By: Starting on National Girls & Women in Sports Day on February 7 and throughout the rest of the month, we will recognize some of our past Doris B. Hopper Award winners.
JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – February 7 marks the 32nd anniversary of National Girls & Women in Sports Day. In honor of that achievement, we have contacted past Doris B. Hopper Award winners and asked them to recount some of their past experiences in athletics and how playing sports has changed their lives. These profiles will run every weekday through the end of the month.
Our next profile is Kimber (Houston) Deming. Deming was the winner of the 1992 Doris B. Hopper Award and a 1992 graduate of Illinois College. She played both volleyball and softball for the Lady Blues and was a 1992 All-MWC selection as a catcher. She maintains a place in the softball record books to this day for single-season and career doubles.
Who was your female sports idol growing up?
Probably Karen Kemner. I just thought she was an amazing athlete!
How did you get started in athletics?
Not sure, I was raised on a farm and enjoyed playing with tractors at recess. I guess next came football with the boys!
How has athletics impacted your life?
I think it gave me reasons to persevere and always find the determination to keep going. No matter what life throws at you, just keep working hard to overcome obstacles.
Have you taken anything from athletics into your career field?
Just that life throws us many curve balls, and we have to decide which ones to take and which ones to hit. Mental health can be a challenging field and sometimes the use of athletics may help kids get through tough situations.
What was your most memorable moment as a student-athlete?
I remember so many good times at IC, but probably the most memorable was knowing the next serve from the other team would be my last return. I was crying as I hit the ball, but I think it was a good pass!
Past Profiles
February 22 –
Jennifer (Aggertt) Dugan
February 21 –
Shay (Bagent) McReynolds
February 20 –
Joana Ramsey
February 19 –
Mandy (Stewart) Livesay
February 16 -
Martha (Vest) Blakeley
February 15 -
Addie (Ahlemeyer) Ince
February 14 -
Abbey (Suter) Wacaser
February 13 -
Adrienne (Dickerson) Range
February 12 -
Lindsay (Stauder) Howard
February 9 -
Candace (Norville) Scheuers
February 8 -
Melissa Norville
February 7 -
Hannah McGinnis
