McGlathery, Danekas, Lukens recipients award
A trio of individuals who for a quarter century and more have given of themselves for the welfare of Spokane area athletics were recognized for their contributions Saturday at the State 2B and 1B basketball tournaments at the Arena.
Hal McGlathery, Kurt Danekas and Rick Lukens were recipients of the 2014 Inland Northwest Sportswriters and Broadcasters 25-Year Award plaques presented by KHQ-6 sports director Sam Adams.
McGlathery’s involvement runs long. He was a high school and college basketball official from 1968 through 1993, serving as vice president of the Inland Empire Officials Association for men as well as president of the Spokane Women’s Officials Board during the formative years of Title IX.
He was also assigned to work numerous high school state and college tournaments and a national AAU event.
McGlathery also was Spokane Parks and Recreation Department representative on the Spokane Metro Softball Association Board from 1970-78 in several capacities including the capital campaign to construct the stadium at Franklin Park.
He has been involved as NCAA men’s and women’s basketball officials’ liaison since 2000 for five men’s and three women’s regional tournaments in Spokane and since 1990 as a marshal and operating committee member for Hoopfest.
Danekas just celebrated his 40th anniversary as a public address announcer for the State B.
In 1975, the Ritzville native began working the public address microphone for the high school football and basketball games and the State B at the request of another longtime Ritzville and State B announcer, John R. Miller.
Among his favorite State B memories are playing for the Ritzville Broncos and placing third in the 1963 tournament, and announcing his son Darin’s State B games for the school in 1993.
Lukens has been a part of Spokane’s sports scene for more than 30 years. He began working at KXLY-TV in 1983 first as a reporter, then anchor and sports director before moving to radio.
He currently is co-host of the Patchin, Lukens and Osso show on 700-AM.
Lukens won seven regional Emmy Awards for his TV reporting and was honored three times by the Radio Television Digital News Association with the Edward R. Murrow Award.
Lukens was also part of the KXLY sports team that started Friday Night Sports Extra, one of the first high school football highlight shows in the country and the first on the West Coast. Friday Night Sports Extra will celebrate its 30th anniversary this fall.