From the Sky Box

Athlete of the Year Knows How to Get This Party Started

Who doesn’t like a great party? I know I do, so an event to celebrate the Compete 2010 Athlete of the Year, Michael Holtz, seemed like a great idea. And the best part of the timing – it was held on Michael’s 26th birthday.

At 6:30 a.m. on December 19 I packed four other Compete staffers in a rental car and started the six-hour trek to Los Angeles , loaded with boxes of our December Athlete of the Year issue of Compete as well as other items for the party, including a six-foot pull-up banner of Michael in his swimsuit. We’ve all become friends with our newest Athlete of the Year and were excited to present him with his official Compete award.

We made it to Los Angeles and the fun began at 5 p.m. when the doors of Cisco Home were flung open and guests began to fill the venue. I think Michael was humbled by the crowd – nearly 300 guests celebrated in style, enjoying some delicious treats and tasty drinks. We welcomed a diverse group of people who came out on a very rainy night to support our Athlete of the Year. In addition to Michael’s friends and co-workers, there were also people representing groups such as the Los Angeles Rebellion Rugby Football Club, WeHo Aquatics and the AIDS LifeCycle. Donations at the door went to Michael’s employer, Equality California.

No doubt about it – Michael was definitely the star of the evening. Olympic Gold Medal diver Greg Louganis spoke for a few minutes on why he wrote a letter nominating Michael for the honor and then presented Michael with his official award. Michael was so humbled he decided not to give an acceptance speech — he was truly speechless.

We couldn’t have made a better choice for the Compete 2010 Athlete of the Year and I don’t think we could have had more fun honoring him with our award.

In spite of the heavy rain, we packed up the car and made it home the next day safe and sound, feeling like we’d had a great time. In fact, we are already looking for another excuse to hold a party.

We’d like to thank the following sponsors for helping to make the event so successful: Krol Vodka, Shake Bartenders California, serrato + co PR, DJ Ryan Kenney, N2N Bodywear, Dessert Solutions, Angel Bousquet Photography, and Cisco Home.