CORVALLIS, Ore. – Corban University’s Jarett Thoren was named the Cascade Collegiate Conference Mike Booth Sports Information Director (SID) of the Year, announced Thursday.
The sports information directors of the CCC vote on the annual award, recognizing outstanding work in promotion, work with CCC and NAIA championships events, publicity and marketing efforts. It was named after the late conference/district SID Mike Booth. Other nominees for the award were Eastern Oregon University’s Will McLaughlin, Lewis-Clark State College’s Alisha Alexander, and Oregon Tech’s Mike Safford, Jr.
“Congratulations to Jarett on being selected by his peers as the CCC SID of the Year,” said CCC Director of Communications Sammi Wellman. “Jarett is a top-tier SID and well respected in the CCC. It’s been an honor to work with him.”
The honor caps off a stellar three-year career with the Warriors as Thoren makes the transition out of sports information and into ministry, while still staying active in the sports realm. Thoren and his wife recently moved to Okinawa, Japan to work with high schoolers on military bases out there, running sports camps and serving the young adults stationed on military installations there.
“I am incredibly honored to be named the 2022 CCC SID of the Year,” said Thoren. “This conference is full of so many fantastic athletic communications professionals, and I have been so honored to work alongside them.
“As anyone in this industry knows, this profession takes a team and a strong support system,” added Thoren. “I share this honor with my wife Dani, who has been an incredible support throughout my time at Corban. I cannot give enough credit to my assistant Kasie Kloempken, who has been an integral piece of our department; and lastly, I want to thank our athletic director Sue Roth, who has been an incredible leader and mentor in my life. I am truly humbled and grateful for this recognition.”
Thoren joined the Corban athletics staff after a stellar baseball career with the Warriors. He currently ranks in the top-10 in program history in single-season ERA, single-season saves, and career saves.
This past year, Thoren helped oversee construction of new on-campus outdoor athletic complex, including lead on field design and branding initiatives; filmed and created promotional videos for department, including a department-wide, end-of-year comprehensive video featuring all 17 sports teams; implemented overhaul of livestream production, which included all new equipment, software, and staffing initiatives; and planned, designed, and implemented increased usage of motion graphics (GIFs) for social media (game day posts, record-setting graphics, etc.). He also oversaw the return of the Golden Warrior Awards, an annual awards ceremony for student-athletes, and filmed and created feature story on "Lindsay Janzer's Story," a human-interest story on a cross country/track athlete on campus. Thoren also worked with the CCC and the NAIA to host the CCC Volleyball Championship Tournament, presented by U.S. Bank, and the NAIA Volleyball Opening Round.
As Associate Director of Athletics, Thoren directed all department marketing, social media, stat-keeping, graphic design, videography, photography, and external media relations and was responsible for all sponsorship and department fundraising for operational budget – which saw a 36-percent increase in funds raised since 2019. He also made time on the microphone as a broadcaster for the Warriors’ home baseball and softball games.
Thoren has also garnered national recognition and was featured by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) in content creation at the small-college level.
As the CCC SID of the Year, Thoren will be pushed forward to the NAIA National SID of the Year ballot.