Congratulations to the four fantastic finalists for the 2026 Glenn Sharp Award!
This is the highest honor members may receive in the AEMA for their service to the association and its membership. This award will be presented at the National Convention in June to the individual who has contributed the most to the promotion, development, and progress of the AEMA, especially in the past year.
The time is coming to honor our most prestigious award: the 2026 Glenn Sharp Award.
The finalists for the 2026 Glenn Sharp Award have been announced and they are:
- Anthony Martin – District 1
- Chris Dountas – District 2
- Daniel Reeves – District 4
- Paige Shinberg – District 5
Congratulations to these four on making it as finalists!
Please take time to view each candidate’s qualifications and contributions to the AEMA, and vote for this year’s recipient. The winner will be announced at the AEMA Convention in Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky this June.
The voting deadline is March 31, 2026 6:00 PM Eastern Time (US & Canada). AEMA members will be receiving an email from Election Buddy soon on how to submit your vote. It should be a very easy process with lots of finalist information, so please do your part in honoring your fellow equipment management professionals.
More information will be on the actual ballot but here is information on the finalists for your viewing now:
Anthony Martin
Anthony has been a member of the AEMA since 2012 and has served as an Equipment Manager at Rutgers University since 2019. Prior to joining Rutgers, he served as Director of Equipment at Lafayette College (2017-2019), and Equipment Manager at Oregon State University (2011-2017).
He received the District 1 Dot Cutting Award in 2024. He manages all AEMA social media accounts. He created the new AEMA brand identity logos and has designed and manager logos and images for the association since 2016. Anthony has served as External Communications Committee Chairperson since 2022. He has played a major role in designing the new and improved AEMA website. Anthony was awarded “Equipment Director of the Year” from Managers On A Mission in 2018.
Chris Dountas
Chris has been a member of the AEMA for 24 years who has served at five different institutions and been the equipment administrator for 40 different sports during his career. He is currently Director of Football Equipment at the University of Pittsburgh, having joined the Pittsburgh athletics department in 2022. Dountas has also served as Director of Football Equipment at the University of Colorado (2019-2022), Assistant Athletics Director/Equipment at Stanford University (2016-2019); Director of Equipment Services and Assistant Director of Equipment Services at the University of Pittsburgh from 2007-2016 and 2005-2007, respectively; and Assistant Director of Equipment at the University of Connecticut in 2005.
Chris has held the following positions within the AEMA: Associate Executive Director; District IX Director; District II Assistant Director; Certification Exam Committee Member; Exam Proctor at the national convention; Annual convention workshop presenter; and presidential candidate.
Daniel Reeves
Daniel has been a member of the AEMA since 2009. He was named the Equipment Manager for Men’s and Women’s Basketball at the University of Arkansas in 2022, and has served as an Equipment Manager at Arkansas since 2019. Prior to that, Reeves was Association A.D. for Equipment Operations at the University of Houston from 2014-2018; Assistant Equipment Manager for Football and Assistant Equipment Manager for Olympic Sport at Arkansas during 2011-2013 and 2010, respectively; Assistant Equipment Manager for Football at San Diego State University from 2008-2009.
Daniel is the current District 4 CEU representative (since 2021), and the current District 4 Director since 2023. He was named District IV Equipment Manager of the Year in 2023 and 2024.
Paige Shinberg
Paige has been a member of the AEMA since 2012 and has served as Associate AD/Brand and Equipment Management at Northern Illinois University since 2023. She previously served as Head equipment manager for football at Temple University (2019-2023); Head equipment manager for football at Northern Illinois (2016-2019); and Head equipment manager for baseball, softball, wrestling, and gymnastics at Northern Illinois.
Shinberg led the Women of the AEMA group from 2018-2022. She has served on the Program Committee (2019-2022), served as CSC Chairperson (2022-2025), and District 2 Secretary (2021-2022). Paige is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in management information systems.
About the Glenn Sharp Award
This is the highest honor members may receive in the AEMA for their service to the association and its membership. Named after one of our founding fathers, Glenn served as the Head Equipment Manager at Bowling Green State University in Ohio for 37 years and served in many leadership positions as our organization grew. His wife, Helen, served as our National Office Manager for twenty years before they both retired in 1994. Glenn was the first recipient of this award in 1978, which is presented at the National Convention in June to the individual who has contributed the most to the promotion, development, and progress of the AEMA, especially in the past year. Full AEMA Awards History
What the Election Buddy email should look like
“Vote now: AEMA – 2026 Glenn Sharp Award Ballot (EMOY)
You are invited to vote in the AEMA – 2026 Glenn Sharp Award Ballot (EMOY).
The voting deadline is March 31, 2026 6:00 PM Eastern Time (US & Canada).
We are using an online election system to tabulate the vote. You have been assigned a unique access key which can only be used to vote once and your voting choices will remain anonymous. Do not forward this email. Do not reply to this email to vote, as your vote will not be registered.
If you have questions or want to be removed from notifications regarding this vote, please email AEMA at ann@equipmentmanagers.org.”
Please take the time to vote for one of these exceptional final four finalists for Glenn Sharp Award 2026.
Thank you and good luck to all!
