The BOC Mourns the Passing of Steve Bair
It is with great sadness that the Board of Certification (BOC) announces the passing of Steve Bair. As a member of the BOC Board of Directors from 1986-1993, Bair served as the first president of the organization from 1990-1992. Bair was a lifelong servant to the athletic training profession and made many advancements related to access of the BOC certification exam in District 2, where he lived and served.
In addition to being active with the BOC, Bair served as vice president of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) board, as well as on the first board of the NATA Foundation.
Denise Fandel, former BOC chief executive officer and former BOC board member served under Steve before becoming a BOC employee. According to Fandel, Bair, as the first president of the BOC was instrumental in establishing the governance of the BOC.
“As a newly minted member of the BOC Board, I was struck by Steve’s passion for the mission of the BOC. He constantly reminded us of our duty to maintain the integrity of the recertification process. He was a true servant leader and a great model and mentor for me and so many others. He had an amazing sense of humor and most often made fun of himself. He was one-of-a-kind.”
Bair served 15 years as an Athletic Trainer at Temple University, the last five as head athletic trainer. In addition, he spent more than 20 years at Overbrook Regional Senior High School in Pine Hill, New Jersey. He was elected to the NATA Hall of Fame, the ’49 Club, the Hall of Fame for the Eastern Athletic Trainers Association and the Athletic Trainers Society of New Jersey.
According to Jim Malseed, ATC (former student of Bair’s at Temple), Bair was a mentor to many in the profession. One thing he emphasized to those he mentored was service to the profession.
“Anything I have done in the profession both on the field and in service to the profession is because of Steve,” said Malseed. “My involvement with the BOC started with Bair and his work to have the BOC certification exam administered in every state in District 2 (Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Delaware.) I went from being a site host, to a model/examiner, to a member of the Board of Directors for the BOC because of Steve. It was some of the best experiences I have had in this great profession.”
Paul Grace, past BOC executive director, was a long-time friend and associate of Bair, who he met in1975 at a college basketball game. When Grace took the lead role at the BOC, he reached out to Bair to bring him on in a formal capacity as an oral-practical evaluator, which led to him becoming a test site administrator for District 2 – which became one of the largest in terms of seat availability for exam candidates.
“I am very confident in stating that he was without a peer in his commitment to serve this profession,” said Grace. “He was always willing to put himself in the mix of activities and programs to advance the athletic training profession and Athletic Trainers. He was a role model to many; I am fortunate to be able to call him my friend.”
In addition to his many friends and mentees in the profession, Steve is survived by his brother Wayne. Bair’s obituary and information about funeral services can be found HERE.