Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach shook hands and bumped fists during a May 5 Spirit of the Springs Award ceremony on El Pomar Plaza.
Bach presented the first award to Janice Gould, associate professor, Women’s and Ethnic Studies, who was recently named the 2014-2016 Pikes Peak Poet Laureate by the Pikes Peak Poet Laureate Project. She was inaugurated April 27. In this position, she will be an ambassador for poetry in the region.
Following comments by Gould where she encouraged the audience to “look to the mountain” as a metaphor for looking to the future, Bach recognized the UCCS men’s basketball team for its record setting season.
UCCS finished with program records in overall wins (21) and longest winning streak (10). The Mountain Lions marked the season with program milestones in the first home playoff game, first playoff win, first conference tournament championship game and first appearance in the NCAA Division II National Tournament. UCCS broke season records in scoring and rebounding, and the 14-game improvement from the 2012-13 season will likely rank among the best single-season turnarounds in the NCAA this season.
UCCS Head Coach Jeff Culver accepted the award on behalf of the team, while sophomore guard and leading scorer Derek White presented Bach with a UCCS men’s basketball jersey. The jersey was personalized with Bach’s name and used his graduation date from UCCS as it’s number. Bach then recognized and took photos with each team member.
This is the second Spirit of the Springs Award ceremony at UCCS. In May 2013, Bach recognized the members of the national champion UCCS Inline Hockey.
Spirit of the Springs celebration awards are given by the mayor to recognize citizens when a volunteer activity or noteworthy achievement has brought great honor and pride to the City of Colorado Springs or has been distinguished at a state, national, or international level. For more information, visit http://mayorstevebach.com/spirit-of-the-springs.
Photos and video of the event follow.
— Photos by Philip Denman, Video by Jared Verner
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