AAU President & CEO, Jennings “Rusty” Buchanan, Inducted into Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame for a Second Time

Brevard County, Fla. (May 16, 2022) — Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) President & CEO Jennings “Rusty” Buchanan was officially inducted into the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2021 on Friday, May 13.

Buchanan was honored as the Sports Ambassador Award Inductee. For more than 30 years, he’s been a key figure in the growth of amateur youth sports not just in Brevard County, but across the U.S. The award recognizes his efforts spent bringing the 54^th AAU Junior Olympic Games to the Space Coast in 2020, when the original destination fell through due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thanks to Buchanan’s efforts, approximately 3,000 athletes were able to compete safely in 12 sports over 14 days of competition. The AAU Junior Olympic Games also brought an estimated $2 million in economic impact to the Space Coast area.

This isn’t the first time Buchanan has been inducted into the Space Coast Sports Hall of fame. In 2014, he was inducted for Lifetime Achievement.

Space Coast Daily created the Sports Hall of Fame in 2011 and has so far inducted more than 200 of Brevard County’s most outstanding contributors to sports.

The induction ceremony for the Class of 2021 had previously been postponed due to COVID-19 concerns.

The award nominations don’t stop there — Buchanan has also been nominated as one of the top 10 Executive of the Year finalists for the 2022 SPORTYS awards, hosted by the Greater Orlando Sports Commission (GO Sports). Winners for those awards will be announced in June.

Congratulations on your accomplishments, Rusty!