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CONGRATULATIONS !!!
2008 APPALACHIAN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS
Kevin Listerman & the Northern Kentucky THUNDER
2008 BLUEGRASS COBFERENCE CHAMPIONS
Mark Bell & the Lebanon LANCERS
APPALACHIAN BASKETBALL CONFERENCE
EXPRESS (Coach Shaun Hale)
THUNDER (Coach Kevin Listerman)
GENERALS (Coach John Hurley)
STALLIONS
BLUEGRASS BASKETBALL CONFERENCE
GAMBLERS (Coach Cliff Todd)
TANKERS (Chris Darland)
LANCERS (Coach Mark Bell)
THOROUGHBREDS (Anthony Lefevers)
and
Chris Hamilton, 2008 Executive of the Year
Meet the KBDL team
Clifford Todd - Commissioner
Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne.
Cliff played Pro Basketball in Cork City, Ireland after playing for and graduating from Indiana-Perdue. He served as Assistant
Basketball Coach at Indiana University SE, then took the reigns as Head Coach at Bellarmine. Cliff coached the RiverCity Gamblers
to a 2nd place finish last season. Cliff is responsible for quite a few KBDL players getting signed to pro contracts.
Thomas McQueen - Operations Director
Northern Kentucky University
Writer, Entrepreneur, Founder and Developer of KBDL
Kevin Listerman - Vice-President
Northern Kentucky University
Lawrence Tiller - Director of Player Development
Georgetown
Larry played basketball at Georgetown, played 8 years Pro basketball in Europe, played and coached in the KBDL. Larry
is serving his first year in this position. He also is part owner of the Central Kentucky Express.
Valerie Burke - Manager, FULL COURT PRESS
Indiana University/Northern Kentucky University
Writer, Entrepreneur, owner of several small businesses, including the Full Court Press which covers the KBDL teams.
KBDL is managed by the members, including coaches, the players association, and an Advisory Board.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
CHRIS HAMILTON, KBDL Executive of the Year
When it comes to sports, Chris Hamilton describes himself as adequate at many, master of none.
Its not that the 2008 Kentucky Basketball Developmental League Executive of the Year hasn’t had his share
of success. More than 80 awards line the shelves in his homes sports den, covering triumphant campaigns in baseball, softball,
running, swimming, bowling, golf and equestrianism.
Addicted to challenge, something that leads to many sleepless nights, he says, Hamilton has competed in tennis, billiards,
volleyball, football and dart leagues and tournaments. And if Texas Hold em is now considered a sport, well, hes competed
in that, too. He even finished runner-up in a Girl Scout cooking eating contest once, missing the top spot by a single Tagalong.
Then theres basketball. Hamilton was a starting guard for the Lebanon Elementary School Yellow Jackets in the early
1970s but scored what he considers one of his greatest achievements years later when he and some future members of the KBDLs
Lebanon Lancers won the gold medals in the 2000 Bluegrass Winter Games Open division.
I wasnt the best player on the team by any stretch, said Hamilton. My tenacity and stamina helped make up for what
I lacked in skills. Winning the 1976 countywide elementary school basketball tournament with the St. Augustine Cardinals was
also great but theres nothing like feeling that gold medal around your neck.
It wasnt his first medal, having won Bluegrass State Games gold twice in softball, and hes particularly proud of being
named MVP in a softball state qualifying tournament, finishing first in a road race and winning a world softball title while
playing for a four-county all-star team.
Hamiltons success as an athlete mirrors his work as a sports executive. He was responsible for convincing the KBDL
to locate a semi-pro team in Lebanon and, in their inaugural season, the Lancers posted record numbers for first-year attendance,
largely because of Hamiltons promotion and marketing decisions. As the Lancers director of marketing, Hamilton created and
ran the campaigns to name the team and create its logo and he orchestrated live promotions and the teams successful advertising
strategy.
Ive done some things right but I have a supportive board at work and the Lancers operations manager, Ernie Robinson,
is a workhorse said Hamilton. Ernie makes a lot happen for the team, which allows Head Coach Mark Bell to focus on recruiting
and directing the best players. We all work together as a team.
Hamilton got his first taste of executive decision-making in sports when he coached minor league and Babe Ruth baseball
as a teenager. In 1982, Hamilton and friends Jerry Reynolds and Tim Peterson guided the Marion County Babe Ruth All-Star team
to the 13-year-old state tournament, winning district and area tournaments along the way.
Later, he was a volunteer archery instructor at 4-H Camp and he created and continues to teach the Central Kentucky
Scorekeepers Clinic to this day.
In the 1990s, Hamilton created the Budweiser-Lebanon Merchants Athletics Club. Started as a finance program for a mens
softball team, Hamilton eventually grew the Club to 20 sponsors and teams representing mens softball, basketball and golf
and womens softball, volleyball and golf. The Club produced numerous league and tournament titles, including regional, state
and national qualifiers.
My scrapbook is pretty full, Hamilton said with a chuckle. Its a wonderful feeling to think that something I did created
fitness and recreational opportunities for others and great memories from their successes. But like most things Ive been involved
with in sports, it was a team effort. Our sponsors were great supporters and our athletes made an earnest effort to win and
to represent the Club well.
Hamilton said he feels the same about the Lancers. Winning the Bluegrass Conference and season championship in 2008 was
exciting but the Lancers mean more than that, he said.
We have more community pride, the quality of life in Marion County is enhanced by this family activity and the local
economy is helped by the additional visitor traffic,; Hamilton said. That is what is most fulfilling for me. I love to see
other people happy and having a good time. Im also friends with several of the players so I enjoy seeing them be successful.
For more information about Hamiltons marketing strategies for the Lebanon Lancers, e-mail ltccdirector@alltel.net or call
270.692.0021.
Go to www.VisitLebanonKy.com or www.HeartOfKentucky.com for more information about the Lancers.
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