Snyder Family/Sunflower Chapter of NFF, Kansas Shrine Bowl recognize leaders

The Coach Bill Snyder Family/Sunflower Chapter of the National Football Foundation has announced its special recognition awards for the 2023-24 academic year.

The winners will be honored at the annual chapter awards dinner to be conducted May 8 at the Burge Union on the campus of the University of Kansas in Lawrence. Check-in and a reception begins at 5 p.m., with dinner at 6 p.m. A limited number of tickets will be available to the public by contacting jbollig84@gmail.com

Gardner-Edgerton head coach Jesse Owen and Cheney head coach Shelby Wehrman were named the Don Fambrough Coaches of the Year. The legendary late Kansas head football coach, Fambrough was also a member of the Jayhawks’ 1947 Orange Bowl team. He led the Jayhawks to the 1973 Liberty and 1981 Hall of Fame bowls.

Owen has been an educator for 21 years and a head football coach for nine years. His 52-41 record has been compiled at Eudora, Olathe East, and Gardner-Edgerton. This past year, he led Gardner-Edgerton to its first state football championship, after finishing runner-up in 2022. During the five-game playoff run, the Trailblazers were dominant, outscoring their opponents 179-35. He is 10-2 the past three years with the Blazers and was selected the Class 6A Coach-of-the-Year by several organizations and media outlets. A native of Olathe, he played collegiately at Pittsburg State where he was a running back.

Wehrman has compiled a 60-18 in seven seasons at Cheney, highlighted by a Class 3A state championship this past season. He served previously as an assistant at Tabor College, and Rose Hill and Clearwater High Schools. While at Tabor, he helped guide the school to the NAIA playoffs as linebackers and special teams coach. A native of Derby, Wehrman lettered four years as a linebacker at Kansas State after walking on the team.

Larry Garman, a coaching legend in the southeast part of the state, has been awarded the chapter’s Special Achievement Award in recognition of his long-term coaching success and contributions. He was the head coach of Pittsburg for 34 years where he went 255-84-51 with 31 winning seasons and 21 playoff appearances. He later went on to coach 24 years at Pittsburg State. He is a member of the Pitt State and Kansas Sports halls of fame.

Garman is also being honored by a new partner for the event this year. The Kansas Shrine Bowl will be recognizing its hall of fame selections from earlier this year. Joining Garman is Dale Burkholder, who led five different Kansas high schools to the state playoffs. He also coached at Coffeyville Community College as the offensive line coach, where in 1980 its offense was ranked No. 1 nationally. Burkholder has coached two Heisman Trophy winners, Mike Rozier at Coffeyville and Barry Sanders as head coach at Wichita North.

The John and Phil Laurie Officiating Award goes to Brett Cahill, a resident of Lenexa, Kan., and a Property Tax Manager for Mark Nelson Advisory, LLC. He follows in the footsteps of his late father Mark Cahill who was a high-regarded official. From 2016-20, he worked nine, sectional, regional, sub-state or championship games for KSHSAA. Collegiately, he has worked the 2021 Scooters Coffee Bowl and this past season NCAA Division II first and semifinal rounds.

Sponsors of the chapter and its activities include Dillons Food Stores, Bill Geiger and the Geiger Foundation, Jim Schroeder and Great Western Manufacturing, Joe and Brady Flannery and Weaver's Department Store, and John and Phil Laurie.

About the Coach Bill Snyder Family/Sunflower Chapter NFF
The Kansas Chapter received its National Football Foundation Charter Nov. 25, 1991 at halftime ceremonies of the Kansas-Missouri football game. It then evolved into the Jayhawk Chapter and later transitioned to the
Sunflower Chapter This year, it was renamed the Coach Bill Snyder Family Sunflower Chapter. Its mission is to recognize outstanding high school seniors who excel on the gridiron, in the classroom and as leaders in their schools and communities. More than 300 high school football players from the state of Kansas have been honored by the chapter since its inception in 1991.

About the National Football Foundation
Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, the National Football Foundation (NFF) is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people.

About the NFF Chapter Network
The NFF Chapter Network, spread across 120 outposts in 47 states, serves as the pulse of a nationwide effort to encourage leadership, sportsmanship and academic excellence among America’s young football players. The first meeting to discuss the formation of chapters was held by the Cincinnati Club in 1954, and today more than 12,000 passionate members carry on the legacy of the early pioneers, which is simply to Build Leaders Through Football. Collectively, they host more than 300 events each year, reaching more than 500,000 football players at 5,000 high schools.

About the Kansas Shrine Bowl
The Shrine Bowl of Kansas, Inc is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity that produces annual events and related activities with net proceeds benefiting Shriners Children's. The Shrine Bowl of Kansas, Inc has existed since 1974 and has sent over $3.8M to Shriners Hospitals for Children. The flagship event has been the Kansas Shrine Bowl, an East vs. West all-star senior football game that began in 1974. Kansas Shrine All-Star Events also include the Kansas Masonic All-State Marching Band Camp, the Kansas Shrine Bowl All-Star Cheer Camp, the KWCA Kansas Shrine Duals and many other game week events. All Kansas Shrine All-Star Events are produced and presented to benefit Shriners Children's.