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Dr. Donalda Ammons, A Great Friend of USADTF
Since 1965, after Donalda Ammons attended her first World Games for the Deaf in Washington, D.C. (at the age of 12), she has been a dedicated sports advocate. She was herself an athlete - an outstanding swimmer and a basketball player at Maryland School for the Deaf and Gallaudet. She has now became a walking encycllopedia of facts and records of Wrold Games performances.
Donalda became a true Track and Field enthusaiast in 1977, after being instrumental in placing Gold medalist (MSD student - Sandra Phillips on the WGD Track teamin Romania. In recent years Donalda has been certified by USATF as an official and is a member of the Western Maryland Track and Field Officials Association. Former WGD Chairperson, Art Kruger, recognized Donalda's intense enthusiasm while in Romania, and in 1979, he selected her to be on his special assistant for the 1981 Games in Cologne, West Germany. After proving herself to be an invaluable asset, Bill Simpson selected her as his Vice-Chairperson for the 1985 Games. Following these Games, Donalda played a key role in making a dream come true - the establishment of DAFUS. She has also been one of the representatives to the U.S. Olympic committee and while acting in this capacity has successfully written and received numberous grants for develipment purposes. Individual athletes, teams and coaches have directly benefited from those grants by attending camps, clinics, conferences and competitions in the U.S., Europe and Russia. It is not surprisng to those who know Donalda that she completed her doctorate while acting as a special assistant to Bill Simpson to prepare the U.S. Team for the 1989 Games in New Zealand. Following those Games, she was selected to be the chair of the WGD committee for the 1993 Games. Dr. Donalda Ammons' unending devotion to and encouragement of all athletes make her an invaluable national treasure. It can be said that she epitomizes the saying "Where there is a will, there is a way."! Thank you, Donalda for being you - turning dreams into realities. Dr. Ammons is currently serving as the Secretary for the CISS.
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