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Kenny Miles Nominated for Allstate AFCA Community Service Award
Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® celebrates
20th year honoring student-athletes for their commitment to serving
others
COLUMBIA,
S.C. (July 21, 2011) – Allstate Insurance Company and the
American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) has announced a record 132
nominees for the 2011 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®. The
award recognizes the selfless contributions to volunteerism and
community service made by college football student-athletes across the
nation.
University of South Carolina junior running back Kenny Miles is among
the list of nominees. Miles, a 5-10, 184-pound back from Lawrenceville,
Ga., has been involved in numerous community service projects during
his time at South Carolina, primarily working with school-age children.
This year marks the program’s 20th year honoring college football
players at all levels of competition who stand out for their
“good works” in the community. Since 1992, selection
to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® has become the gold standard
for off-the-field character and leadership for college football
players. The honor is widely considered the sport’s pre-eminent
community service award.
“This program has grown dramatically throughout the years due to
the volunteerism and commitment of these great student-athletes to
their communities,” said Mark LaNeve, Allstate Executive Vice
President, Marketing & Sales Operations, who also serves on the
Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® voting panel. “To be
associated with an award that reflects so positively on college
football is an inspiration for Allstate, our employees and our agents,
especially as the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® celebrates its
20th year.”
While it is often college football players’ on-field exploits
that receive the most attention from fans and media, the Allstate AFCA
Good Works Team® award shines a spotlight on
student-athletes’ efforts away from the playing field by sharing
their stories of serving others.
From creating mentorship programs at local schools, to traveling on
mission trips around the world, to donating bone marrow to a cancer
patient, this year’s Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® nominees
boast some of the most impressive community service resumes in the
program’s history.
“The Allstate AFCA Good Works Team is one of the most important
awards in college football because it highlights some of the best and
brightest student-athletes in the country,” said Grant Teaff,
AFCA Executive Director. “With this being the 20th year of this
outstanding award, it’s great to see a record number of nominees
sent in from some of the leading football programs in the nation. The
AFCA is proud to share in this anniversary year with our partners at
Allstate.”
From the nominees submitted by sports information directors across the
nation on behalf of their schools, a special voting panel consisting of
former Good Works Team® members and prominent college football
media members will select two 11-player Good Works Teams® –
one comprising of players from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and
another representing players from the NCAA Football Championship
Subdivision, Divisions II, III, and the NAIA. The 22
student-athletes named to the 2011 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®
will be announced in late September.
After a successful first-year partnership with ESPN.com, Allstate and
the AFCA will re-launch its customized Allstate AFCA Good Works
Team® website featuring profiles and images of the final team
members, as well as an opportunity for fans to vote for the 2011
Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® Captain.
The 2011 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® voting panel includes:
former Good Works Team® members Alex Van Pelt (Pittsburgh, 1992
team), Zaid Abdul-Aleem (Duke, 1994 team), Matt Stinchcomb (Georgia,
1997, 1998 teams), Grant Irons (Notre Dame, 1999 team), Brian Brenberg
(St. Thomas, 2001 team), Mike Proman (Amherst, 2002 team); media
members Lou Holtz (ESPN), Rece Davis (ESPN), Tom O’Toole (USA
Today), Gary Shelton (St. Petersburg Times), Blair Kerkhoff (Kansas
City Star); current AFCA President and Montana State University Head
Coach Rob Ash; 1987 AFCA President LaVell Edwards, former head coach at
Brigham Young University; and Allstate Executive Vice President,
Marketing & Sales Operations, Mark LaNeve.
In order to meet the criteria set forth by Allstate and the AFCA, each
player must be actively involved and committed to working with a
charitable organization, service group or community service while
maintaining good academic standing.
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