In 2022, whistlekick and Martial Journal teamed up to present the Never Settle Awards for the first time and the martial arts community responded! Earlier this year there was a great response to the call for nominations. Nominees from across the United States, as well as some with recognition around the globe, were submitted for the four awards. As summer in the northern hemisphere drew to a close, voting took place. Once again, the response surpassed expectations. The Never Settle Awards team then reached out to the top three vote getters for each award to invite them to join the team for the presentation dinner following Free Training Day Northeast 2022 in Keene, NH. During dinner, with many friends and family in the room, the Never Settle Awards Recipients were Announced.
The Basics
In case you haven’t been following the Never Settle Awards this year, here are the basics. Each Never Settle Award has a focus. The Flashlight Award shines a light on those making a difference to the martial arts community, regardless of rank. The Open Door Award emphasizes community and inclusiveness. The Enduring Footprint Award recognizes impact across significant amounts of time and distance. The Emissary of the Arts Award highlights those that have contributed to their community and not just their art. If you would like more information, see the article from earlier this year.
Things that weren’t factors in the process were style, location, and rank. These aren’t those kinds of awards.
In case you weren’t at the ceremony, and you should have been, here is what you missed. Everyone gathered at Tempestas Restaurant in Keene, NH for a bunch of hugs, story telling, smiles, and laughing. Once that was under control, whistlekick’s own Andrew Adams served as the master of ceremonies for the event. Jeremy Lesniak, founder of whistlekick, gave a quick speech, and then turned things over to the committee members. Each committee member read short introductions for each of the top three nominees and then proceeded to do their best at opening beautiful, hand crafted envelopes to find out who the recipients were. For some team members, including the writer of this article, this proved more challenging than originally expected.
While I encourage you to check out the bios for ALL of the nominees, here are the names of the top three for each award, in alphabetical order.
Emissary of the Arts Award
Danielle Mathura-Millholen
Colin Moeller
Stephen Watson
Flashlight Award
DeRon Franklin
Peter Rivera
Julianna Sances
Open Door Award
Matt Erolin
Kera Radke
Kellie Thomas
Enduring Footprint Award
Dennis Campo
Scott Lombardo
Brittani Rose
And the 2022 Recipients Were
- Emissary of the Arts – Stephen Watson
- Flashlight – Julianna Sances
- Open Door – Kellie Thomas
- Enduring Footprint – Scott Lombardo
Left to Right – Never Settle Awards Director, Staci Grove, Committee Member Chris Rickard, Emissary of the Arts recipient Stephen Watson, Enduring Footprint Nominee Dennis Campo, Open Door Recipient Kellie Thomas, Emissary of the Arts Nominee Danielle Mathura-Millholen, whistlekick Founder Jeremy Lesniak, Committee Member Craig Wharem, Committee Member Tommy Given
Thank You
On behalf of the Never Settle Awards team, we would like to thank all of our nominators, all of our nominees, and everyone in the greater martial arts community that help make this a reality. We appreciate all of you and what you do for martial arts the world over. We’re looking forward to seeing you again in 2023.
- Never Settle Awards Recipients Announced - November 29, 2022
- Announcing the Never Settle Awards - June 20, 2022
- What Type Of Martial Arts Seminar Are You Looking For? - May 31, 2022
Leave a Reply