INDIANAPOLIS, IN — Rich Bechard has been selected by The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) to receive an NFHS Citation Award for his contributions to interscholastic athletics at the local, state and national levels. Bechard will receive his award December 16 in Anaheim, California, during luncheon festivities at the 44th annual National Athletic Directors Conference sponsored jointly by the NFHS and the National Interscholastic Athletic Adminis­trators Association (NIAAA).
 
“On behalf of the KSHSAA, we were pleased to join with Kansas Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association in support of the nomination of Mr. Bechard. He is a very deserving of the award and joins a distinguished group of Kan­sans who have been recognized with the NFHS Citation Award for their work in athletic and fine arts activities in the schools of our state,” said Gary Musselman, Executive Director of KSHSAA.
 
Bechard, CMAA, is the district athletic director for Blue Valley Schools in Overland Park. In total Bechard has been an administrator for 25 years previously coaching basketball and football for 10 years. At Blue Valley, Bechard oversees athletics for five high schools and nine middle schools.
 
At the state level of athletic administration, Bechard served on the Kansas Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Associ­ation (KIAAA) Board of Directors from 1993 to 2012, including a term as president in 2001. He has been a KIAAA State Conference presenter and is a member of the KIAAA Leadership Training Institute (LTI) state faculty.
 
Bechard was named KIAAA District 2 Athletic Director of the Year in 1997 and 2003, and KIAAA State Athletic Director of the Year in 2003. In 2004, he received the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) State Award of Merit.
 
Bechard also has given considerable time to the Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA). He was a member of the KSHSAA Strategic Planning Committee in 2009, and the KSHSAA Football Playoff Study Committee in 2000.
 
Nationally, Bechard is concluding a four-year term on the NIAAA Board of Directors as past president. He joined the Board in 2010 and was president in 2012. Bechard, who has been a workshop presenter at the National Athletic Direc­tors Conferences, has served on the NIAAA LTI National Faculty since 2008 and was co-chair of NIAAA Sports Turf Committee for two years. Additionally, at the national level, Bechard served on the NFHS Citizenship Committee from 2004 to 2007.
 
Among his other involvements at the national level, Bechard has been a speaker for the National Association of Intercol­legiate Athletics’ (NAIA) Champions of Character program.
 
Bechard earned the Certified Athletic Administrator (CAA) status in 1997, and, in 2001, he became the first Certified Master Athletic Administrator (CMAA) in Kansas.
 
NFHS Citations are presented annually to outstanding athletic directors in recognition of contributions 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.