Marilyn Heath to Receive the 2013 USDF Lifetime Achievement Award
Lexington, KY (September 12,
2013) -The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) is pleased to
announce that Marilyn Heath will be presented with the 2013 Lifetime
Achievement Award at the Salute Gala & Annual Awards Banquet, on December
7, 2013, during the Adequan/USDF Annual Convention in Lexington, KY. Award
winners are those who have shown a lifetime of dedication to USDF through
volunteering, and developing programs, projects, and committees that have
contributed to USDF's mission. They also have a long history of membership in
USDF.
Marilyn Heath, of Naples, FL, has
been a long and faithful volunteer to USDF through her dedication to judge
education and involvement with USDF's “L” Education Program and the Delaware
Valley Combined Training Association (DVCTA). After becoming a USEF “S” Judge
in 1989, Marilyn could have worked towards becoming an FEI dressage judge. She
chose, instead, to focus on judge education and became an “L” faculty member in
1992. As the co-chair and chair of the “L” Education Program, Marilyn exhibited
strong leadership in updating the program and its materials, promoting
consistency among other judge education programs, and providing accessibility
to judge education to a wider audience. The DVCTA has also recognized her
devotion to the sport, by creating the Marilyn O. Heath Judges Education Fund,
in honor of her enthusiastic commitment to improving dressage judging education
in America. Marilyn's passion for judging, personal integrity, and leadership
have positively impacted USDF's judge education program, USDF's education
mission, and the development of consistent and correct dressage education for
all.
USDF President George Williams
said, “In her quiet unassuming way, Marilyn Heath oversaw the USDF “L” Program
with a diligence and expertise that ensured it remained one of the best judges'
training programs in the world.”
For more information about the
Lifetime Achievement Award and the Roemer Foundation/USDF Hall of Fame, visit
the USDF website,
or contact the USDF office at halloffame@usdf.org.
Founded in 1973, the United States Dressage Federation is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to education, recognition of achievement, and promotion of dressage. For more information about USDF membership or programs, visit www.usdf.org, email usdressage@usdf.org, or call (859) 971-2277.