Rio Rancho Sports Advisory Council
The Rio Rancho Convention & Visitors Bureau drafted a team of local sports experts to map winning sports tournaments and events plans for the city. Our Sports Advisory Council members are all winners, and they are totally committed to coaching you on how to host successful sporting events and tournaments in Rio Rancho.
Free sports
event planning assistance is available by E-mail sports@RioRanchoNM.org or
call toll free: (888) 746-7262.
- To see upcoming sports tournaments and events click
here.
- To cheer on Rio Rancho's Athletes of the Month click
here.
- To nominate an Athlete of the Month click here.
Founding Members
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Preston Dennard - Founding Member (Active)
For eight years Preston was a top-rated National Football League wide receiver, proving his athletic talents professionally as an outstanding player with the Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills, and the Green Bay Packers. He was named Most Outstanding Receiver and twice nominated "NFL Man of the Year". He was one of the star receivers in the 1980 Super Bowl and has participated in ABC's Super Teams.
Preston was inducted into the New Mexico Hall of Honor in 2000 and the Albuquerque Sports Hall of Fame in 2002. Preston is an exciting technician and literally "Poetry in Motion", on the field, while expressing his sensitive nature off the field by authoring a book of poetry.
"He has also excelled off the field, as a distinguished broadcaster, speaker with a tremendous personality and a heart just as big. You are a winner!"
Pete Domenici, United States Senator (N.M.).
Preston is affiliated with various organizations, such as the Special Olympics of New Mexico, Big Brothers / Big Sisters, Muscular Dystrophy Association and more. He is the founder of the APS Celebrity Golf Extravaganza and a member of the NFL Alumni / NFLPA. He has also served on the Board of Directors for Sickle Cell Council of N.M., Helping Hands Foundation, Wells Fargo Leadership Council and Character Counts Leadership Council, Chairman of the N.M. Governor's Council on Health, Fitness & Sports, and President of APS Sports Fund Foundation.
Gary Herron - Founding Member (Active)
Gary is currently Sports editor for The Observer Newspaper, providing coverage on everything in the sports world in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, fourth-largest city, providing focus to Rio Rancho High School athletics.
Gary was the Official Scorer for the Albuquerque Dukes and worked 1,004 PCL games.
As a free-lance sportswriter, Gary wrote articles for the Albuquerque Journal, Sports Collectors Digest, Baseball Hobby News, Albuquerque Sportslife, and Dodger Blue stringing on occasion, for newspapers in Tacoma and San Diego, Farmington, Las Cruces and Carlsbad. Gary was also the sports editor for Valencia County News-Bulletin in Belen, New Mexico.
Gary was producer / talk show host for KNML-AM, produced a morning show, ran board for other programming and hosted the Saturday morning 'NMAA' Prep Sports Weekly show. He produced 'Henry T's Sportsline Show' for KDEF-AM. He also did a local sports talk show 'Let's Talk Sports' and 'Card Corner'. He was sports director for KARS Radio in Belen and was the announcer for local sports reports, play-by-play for Los Lunas and Belen High School Teams.
Gary Hveem - Founding Member (Active)
Gary received his BA from Northern Iowa University and an MA from Truman State University. As the Athletic Director with the Rio Rancho Public Schools he initiated the visiting team Student-Host Program, organized and directed school-wide and sport-specific booster clubs, got State Athletic Director Association membership in the N.M. Activities Association and introduced the possession clock in high school games as a state / national experiment.
Gary's Professional High School Athletic Service includes: New Mexico Activities Assistant Director, New Mexico HS Athletic Directors Association President, National Interscholastic Athletic Administration Association State Chair, and New Mexico High School Coaches Association District President.
Gary has been honored as Athletic Director of the Year by the New Mexico High School Association and as State Athletic Director of the Year by the National Council Secondary Schools.
Sean McClain - Founding Member (Ex officio)
Sean started his boxing career in 1978, with an amateur record of 86 wins and 12 losses. His first professional fight was 10 years later in 1988. In June of 1994, Sean won the International Boxing Council Cruiserweight World Champion Title, scoring three knockdowns in 64 seconds to beat Kevin Wyrick.
Sean and his wife Brigette have two sons, Bryant and Jake. He continues to fight periodically but devotes most of his time to laying a good foundation for Bryant and Jake while working for the McClain family construction business.
Terry McDermott - Founding Member (Active)
Terry is currently with Intel Corporation in Rio Rancho. Terry came to New Mexico as a professional baseball player with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization and was their first round draft in 1969. Terry spent eight years in the Dodgers organization, which included some time in the major leagues.
After retiring from baseball, Terry entered television where he spent 17 years broadcasting New Mexico sports and earning Sportscaster of the Year honors nine times. Terry left sports casting in February 1997 to join Intel and was assigned to the company's startup plant in Fort Worth, Texas. In February 1998, he was transferred back to New Mexico where he lives with his wife Betty Anne and their four children: Terry, Kate, Michael & Shannon.
Terry serves on a number of boards and commissions. He is immediate past president and chairman of the board of the Rio Rancho Chamber of Commerce. He is president-elect of the Rio Rancho Economic Development Corporation, and an executive board member of Leadership New Mexico.
Terry's hobbies include coaching youth sports and playing an occasional poor round of golf !
Mike Miller - Founding Member (Active)
Mike Miller, one of the co-owners of Tenpins & More, has been a member of the Professional Bowlers Association for many years. An unsuccessful "journeyman", he decided to make a radical change in the way he released the ball by taking his thumb out and in effect, palming it down the lane. He made history shortly after by winning the first of three national tour titles, a major, PBA National Championship in 1991 and almost $100,000 that year. Mike added the Wichita Open the following year and the Don Carter Classic in Dallas in 1999.
He is the last man to bowl a nationally televised 300 game, that came on Father's Day in 1999 at the Bowling Stadium in Reno. It was worth $10,000. Recently after a number of orthoscopic knee surgeries, Mike returned to the winner's circle beating Texan, D.J. Archer two games to nil to win a regional in Bernalillo, N.M. It was his fifth regional title.
Mike has a wealth of knowledge that he imparts on a daily basis to league bowlers at Tenpins & More. His bowling knowledge has cost him hundreds of thousands and more than twenty years of his life, so no one should be shy in asking him for help.
(Little-known-fact: Mike practiced bowling in his parent's garage when he was just a small boy.) Mike is married to Jodianne, office and lounge manager of Tenpins & More, and has two children, Adrienne and stepson, Chris. The couple lives in Rio Rancho.
Tony Otero - Founding Member (Active)
Tony is a native New Mexican, born and raised in the North Valley where he was active in sports while attending Valley High School. Tony's father Mel was a long time basketball and football official, so it was natural that Tony follow in his footsteps and officiated both basketball and football as well. Tony followed his dad in the business world too.
The Otero family opened their first Dairy Queen in Albuquerque's North Valley in 1960. He and his wife, Sue, opened their Rio Rancho Dairy Queen in May of 1998.
Tony was honored with the New Mexico Activities Association's Sportsmanship award in 2000-2001 recognizing his support of Rio Rancho High School athletics and academics.
To honor his late father and further support the community, the Otero's sponsor the annual Mel Otero Rio Rancho invite, one of the top girl's basketball tournaments in the southwest and the only one named after an athletic official.
Christopher D. Page - Founding Member
(Ex
officio)
Chris has devoted his career to impacting people's lives through sports. He began his career as a student of physical education and moved into coaching youth sports, as well as interscholastic basketball in the mid 1980's. He has a Bachelor of University Studies with an emphasis in Physical Education and Recreation, and a Masters of Science in Sports Administration from UNM.
After a two-year internship with the New Mexico Activities Association, Chris was hired to manage an extensive recreation / sports program at the Carlsbad Association for Retarded Citizens. In 1993, he assumed the position of Special Olympics, New Mexico's Director of Sports and Competition. He is responsible for the management and oversight of six Special Olympics Field Staff, seventy-five statewide Special Olympics local programs, and the 2,200 Special Olympics Athletes who train and compete in sixteen sports on a year round basis.
In addition, Chris serves on several statewide and national sports committees.
Art Perez - Founding Member (Active)
Art Perez has been involved in sports either as a player, coach or tournament facilitator for most of his life. Beginning his career in Santa Fe, he brought his extensive expertise to the City of Rio Rancho in 1993. Art has been dubbed "The best tournament and event facilitator in New Mexico", with this reputation now extending beyond the state boundaries.
Initiator of the first flag football league in Rio Rancho, along with the formation of football, softball and other leagues, Art is highly regarded by both youthful and senior participants alike.
Art began selling and promoting local venues to national tournament organizers at the Travel Events and Managements in Sports (TEAMS) shows in Chicago 2002, New Orleans 2003, Houston 2004 and Fort Lauderdale 2005.
Art enjoys a leisurely game of golf, an active day in the work place and watching football (His Cowboys) on weekends.
Ryan K. Platow - New Member (Active)
Ryan is a resident of Rio Rancho and likes to give back to his community. He was born in New Berlin, Wisconsin in 1961. His family of 7 moved to Rio Rancho in 1970. He has been involved in local sports such as baseball, football and swimming over the years. In his "younger" years he played baseball in the Rio Rancho Little League and swam on the Rio Rancho Stingrays Swim Team.
The summers of 1976 through 1980, Ryan was a lifeguard at both the Haynes and Sabana Grande Pools. During this time he taught swim lessons, lifesaving, and was involved in Special Olympics as a swim coach.
Ryan graduated from Cibola High School in 1979 where he played football and swam both for the school and the AAU. After high school he played softball for many years in both Rio Rancho and Albuquerque. Ryan also coached baseball for Roadrunner Little League and assisted in coaching YAFL. He is also an avid snow, water and jet skier.
His work experience includes being a Trainer for Tom Young's Health Spa in the early 80's, a Supervisor, Production Control Specialist and Production Engineer for GE Aircraft Engines for 16 years.
Bob Brown - New Member (Active)
When it comes to sports, New Mexicans know to turn to Bob Brown. Bob has been with Action 7 News since 1990. He started his career at WRBL-TV in Columbus, Ga. He majored in broadcast journalism and political science at Troy State University (now named "Troy University") in Troy, Ala.
In 2004, the New Mexico Broadcasters Association named Bob "Sportscaster of the Year". Bob definitely has sports in his blood; he played second-base at Troy State, and his grandfather played baseball for the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Bob has been there to cover everything from major milestones in New Mexico sports to your child's high school football games. He was thrilled to cover the NCAA winning streak for the Lobo men's basketball team in the mid-1990's, and he's covered conference tournament wins for both the men's and women's basketball teams.
An embarrassing moment for the books, he says, is when Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula yelled at him for being on the football field.
When he's not at work, he enjoys playing golf and softball, and watching auto racing on television. He and his wife, Cathy, have two dogs, Ace and Mika.
Judi Snow - (Founder)
Judi's love of sports began in eastern Canada as a toddler on ice-skates. By the age of twelve, everyone knew she wasn't very good, nor would she ever be! During the summers she tried archery, totally destroying two garage doors, swimming at which she was more like "a fish out-of-water", and the trapeze bar, on which he felt accomplished until she was rejected by the circus and had to come back home. Then back to winter sports in Laurentians, where skiing and more often, "aprés-ski" became her sports of choice.
She did win a National Title in bowling: "The Gutter-Ball Queen of Canada." Following her move to Los Angeles, she again captured the same US Title.
These previous personal sports experiences encouraged and supported her decision in LA to become a devotee of "Spectator Sports": The Rams, Dodgers, Lakers, Kings and did we mention THE RAMS? She had found her forte! Sit down... watch... and idolize.
In 2003, Judi was charged with the task of putting "butts in beds" at local hotels by attracting sports tournaments to the City of Rio Rancho. She founded the Sports Advisory Council, comprised of hand-picked, knowledgeable professionals with various sports backgrounds; and as they always say, "The REST IS HISTORY"! Another success story, of Olympic proportions in sports, by the athletically challenged.
Free sports event planning assistance
is available by E-mail sports@RioRanchoNM.org
or call toll free: (888) 746-7262.
