2014 Maurice Batie Award of Excellence Recipient

2014 winner Greta Geist (right) presented by Adam Beamer

The following speech was made by 2013 Mo Award winner, Maggie Holcombe on June 13, 2014 as she announced the 2014 Maurice Batie Award of Excellence.

Hi everyone. I am Maggie Holcombe and I’m honored to be back here tonight to present the Maurice Batie award. Last year while accepting this award I felt like the moment was frozen in time. Yet, a year later I still get frozen looking into the crowd.

I just want to thank Northern Lights for the opportunity to be able to play here for the past five years, along with the friends and memories that I have made that will last a lifetime. This club is a family away from home.

Although I have never met Maurice Batie I’ve heard many great things about him. He was a man to look up to. The two greatest compliments someone could receive from Maurice were “She’s a player” and “good people”.

To Maurice, “She’s a player” held more meaning than just being a great athlete. By giving girls that complement, it stood for hard work, dedication, and love for the game of volleyball. Players with morals that exhibit characteristics of integrity, loyalty, and positive energy is what Maurice would call “good people”.

The recipient of this year’s Maurice Batie Award of Excellence is beyond deserving of this award. She is resilient on and off the court, with a never quit philosophy. With her positive attitude she has overcome challenges that most girls 18 years old would not have handled as well as she did. Having a warm-heart, she is a friend to not only all of her teammates, but her coaches and family as well.

With no hesitation, I am happy to say that this year’s award winner exceeds being a “good person”. She is, and I quote, “By far the nicest kid on the planet.” Being at the Northern Lights for six years, she will be a Mustang and attend SMSU this fall. I am proud to present this year’s Maurice Batie Award of Excellence to Greta Geist.