Rick Regen

Rick Regen

Rick Regen Posthumously Named Recipient of New Rick Regen Community Volunteer of the Year Award

Regen with Jeff Fisher's Charity Softball Game staff. From left: Regen, Kim Dettwiller, Jeff Fisher, Desiree Maxwell and Gillie Crowder.

The National Football Foundation Community Volunteer of the Year award is named after the late Rick Regen. Regen spent over thirty years in the Nashville-Middle Tennessee area volunteering his services at various sporting events and this chapter is honored to bestow the inaugural award posthumously to Rick. Perhaps his effort with the greatest impact on our region was his role as the key volunteer leader in the “NFL Vote Yes” referendum that allowed the Houston Oilers to move to Music City and later change their name to the Tennessee Titans!

In addition, Regen was a co-founder and president of the Nashville Athletic Club, a fixture at the Music City Marathon, a former chairman of the Clinic Bowl, president of the Davidson County University of Tennessee Alumni Association and president of the Nashville Big Orange Club. Regen also served on the “Our Team Nashville” committee, which helped keep the Nashville Predators from moving to Hamilton, Ontario in 2007. Chances are good that if you attended a sporting event in our area in the last two decades, you probably ran into Regen. Whether it was the Music City Bowl or helping run Jeff Fisher’s charity softball game or the Titans High School Coaches Clinic, Regen was always on site and willing to help with a smile on his face.

Nashville has turned into a tremendous sports city with lots of different options. Such was not the case thirty years ago. Without people like Rick Regen, nicknamed “America’s Guest” much of this sports growth would not have taken place. “Rick was one of those people who was always there willing to help, volunteer, pitch in and support anything that he thought would make our city a better place,” Nashville Sports Council chairman Scott Ramsey said. We are honored to recognize Regen’s memory with this new award and we look forward to recognizing volunteers at future banquets to always recognize his tremendous impact on our local sports world!