News & Media

USADSF Executive Board Appoints Lamberton as President

Seasoned USASDF Member Lamberton Appointed to Serve Remainder of Fleischer's Term

SIOUX FALLS, SD — November 7, 2009 — To address the vacant position of President due to the sudden passing of Dr. Lawrence R. Fleischer on November 1, the Executive Board of USA Deaf Sports Federation approved a board motion to appoint Mr. Jack Lamberton as President for the remainder of the late Fleischer's term until the next House of Delegates in 2011.

The appointment of Mr. Lamberton as President was completed under the provisions of Chapter 2.03 of the USADSF bylaws. As a condition for accepting his appointment, Mr. Lamberton has resigned as Vice President of International Affairs. The Executive Board agreed that the position of Vice President of International Affairs will remain vacant for the next two months until its bylaws-mandated election during the upcoming House of Delegates in late winter.

Mr. Lamberton has served USADSF for many years in various capacities. He has been with the US Team since 1988 when he started as a logistics operations assistant to the team director for the 1989 Summer Deaflympics. He served as logistics officer in the 1991 Winter Deaflympics and 1993 Summer Deaflympics and then served as the Team Director for the 1997 and 2001 Summer Deaflympics. In recent years, he has served as the Chef de Mission for the 2003 and 2007 Winter Deaflympics and 2005 and 2009 Summer Deaflympics. Since 2001 he had served as USADSF's Vice President of International Affairs with the overall responsibility of USA at all international competitions. Lamberton has been involved with the US Team at the 2002 World Deaf Basketball Championships, the 2006 World Deaf Cycling Championships and the 2006 Pan American Games for Deaf Youth. He represented USA at the ICSD Congress in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009 as a delegate. He received the USADSF President Award for his outstanding performance and services to the Federation in 1994 and again in 2001. Mr. Lamberton is also involved with Pan American Deaf Sports (PANAMDES) as its vice president since 2006.

Jack and his wife, Juddie, live in Fremont, California and have two adult sons, Jonathan of New York City and Jason of Washington, DC. He is an educational technology teacher specialist at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont and in his spare time, he enjoys reading, cycling and traveling.

The Executive Board and the Games Preparation Committee will have a joint meeting on Saturday December 12, 2009 at the Maryland School for the Deaf - Columbia. The biennial House of Delegates will be held in either late February or early March 2010. The exact date and location will be announced at least 60 days in advance of the meeting. One of the items on the House of Delegates meeting agenda is election for the positions of Vice President of International Affairs and Vice President of Member Services. Both positions are four-year terms that run from 2010 through 2013.

A separate announcement concerning the loss of Dr. Fleischer was published on the USADSF website on November 2. On behalf of USADSF members and their friends in the deaf sports community, President Lamberton and the Executive Board would like to offer their most sincere and heartfelt condolences to the Fleischer family.

In accepting his appointment, Mr. Lamberton states, "Larry's untimely passing is a blow to the Federation as well as many others because he had a great vision and passion in whatever he pursued. He was relentless in seeking equity for deaf elite athletes from the USOC and the federal government in terms of financial support for competing in the Deaflympics. It is my intention to honor Larry's legacy by continuing to tackle the challenges facing the Federation, which will ultimately benefit deaf athletes - both elite and youth. But I cannot do this alone and we all must work together to make it happen as I know it is what Larry would want us to do. I am counting on you. Thank you for honoring me by appointing me to serve out the remainder of Larry's term."

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About USADSF
USADSF is the only national athletic association in the United States that coordinates the participation of American deaf and hard of hearing individuals in international sport competitions. The Federation is affiliated with the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) and has hosted the Summer Deaflympics in 1965 (Washington, DC) and 1985 (Los Angeles), and the Winter Deaflympics in 1975 (Lake Placid, NY) and 2007 (Salt Lake City). The Games Preparation Committee, a standing committee of the Federation, coordinates with the Executive Board and each National Sport Organization to organize and prepare U.S. teams for the Deaflympics, Pan-American Deaf Sports Organization (PANAMDES) Games and World Championships.

Posted: November 2, 2009