CoSIDA E-Digest April 2013 • 1

Sadly, Brandon lost his fight with
cancer just months later, but there is
no doubt that Baldwin and the Spartan
hockey team made a significant
impact Brandon’s life in a very positive
way. And to make sure his life was
celebrated in a way that would bring
a smile to his face, Baldwin worked
tirelessly with Brandon’s family to have
his memorial on campus at Munn Ice
Arena.
“It has been over four years that
Brandon has been gone; however,
Jamie’s kindness carries on with
her help with Brandon’s Defense
Foundation and her direct interaction
with Sparrow Hospital,” said Julie
Gordon, Brandon’s mom. “She goes
above and beyond in everything she
does while always smiling, even in
very stressful moments.”
Baldwin’s passion for giving
extends beyonds campus into the local
community as well in her involvement
in the Okemos public school system,
in particular at the school where her
10-year old stepson, Gage, attends.
Active in the school’s Parent-Teacher
Organization, she has done everything
from chairing Family Fun Night
and Field Day events to organizing
fundraisers for earthquake victims,
endangered animals, cancer patients,
and essential classroom supplies. She
also offers her time in the classroom,
the library and during special events
- all the while with a “can do” attitude
and with a smile on her face.
Within the CoSIDA community,
Baldwin’s impact has been felt as
a long-standing member of the
Programming Committee and as
the driving force behind the Young
CoSIDA (YC) Charity Raffle, which
takes place on an annual basis at the
CoSIDA Convention.
She organizes and collects
donations from around the country
each year for the raffle and
coordinates shipment of the donated
items to the convention site. In four
years, the YC Charity Raffle has
raised nearly $4,500 for four different
charities -- San Antonio Food Bank
(2009), St. Anthony Foundation in San
Francisco (2010), St. Matthew’s House
in Naples, Fla. (2011) and St. Patrick
Center in St. Louis (2012). In addition,
she has been an active participant
in CoSIDA’s community service
initiatives, namely volunteering at the
food bank in San Antonio and walking
in the 5K fun run/walk in Marco Island.
Whether on campus, in the
community or with colleagues, Baldwin
makes a her life on what she gives to
others. For once, time has come for
her to be on the receiving end -- as
the 2013 recipient of CoSIDA’s top
community service honor, the Bob
Kenworthy Award.
“I have been blessed with a family
who personifies value of giving and
lucky enough to find so many people
along my path at MSU who have been
moved to think of and do for others,”
said Baldwin. “The coaches, staff
members, and student-athletes at
Michigan State are heroes to some,
and inspirations to others. I have found
similar levels of generosity in the SIDs
who have done so much to help with
our YC initiatives. I feel blessed to
have so many people who have, in so
many ways, allowed me to be a part of
their passions to help others.”
PAT COLEMAN
Continued from Page 47
Coleman also has some parttime
contributors, with an inner
circle of about four. He hesitates
to call them employees because
there were years that they didn’t get
paid. In addition to writing, Coleman
travels at his own expense to provide
webcasts of Division III football and
basketball games, and journeys to the
championship games each year.
He can go toe-to-toe with Joe
Lunardi in making bracket forecasts.
His ability to accurately predict the
makeup of the NCAA football playoff
field is uncanny. He’s appeared on
ESPNews after the NCAA’s selection
announcement to provide bracket
analysis, and his insights are sought
after by media members across the
CoSIDA E-Digest April 2013 • 60
country. Meanwhile, his sites’ top-
25 polls and All-America teams are
becoming standards.
But his site provides more than
promotion.
“A nice thing that has come out of
this is it has become a community,”
Coleman says. “People in Division III
realize, we’re all in this together.”
Now living back in Minnesota,
he pays his bills with his full-time job
as social media manager at Carlson
Wagonlit Travel. Previously he worked
for USA Today and USA Today Sports
Weekly, served as copy desk chief
at NBCSports.com and was deputy
managing editor for Verizon Headlines.
But even while raising a family, he
doesn’t envision giving up his full-time
hobby anytime soon.
“I don’t really foresee that
happening, as long as the next big
thing in technology is not something
we can’t do,” he says.
Division III SIDs are grateful.
“His dedication and passion is
unparalleled in regards to promoting
small college athletics on a national
platform,” says Gustavus Adolphus
College’s Tim Kennedy. “He has
worked extremely hard to provide
accurate and thorough information
on all programs in Division III, often
taking vacation time to drive to another
part of the country to watch a team
or a player first hand, so his articles
and rankings can be informed and
professional.
“By sheer determination and
dedication he has built his reputation
to the point where he is looked at by
ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and USA
Today as a legitimate expert on the
small-college scene in the United
States,” added Kennedy. “I salute his
passion, and his commitment to the
joy of small college athletics.”