Longtime AAU volunteer passes

It’s with heavy hearts that the AAU announces the passing of longtime AAU volunteer, coach, leader and friend Bob Johnson.   A South Dakota native,  Bob first became involved with the AAU as an athlete in 1968 wrestling in his first state AAU tournament.   Since 1982, Bob was the South Dakota AAU Wrestling director and in 1984, joined the national AAU Wrestling Committee.   
 
A fixture on the South Dakota wrestling scene for many years, Bob was inducted into the South Dakota High School Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2005.  Dedicated and passionate, Bob worked tirelessly to advance AAU wrestling across the country.  Most notably,  he began working with First Nations in 2012 to provide more organized athletic opportunities to native Americans athletes. This included creating All-Native-American AAU Wrestling tournaments in South Dakota and Oklahoma and a golf tournament in New Mexico.

Johnson remained very active throughout his South Dakota community serving as the past President of the Brookings Convention and Visitors Bureau. He was also active in Rocky Mountain Elk Association as past committee president, member and volunteer. He participated in Pheasants Forever as a committee member and was a member of The Business Improvement District (BID) #1 Board in Brookings.

For his tireless dedication, support and leadership of AAU wrestling, Bob was named to the AAU Wrestling Hall of Fame In 1999.  A mainstay on the AAU Board of Directors, Bob served as national AAU Wrestling Chair for thirty (30) years from 1988 – 2018 growing the sport to more than 50,000 members across the country.
 
His impact on both the sport of Wrestling and on the AAU organization as a whole will be felt for years to come.
 
We will share more details as they become available.