NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Former Southeast Missouri head volleyball coach and administrator Cindy Gannon was inducted into the Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Fame and senior women's tennis student-athlete Grace Powderly received the Steve Hamilton Sportsmanship Award during the league's honors brunch Friday.
 
Gannon is SEMO's first female coach and administrator to be inducted into the OVC Hall of Fame, while Powderly is the first Redhawk to win the league's Steve Hamilton Sportsmanship Award. She is the fourth individual from SEMO to go into the OVC Hall of Fame joining Kala Stroup (1997), Joey Haines (2009) and Ken Dobbins (2019).
 
Gannon served Southeast Missouri for over 30 years, including 16 seasons as head volleyball coach (1989-2004) and an additional 14 years as the department's Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Senior Woman Administrator (2005-18).
 
As the program's volleyball coach, she accumulated 366 victories (the most in program history) and her teams won eight OVC regular-season titles, five OVC Tournament crowns and advanced to five NCAA Tournaments. 
 
From 1993-97, the team won five OVC regular-season titles in a row. Gannon was named the OVC Coach of the Year four times (1993, 1995, 1996, 1999). She coached five OVC Players of the Year, one Freshman of the Year and 51 players who earned All-OVC honors.
 
Academically, SEMO garnered seven American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Academic honors under Gannon's tutelage and two athletes were named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.
 
Gannon transitioned from coaching to administration in 2005 and served two stints as the Redhawks Interim Director of Athletics. In her administrator role, Gannon was the sport supervisor for the volleyball, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field, and gymnastics teams in addition to overseeing event management and strategic communications. She was also responsible for the athletic department's equity and diversity programs, and departmental policies and procedures.
 
The idea for SEMO's Walk for Women event was initially developed by Gannon as a way to recognize the accomplishments of Redhawk female student-athletes, while helping to raise money to support athletic scholarships. 
 
Since its inception, she has helped guide this event, which has raised more than $500,000 for athletic scholarships. 
 
On April 8, 2017, SEMO Director of Athletics Brady Barke announced that in appreciation for the more than decade long commitment to the Walk for Women event and her efforts to champion women's athletics, the event would be renamed in her honor and moving forward would be known as the Cindy Gannon Walk for Women.
 
Gannon also founded the "Dig For Life" campaign in 2000, which today is known as "Pink Up," a month-long fundraiser through Saint Francis Healthcare System that raises awareness and funds to provide free mammograms to the community. The event has expanded to include free screenings for the four most prevalent cancers in the region.
 
Gannon, who earned her bachelors and master's degrees from Southeast Missouri, was inducted into the SEMO Athletics Hall of Fame in 2020
 
She has worked as Assistant General Manager for the Cape Catfish, a Cape Girardeau-based Prospect League baseball team, since her retirement.
 
A native of Cape Girardeau, Powderly recently graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology, biomedical sciences option, with minors in chemistry and biological and medical sciences entrepreneurship. She is the President of Southeast Missouri State University's chapter of Global Brigades, an international student-led non-profit that empowers underprivileged communities by providing global health and holistic development.
 
As president, Powderly recruited students to help serve the medical needs of people in Panama. She has traveled to Panama for two medical brigades. During her last medical brigade in January 2022, Powderly led a group of 14 students in the province of Darien, Panama. Each day, her group brought a medical and dental clinic into the Canglon and Zapallal communities where they provided consults, medications and informational sessions to community members. The communities the Brigade worked with normally have limited access to medical aid, and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most were unable to see a physician or dentist for almost two years.
 
Powderly has maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA and volunteers weekly with the SoutheastHEALTH Cancer Center. In the fall, she will attend A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Kirksville, Missouri. 
 
Powderly discovered an interest in pursuing pediatric oncology when her younger cousin, Alex, passed away from Stage 4 cancer last year. She strives to be able to make an impact in the lives of kids in similar situations to her cousin and hopes to one day play a role in the lives of those suffering from cancer, even if she cannot completely cure or diminish an individual's disease. While her cousin was ill, Powderly organized a "Play for Alex" match and her team visited Alex in the hospital on its way to a match at Missouri.
 
On the court, Powderly is captain of the women's tennis team. She was part of the Redhawks first-ever OVC Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2022, and SEMO's first OVC regular-season crown during the 2021 campaign. 
 
Powderly was a finalist for SEMO's Woman of the Year Award during Homecoming and claimed the SEMO Director of Athletics Leadership Award. She serves as treasurer on the Redhawks Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), as well.
 
The Steve Hamilton Sportsmanship Award is given annually to an OVC male or female student-athlete of junior or senior standing who best exemplifies the characteristics of the late Morehead State student-athlete, coach and administrator Steve Hamilton. Criteria include significant athletics performances along with good sportsmanship and citizenship. The award is voted on by the Conference athletics directors and sports information directors.

The OVC began awarding the Steve Hamilton Sportsmanship honor in 1998-99. Powderly is the 23rd recipient of the award. Other OVC student-athletes nominated included Austin Peay's Molly Howard (cross country/track & field), Belmont's Conley Chinn (basketball), Eastern Illinois' Jaime Marcos (cross country/track & field), Morehead State's Olivia Lohmeier (volleyball/beach volleyball), Murray State's Becca Fernandez (volleyball),  Tennessee Tech'sMackenzie Coleman (basketball) and UT Martin's Paige Clark (softball).