Eli Gold to highlight second Marengo County Student-Athlete of the Year Banquet

In an effort to promote and celebrate the student-athletes of its county, the Marengo County Parks and Recreation Board is once again partnering with The West Alabama Watchman to host the annual Student-Athlete of the Year Banquet. The event, which is set for Monday, May 22 at the fellowship hall of Linden Baptist Church, will feature one male and one female athlete from each of the six public and private high schools in Marengo County.

The evening will be a celebration of the academic, character and athletic prowess that epitomizes the student-athlete. Each student-athlete honored will be considered a finalist for the title of “Marengo County Student-Athlete of the Year” with the award going to one male and one female winner. In addition, the Marengo County Parks and Recreation Board will make a donation of $500 to the respective athletic department of each winner.

All athletes who competed in varsity athletics during the 2016-2017 school year are eligible for the award and the endeavor is utilizing a selection committee to determine the winner. The committee will employ selection parameters that consider a student-athlete’s performance in varsity competition and in the classroom as well as extracurricular activities and character recommendations from educators and school officials.

The inaugural banquet, which took place at the Demopolis Civic Center in 2016, saw Marengo Academy’s Andrew Martin and Sweet Water’s Emily Black become the first award winners. Mike Turk, head football coach and athletic director of Huntingdon College, served as guest speaker for the initial event.

The 2017 banquet will welcome, Eli Gold, the voice of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide, as its guest speaker. The radio play-by-play voice for the Crimson Tide since 1988, Gold is now the longest tenured play-by-play voice in the Southeastern Conference. In addition to his service in football, Gold has covered numerous Alabama baseball, softball and women’s basketball games on the SEC Network.

Gold’s play-by-play acumen is also on display in the fall and winter months with Sports USA Radio’s coverage of the National Football League as he helps the outlet offer live, syndicated coverage of the NFL by handling play-by-play duties for one game each weekend in addition to postseason college football bowl games and all-star games.

A five-time Alabama Sportscaster of the Year as voted by his peers in the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, Gold served as a member of NASCAR’s Motor Racing Network (MRN) for 41 years before stepping aside in May 2016. During his time with MRN, Gold worked as co-anchor, turn announcer and pit reporter. He also spent 33 years as the host of NASCAR Live, a weekly, nationally syndicated radio call-in show who was heard on more than 450 stations.

Gold’s career behind the microphone has also seen him serve as the television play-by-play voice of the St. Louis Blues in and the radio voice of the Nasvhille Predators in the National Hockey League. Additionally, he worked as a baseball play-by-play announcer in the Detroit Tigers organization for four years. Other accomplishments include Gold’s work as a freelance play-by-play announcer at ATP Tennis Tournaments as well as play-by-play work for CBS Sports, NBC Sports, ESPN and TNN Motorsports.

Gold was inducted into the State of Alabama Hall of Fame in 2014 and was inducted into the University of Alabama Hall of Fame in 2016. Gold is a native of Brooklyn, New York and resides in Birmingham with his wife of 40 years, Claudette, and their daughter Elise, a graduate of the University of Alabama.

The finalists from each of the six high schools in Marengo County will be announced in the coming weeks along with on-sale information for tickets.