Ann Marie Antone encourages Ak-Chin Indian Community youth in both professional and personal time

Ak-Chin Indian Community member Ann Marie Antone has spent most of her life serving others, especially Native American youth.

In her career, Antone worked with students as a middle school advisor at Maricopa Wells and Desert Winds middle schools in Maricopa. She previously served as Director and Assistant Director for the Ak-Chin Indian Community’s Parks & Recreation Department, and as a member of the Ak-Chin Community Council.

She also served on the Advisory Board for the Native American Basketball Invitational (NABI) Foundation. In this role, she seeks out tribes to participate in NABI and helps to locate and secure locations for different NABI events. Antone also partners with tribes to facilitate and sponsor events during the tournament, including the Education Youth Summit, College and Career Fair, as well as entertainment during the games.

The NABI Foundation hosts an annual basketball tournament for teams of Native American players who come from around the country and the world. During the week-long tournament, players also attend college and career fairs and hear motivational speakers.

Antone took this role with NABI because of her involvement with many different tribes around the country. She’s attended conferences and participated in committees with American Indian Business Leaders, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, and the National Indian Council on Aging, to name a few.

Recently, Antone had the opportunity to join NABI representatives on a trip to the Mashpee Land of the Wampanoag Tribe in Massachusetts. Wampanoag Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell invited Antone, GinaMarie Scarpa, Rose Walton and Lynette Lewis of NABI to attend the Wampanoag Tribe’s 98th Annual Pow Wow. This was an excellent opportunity to build relationships, network, listen to rich history, and enjoy traditional dancing, Antone noted in a recent Facebook post.

A coach for different youth sports, Antone sees the value of youth participating in various athletic activities. “I am a firm believer that coaching our children will teach them about self-esteem, discipline, structure, consistency, self-motivation, and teamwork,” she said in an April 2014 article in the Ak-Chin O’odham Runner Newspaper. “Learning these characteristics help our children become productive adults.”

Thank you, Ann Marie Antone, for your service and enthusiasm for sports and Native American youth!