be partnering with RCX Sports, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Clay County.
I hope you enjoy these conversations! I know that I had fun speaking with all four of these wonderful people! As a quick reminder: I appreciate you, stay safe, be well, and find ways to enjoy your life as you continue to positively impact those around you! What you do every day matters because YOU MATTER!
Kristofer Newsome is Assistant Director for Sport Clubs and Risk Management at the University of Central Florida. He is the Chair of the NIRSA Championship Series.
