Bone & Joint Institute Awards Academic Player of the Year at 3rd Annual Football Banquet

Dillon Veal-Player of the YearJanuary 8, 2013 – JESUP, GA – The Bone and Joint Institute of South Georgia (BJI) was honored to sponsor the Academic Player of the Year at In The Game magazine’s 3rd Annual Southeast Georgia High School Football Awards Banquet held in Waycross on December 17th. The annual event recognizes players and coaches from Southeast Georgia Schools for achievement in athletics and academics. It also recognizes one recipient each year with a Humanitarian Award.

This year’s Academic Player of the Year was awarded to Dillon Veal of Pierce County High School. The award was presented by Dr. J. Matthew Valosen of BJI who praised Veal’s outstanding academic achievements as well as his athletic abilities.

Scholar-athlete Dillon Veal was recently named the Region 1-AAA Special Teams Player of the Year for averaging nearly 43 yards per punt and recording touchbacks on more than half of his kickoffs. Coaches also named him first team All Region as a receiver. He has a 4.0 grade point average and is currently third in his class at Pierce County High School. 

“It’s particularly gratifying for us to be able to honor a student like Dillon who excels not only on the field but also in the classroom, and I, along with Dr. Kenerly, congratulate him on all his efforts.  We look forward to being a part of this great community event each year. It’s inspiring for us all,” said Dr. Valosen.

In the Game High School Sports Magazine is a monthly publication that recognizes outstanding student athletes from more than 120 public and private high schools in Southeast Georgia. Other banquet honorees were:

Jimal McBride (Ware County High School) – Okefenokee Technical College Player of the Year; Xavier Tobler (Ware County High School) – Summit Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Surgery Offensive Player of the Year; Dionte Holzendorf (Camden Middle School) – Crosby of Camden Middle School Player of the Year; JJ Green (Camden County High School) – Crosby Cadillac GMC Nissan Special Teams Player of the Year; Coach Ed Dudley (Ware County High School) – C & C Sports Coach of the Year; and Rhett Proctor – Mayo Clinic Health System of Waycross Spirit Award.

The Bone & Joint Institute provides convenient, comprehensive orthopaedic services, featuring the ambulatory surgery center with digital surgical suites designed exclusively for orthopaedic surgeries, along with x-ray services and the only on-site Open MRI within 40 miles of Jesup. BJI serves 10 Southeast Georgia Counties, and has satellite offices in Baxley and Hinesville. 

Dr. Valosen, a partner at BJI, began his career in the US Army and was previously the Chief of Orthopaedic Surgical Services at Winn Army Community Hospital at Fort Stewart. He has extensive experience treating sports-related and traumatic injuries of the musculoskeletal system. He specializes in arthroscopic approaches to most orthopaedic conditions, joint replacement surgery and many other orthopedic surgical procedures. Valosen earned his MD Degree from Drexel University College of Medicine in 2003, is a diplomat of the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery, a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery, and a member of the Society of Military Orthopedic Surgeons.

Dr. J. Lex Kenerly, the founding partner of BJI, is a Jesup native and has practiced orthopaedic surgery in the region for more than 23 years.  He specializes in sports medicine, total joint replacement of the hip, knee, and shoulder, and more. Kenerly is a graduate of Wayne Country High School, The University of Georgia, and the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine. After medical school, he completed an orthopaedic surgery residency at the Greenville Hospital System and Shriner’s Hospital for Crippled Children in Greenville, South Carolina, and returned to his hometown to practice. 

Additional photos of this event can be found at www.facebook.com/bjisg.