AKRON, OHIO – The NWBA Members have elected Tim Fox as President of the NWBA during the 2019 NWBA Annual Assembly on Saturday, August 3. The President of the NWBA Board of Directors serves a four-year term.

Immediately following the Annual Assembly, the Board of Directors elected the other Officer positions of Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. These Officers are elected to two-year terms. Newly appointed members of the Board of Directors, Ryan Martin and Mike Godsey were elected into the roles of Vice President and Treasurer. Bruce Fischbach was elected as the Secretary.

Fox stated, “I am honored to have the opportunity to serve in the role of President for NWBA members. Over the past 12 years, I have found a true passion in supporting the NWBA in a variety of leadership capacities. I am excited to start in this new role for the organization and continue the advancement of the sport of wheelchair basketball and the NWBA Mission.”

Tim Fox takes over the role of President previously filled by Sarah Castle. In 1999, Tim Fox began working in a Non-Profit Organization with youth and adults with varying degrees of intellectual or physical disabilities. With a background in coaching basketball collegiately, Fox was offered the opportunity to coach the Adult Division Cleveland Wheelchair Cavaliers in 2007.  Since that time, he has been involved with the NWBA as a coach. In a very short time, Fox learned the value of the Association, its mission, and its members leading him to become more involved on a national level.

In 2016, the Board of Directors selected Fox to fill the position vacated by longtime board member and friend of the Association, Pat McCoy.  Fox immediately wanted to make a difference with the membership and took on the role of NWBT Tournament Operations Director in Louisville in 2017 & 2018.  At the Annual Meeting in 2017, he was officially elected by the Delegates to a four-year term and elected by the Board Members to serve in the Office of Secretary.  In the summer of 2018, Fox took on the responsibility to chair an Audit Committee to navigate the challenging circumstances the Association faced. He was part of the team that successfully hosted the Adult Division I and II 2019 Toyota National Championships that were hosted in Northeast Ohio.

Ryan Martin, a beneficiary of the sport of wheelchair basketball, has been in the business of giving back to the sport for over 10 years. He started the Ryan Martin Foundation, which is a global non-profit organization that provides wheelchair basketball opportunities in the USA and Spain (where Martin played professionally for several years). Ryan has built a capability for establishing partnerships that allow him to create compelling programs, while helping businesses achieve their return on investment. He recently announced the creation of a wheelchair basketball program at City University of New York, where he began as an advisor and is now taking on the role as Head Coach.
 

Mike Godsey has been a Chief Financial Officer of multiple organizations that required him to have both technical accounting and financial analysis capabilities. In the area of adaptive sport, Mike has been involved in this space for nearly 20 years. A highlight of Mike’s work is that he directs wheelchair basketball programming for Abilities Unlimited of the Carolinas, which now provides opportunity for 6 wheelchair basketball teams. He has been a role model in the sport to the many athletes he supports, and a benchmark as it relates to how to run an effective program.
 

Fischbach, formerly NWBA Vice President, has also contributed to the NWBA as a tournament director and junior conference commissioner. Currently, he is employed as the assistant athletic director for sports medicine at the University of South Dakota. He has also served the Make-A-Wish Foundation as a wish granter and regional ambassador. Fischbach has served as president, vice president and secretary/treasurer for the South Dakota Athletic Trainer’s Association and has been on the Mid-America Athletic Trainers’ Association’s board of directors. Fischbach is a United States Sports Academy alumnus with a master’s degree in sport science and was named to the South Dakota Athletic Trainer’s Association Hall of Fame. He has served the healthcare needs of thousands of student-athletes at the University of South Dakota since 1987. Fischbach has spent time working with minor league baseball, local youth athletics and athletes in the NWBA. He and his wife, Kelly, have three children.

Will Waller, NWBA CEO stated, “The NWBA is an organization that is founded on self-governance. We had great engagement throughout our Divisional Meetings today, and the Annual Assembly. I’d like to thank all who ran for a role to support the organization and congratulate those who were elected. I’d also like to thank all the prior Officers for their many years of contribution to our sport and mission. They’ve each changed countless lives.”