SLIAC Names New SAAC Leadership

The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced the appointment of Gregory Fletcher of Webster University and Lauren Rhodes of Blackburn College to the new leadership of the Conference's Student-Athlete Advisory Council. Rhodes will serve as the President of the group while Fletcher was named Vice-President. Both will begin their two-year team on August 1, 2014.

Rhodes, a member of the Blackburn softball team, is a current sophomore and joined her school's SAAC team this academic year. Rhodes has been involved with Relay for Life and has previously served as a treasurer for three years in high school. Rhodes is majoring in Biology with a minor in Coaching.

When asked about being a part of the SAAC leadership Rhodes stated, "I have new ideas to bring our conference together as a whole and through athletics. I am interested in being in a bigger part of the conference outside of just playing sports."

Fletcher, a member of the Webster Cross-Country and Track teams, is currently a sophomore and was elected Vice-President. Fletcher has been a part of Webster's SAAC group for two years including serving as Vice-President of his school's SAAC group this past year.

When asked about his role with the SLIAC SAAC group Fletcher stated, "By being an officer in Conference SAAC, I hope that I can coordinate activities, help Webster athletes stay aware of all that is going on outside of campus and learn how to properly grow Webster's own SAAC."

As leadership members of the Conference SAAC group Rhodes and Fletcher will work with SLIAC Commissioner Will 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.

Rhodes and Fletcher will also work with the Conference's National SAAC representative, Taryn Stromback from Ohio Northern University 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.