See Page B2 Chubb wins Atlanta Sports Award

Polk County’s local sports hero Nick Chubb won his latest award last week during the latest Sports Awards held in Atlanta, named the College Athlete of the Year, and honored with others including several members of the Atlanta Falcons.

The Atlanta Sports Council honored the area’s best athletes and teams Thursday during its 12th annual Atlanta Sports Awards ceremony at The Rialto Center for the Arts at Georgia State University.

Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United owner Arthur Blank was honored as the recipient of the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Coca-Cola. After 23 years, Blank retired from his role with The Home Depot and shortly after solidified himself in the world of professional sports with the purchase of the Atlanta Falcons in 2002. Blank has grown the team to be a $2.1 billion franchise in just 15 years. Blank also brought Major League Soccer to Atlanta with the Atlanta United FC, which kicked off its inaugural season this year.

The Atlanta Falcons cleaned up at the ceremony. In addition to the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Falcons gained recognition in three other categories, including Team of the Year presented by PrimeSport. Falcons’ head coach Dan Quinn was awarded Coach of the Year presented by The Home Depot and quarterback Matt Ryan was named Professional Athlete of the Year presented by SunTrust Sports & Entertainment.

First-time category, Moment of the Year presented by Mercedes-Benz USA was awarded to the Atlanta Falcons for their NFC Championship win. The Moment of the Year was selected by the audience during the live text-to-vote

Chubb