Faces & Places

A little holiday levity at Leverage
At the Leverage Agency holiday party Dec. 2 at Saloon in New York City (from left): Tony Ponturo, chairman, Leverage Agency; Mark Wright, Anheuser-Busch VP of media, sponsorship and activation; NHL strategist Jim Burnette; Steve Meyer, Anheuser-Busch GM and director of operations; Ray Katz, Leverage president of sports media and properties; and Ben Sturner, Leverage CEO.

National Football Foundation salutes scholar-athletes
The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame held its annual awards dinner Dec. 8 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.
Top, from left: NFF Chairman Archie Manning; Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, who won the Campbell Trophy as college football’s top scholar-athlete; Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, a Campbell Trophy finalist; and Augusta National Golf Club Chairman Billy Payne, a 1968 NFF National Scholar-Athlete, who was honored with the Distinguished American Award.
Above, from left: Nike Chairman Phil Knight, honored with the Gold Medal; Dallas Cowboys owner and NFF board member Jerry Jones; and NFF President and CEO Steve Hatchell.

March of Dimes honors 4 at Sports Luncheon
Honored at the 26th annual March of Dimes Sports Luncheon on Dec. 2 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City (from left): PGA of America CEO Joe Steranka, Sports Leadership Award; tennis player Venus Williams, Sportswoman of the Year; Turner Broadcasting System President of Sales, Distribution and Sports David Levy, Corporate Leadership Award; and New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi, Sportsman of the Year.

Winning trio at NASCAR dinner
Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick (left), Lowe’s CEO Robert Niblock (center) and NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France talk during the NASCAR Champion’s Dinner at DB Brasserie on Dec. 2 inside the Wynn Las Vegas during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s Week.

Oh, my! Enberg takes bow as Padres’ new announcer
Longtime broadcaster Dick Enberg was officially named the San Diego Padres TV play-by-play announcer Dec. 3 at Petco Park. From left: Padres owner Jeff Moorad, Enberg, Padres President and COO Tom Garfinkel and Bill Geppert, senior VP and GM of Cox Communications in San Diego. The uniform is No. 9 because Enberg’s favorite player growing up was Ted Williams.