The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
CVC adds assistant commissioners
League will now focus on corporate sponsorship
The Chagrin Valley Conference has grown to the point additional administrators have been brought on board.
League commissioner Dr. Don Lewis confirmed to The News-Herald the CVC has hired a pair of assistant commissioners — Rakayla Iwais and Dr. James Perhavec. They will begin in their new capacities July 1.
“This is a dream come true, really,” Lewis said. “To get help with the way the league has expanded is huge. Our league encompasses 25 schools and represents 40,000 kids. To have other administrative roles with me is huge.”
Lewis said Iwais and Perhavec will focus on middle school and youthlevel programs, while he will continue his primary focus of overseeing high school programs.
Perhavec is a retired doctor of oral and maxillofacial surgery. He has previously served as an instructor for junior golf classes in Richmond Heights, as well as at tournaments at local country clubs. He also was an assistant in baseball at St. Ignatius for five years. He has accompanied Lewis to games for the past number of years in CVC play and is thus familiar with the league.
Iwais is currently the
athletics and special events coordinator at Westlake Recreation Center. She has a long history in coaching basketball on the college club level and currently as an assistant at Lutheran West.
The hiring of Perhavec and Iwais, Lewis said, will initially be covered by CVC membership dues. However, Lewis said his next focus will be to obtain corporate sponsorships to alleviate any or all costs from member schools. Lewis noted the CVC is much more than junior high and varsity athletics, pointing also to youth league football, student leadership, mental health summits and a budding academic challenge program.
“Covering 25 schools in five counties with 40,000 kids, our footprint is huge,” Lewis said. “There are so many things we can do with our league. We are targeting K-through-12. When a kid walks into school, they are a member of the Chagrin Valley Conference and proud of it.”