For many media members across the state, a friendly and helpful presence will be missing when the OSAA fall sports championships begin in early November.
Steve Walker, the face of the OSAA for many of the state's high school sports reporters, photographers and broadcasters, retired this month after 24 years as the association's sports information director.
Walker, who turns 62 in November, said his health is the primary reason he stepped down. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in April 2023 and had surgery in Sept. 2023. He began radiation treatments last month and is trending toward a full recovery, he said.
“My wife Lori just felt that I needed to slow down a little bit and focus on my health,” Walker said. “She said she'd like me to be around as long as possible.”
Walker, who didn't miss a single championship event last year while recovering from surgery, said he doesn't plan on completely cutting ties with the OSAA and the high school sports community, though. He expects to maintain the relationships he has developed and will attend events periodically.
“One thing I don't want to do is disappear,” Walker said. “Definitely with the staff in the office, because they have been my partners in crime. I've had so much fun not just working, but post-work, the friendships. It would be really hard to just drop the mic and walk away from such a family atmosphere.”
The good-natured Walker has a well-earned reputation for always being ready to lend a helping hand.
“He's such a great guy,” OSAA executive director Peter Weber said. “He's kind and he always wants to be of service to people. It's just been super positive for us to have him in that role. We want to be a service organization to the schools and communities, and Steve's played a big part in helping us develop that over the years.”
Like many media members, broadcaster Bob Akamian said he considers Walker “a friend beyond being a co-worker.”
“He did everybody like that. That's a credit to him,” Akamian said. “I don't think he ever made an enemy in the business at all. He would find a way to deal with things. With his personality, he would diffuse things. He wanted to do the right thing, and he wanted to do it in the best way for everyone.”
Mike Sanderson, who retired as Westview's athletic director in 2012, was Walker's freshman baseball coach at Cedar Park Middle School in Beaverton. It has led to a lifelong friendship.
“He never forgets his friends and his coaches,” Sanderson said. “His memory for all types of relationships is incredible. He's always treated my whole family like his own. Obviously, he did his job fabulously well, but above that, he's one of the best people I've ever known.”
Walker graduated in 1981 from Sunset, where as a senior he played under legendary boys basketball coach Ken Harris. He earned a college degree in 1985 at Oregon State, where he was sports director for the student station, KBVR.
Walker took over as the OSAA's media liaison in the fall of 2000, two years removed from a nine-year stint (1989-98) as the sports information director at the University of Portland. In between, he worked with his family business, Walker Garbage and Recycling, Inc.
“As much as I loved being out on the truck and working with my brothers in the field or in the office, I was getting the itch to get back into sports communications,” he said.
An 11th-hour candidate for the sports information director position, Walker was hired to replace Matt Webb. In his early days on the job, Walker borrowed on the expertise and institutional knowledge of the late John Hilsenteger, who held the position before retiring in 1994.
“John was a huge mentor to me,” Walker said. “Once I got the job, he was amazing for me. John expected you to do things the right way. From his days of working at The Oregonian, to being a public relations person, he was all about accuracy. He insisted that everyone working alongside him held themselves to that same level.”
Hilsenteger, meticulous in his record-keeping, set a standard that Walker aspired to carry forward. Hilsenteger helped out at the OSAA until he died in 2012.
“He was the guy that put everything in motion as far as information that was being made available to members of the media and the public,” Walker said. “It was hard to replicate what he had done.”
Walker brought his own expertise to the position, according to Weber.
“He's done so much for the association, the schools and the media around the state, but for us he really brought a credibility to that part of the OSAA that we kind of hadn't had since John Hilsenteger,” Weber said. “When he started, with his background of being in radio and TV, he had lived that world, and he brought it here to the office. That really helped us improve and grow in that area over the past 20-plus years.”
Walker's job has evolved as the OSAA moved forward into the internet age. When he began in the fall of 2000, he would use desktop software to input rosters for published state championship programs. Now historical data, rosters, box scores and real-time statistics for state championship events are available on the OSAA website, osaa.org.
“We were doing a lot of things manually,” Walker said. “We got to the point where our website just became a tool for me to be able to generate pages for the program. Everything is so automated now.”
Walker credits Weber for his role in developing a media-friendly website.
“I've been really lucky that I've been the guy who can just get the keys to the car and start it,” Walker said.
Now those duties will fall in the hands of his successor, Nate Lowery, who worked in media relations at Boise State. With changes such as updated statistical software in the offing, Walker said it is a “good time” to transition to Lowery.
“Having a guy like Nate, a younger set of eyes to look at what we do, and a guy with his experience, it's just going to be awesome,” Walker said.
Walker's tasks have included media relations and services, publicity and news releases, published programs, results and statistics, historical records, media passes and event credentials. Also, in 2012-13, he began producing broadcasts for the OSAA radio network.
Akamian said Walker's background served him well with producing broadcasts.
“Having worked in radio and being a college SID, he knew every aspect of distributing media info,” Akamian said. “It was a natural thing, and he took it very seriously. He loved doing it. From the broadcasting standpoint, he did a great job of organizing.”
The job was challenging and tedious at times, but Walker said his great reward was taking his spot at the scorer's table or press box and reveling in the atmosphere of state championship events.
“I can sit there with the best seat in the house and watch kids try to win state championships,” Walker said. “That never gets old to me. It's exciting. Even though I'm not playing, I'm kind of fired up, too.”
He had a special affinity for a handful of events, including the 3A basketball tournament in Coos Bay and North Bend, the state track championships at Hayward Field and the Oregon Athletic Directors Association annual conference, which “resulted in great friendships” with people that he admires for their contributions to high school athletics and activities.
As much as anything, he has enjoyed the team atmosphere at the OSAA.
“You've got a bunch of high-energy, positive people,” Walker said. “These folks have had a big impact on me. If you're not doing your job here, you're going to let someone down.”
Walker now has plenty of time to spend with his wife, Lori, and their three children and two grandchildren. Married 38 years, they are planning a trip to Australia for their 40th anniversary.
Their children graduated from Westview: Ashleigh, 34, was on the dance team and an all-state selection; Maddy, 32, was a state champion cheer team member; and Matt, 29, lettered in football and basketball.
“We really lived the OSAA championship life,” Walker said.
jerryu@osaa.org
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