Fosburg, Heeter Named Student-Athlete Advisory Council Co-Presidents

ST. LOUIS - The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) announced today that sophomores Jordan Fosburgh (Collinsville, Ill./Collinsville) of Webster University and Sarah Heeter (Columbia, Mo./Rock Bridge) of Westminster College were elected co-Presidents of the Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) at the group's meeting on February 26. Fosburgh and Heeter will begin their two-year term on August 1, 2012.

"Jordan and Sarah have demonstrated, both as a member of their institution's SAAC group and serving as an institutional rep to the Conference SAAC, a true understanding of purpose and value of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council," SLIAC Commissioner William J. Wolper said. "The Conference SAAC has grown tremendously the last two or three years but still has the potential for significantly more growth. The leadership Jordan and Sarah bring to the president's role will be instrumental in the continued forward movement of the group. I look forward to working with them."

Fosburgh, an accounting major with a minor in art, is a member of the Gorloks soccer team and has been a member of the Webster University SAAC for two years, currently serving as its secretary. In addition to her intercollegiate athletics involvement, she is involved in the Student Literacy Corps, a tutoring program working with adults wishing to get back on track, local schools or high schools where students are falling behind. She is also involved with Special Olympics, Urban Futures, fundraisers for breast cancer and Webster LEADS, an on-going application of scholarship and practical leadership experience empowering our diverse student population to develop and excel as global citizens.

In her interest form for the SAAC president position, Fosburgh stated, "Getting more athletes involved and having a more profound effect are my goals as an officer of the Conference SAAC."

Heeter, a biochemistry major, is a member of the Blue Jays tennis team and has been a member of the Westminster College SAAC for two years, serving as one of the institution's two conference representatives for both years. In addition, she is a "Blue Jay Buddy," serving as a tutor at local elementary schools; the secretary of Tri-Beta, an honors biology fraternity, and is involved with Student Foundation.

In her interest form for the SAAC president position, Heeter stated, "By becoming an officer on the Conference SAAC, I {have} the opportunity to continue trying to promote the Division III ideals and supporting/speaking on behalf of all Division III student-athletes in our Conference."

As SAAC president, Jordan and Sarah will work closely with Wolper and Conference SAAC Advisor Merry Graf of Webster University in planning and leading the Council's bi-annual meetings, coordinating Conference SAAC events and community service work, and serve as the SAAC spokespersons to the Conference's primary governing body.

The duo will also work closely with the Conference's National SAAC representative to ensure SLIAC institutions are kept up-to-date on the issues that group is focused on, solicit feedback from SLIAC schools on those issues, and communicate with the National representative on matters of importance to the Conference. A new National representative will be selected by the NCAA in the coming weeks and represent the student-athletes from the SLIAC as well as the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). Heeter is a candidate for that position.

Fosburgh and Heeter will replace Sean Peterson, a men's soccer player from Westminster College, who served as the Council's first president for the past two years. Blackburn College women's tennis player Bethany Flores served as the SAAC vice president this year. With co-presidents, the vice-president position will remain vacant.