USMS Award Recipient

Capt. Ransom J. Arthur M.D. Award


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Recipient: Sally Dillon
Year: 2006
LMSC: Pacific Northwest

Sally Dillon is another of our volunteers who performs equally well in the local and national administrative arena and in the water. While attending CSU Long Beach in 1972, she discovered Masters swimming and Long Beach Masters, was instantly hooked, and entered her first National Championships in Santa Monica in 1973. She was a board member of Southern Pacific Masters Association for a few years, representing SPMA at the USMS Convention in 1976.

After moving to Northern California Sally became active on the local level. She co-founded and was a board member of Sierra Nevada Masters. In Truckee, Calif., she founded the Donner Lake Swim and the Truckee Winter Meet, directing each for 15 years. She represented Pacific Masters Swimming on the national level for 11 years, from 1987-1997.

Sally moved farther north in 1997 and became an active member of Pacific Northwest Association. On the national level, she served as the first USMS Officials Committee Chair (Ad Hoc) and chaired the Long Distance Committee for eight years. Among other things, under Sally's leadership the Long Distance Committee approved many changes in the rules, revised Part Three of the Rule Book for greater clarity, and completed and published the first USMS Open Water Manual.

In 2001 Sally was elected to serve as the USMS Secretary—a position she held for four years. She followed up that role by serving as a member of the Rules and History and Archives committees. In 2006 Sally received USMS’s highest honor—the Ransom Arthur Award.