DSHA Athletic Director Peggy Seegers-Braun was one of 10 athletic administrators nationally who were named recipients of the 2020 Bruce D. Whitehead Distinguished Service Awards given by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA).
These individuals were honored in December at the virtual National Athletic Directors Conference conducted jointly by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and the NIAAA, but will not receive their awards until the 2021 conference next December in Denver.
The Bruce D. Whitehead Distinguished Service Award is presented annually to individuals from within the NIAAA membership in recognition of their length of service, special accomplishments and contributions to interscholastic athletics at the local, state and national levels. Nominations are submitted by state athletic directors associations, screened by the NIAAA Awards Committee and selected by the NIAAA Board of Directors.
Other recipients include Daniel Armstrong (Northwestern High School, Kokomo, Indiana); Johnny Johnson (Russellville, Arkansas); Todd Livingston (South Portland, Maine, High School); Scott Nordi (Tacoma, Washington); Tim Sam (North Valley High School, Grants Pass, Oregon); Bob Stratton (executive director, Virginia Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association); Steve Throne (Millard South High School, Omaha, Nebraska); Joe Thomson (Wilmington, Delaware, Friends School; and David Suiter (Mannington, New Jersey).
Seegers-Braun, CMAA, is in her 33rd year as athletic director at Divine Savior Holy Angels High School (DSHA), where she has also been a multi-sport coach and physical education instructor. Divine Savior Holy Angels is the only athletic administration position Seegers-Braun has had in her career after spending her early years as a coach and teacher at University School Milwaukee.
In addition to serving on the Awards Committee since 2017, Seegers-Braun has occupied a variety of roles for the NIAAA over her 33 years of membership, including Ad Hoc Mentoring Committee member, National Athletic Directors Conference workshop facilitator, and moderator and state delegate for Wisconsin, a position she has filled at each of the past six national conferences.
Seegers-Braun has held a number of titles within the Wisconsin Athletic Directors Association (WADA), including past president, president, president-elect, vice president, WADA Board District VII Representative, Gender Representative for District VII, conference chair in charge of coordinating the 2018 WADA Conference, co-chairperson for the Strategic Planning Committee and WADA liaison to the Officials Advisory Committee and the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) Board of Control.
As a result of her service record, the WADA recognized Seegers-Braun with the District VII Athletic Director of the Year and State Athletic Director of the Year awards in 2017. A member of the WIAA Sports Advisory Committee and Scholar-Athlete Committee for several years, Seegers-Braun has also hosted numerous WIAA seeding meetings, and sectional and regional events for a variety of sports.
Locally, the two-time University of Wisconsin-La Crosse graduate has been president of the Greater Metro Conference (GMC) four separate times since its formation in 1997-98, served on its By-Law Committee and Appeal Committee, and been a liaison for several sports including boys and girls volleyball, girls tennis and girls swimming and diving.
Some of Seegers-Braun’s accomplishments during her tenure at DSHA include expanding the athletic department from 14 teams to 41 teams, assisting in planning the construction of a $12.5 million athletic and classroom facility and a new softball diamond, chairing the development of the athletic department’s five-year strategic plan on two separate occasions, and creating the Student Athletic Advisory Council.
