Jason Thurston, Juanita High School’s Athletic Director, is now recognized as a Certified Master Athletic Administrator by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA). 

To earn this distinction, Thurston demonstrated exemplary knowledge, contributions and on-going professional development in the field of interscholastic athletic administration. The voluntary certification process includes a thorough evaluation of the candidate's educational background, experience, NIAAA Leadership Courses and professional contributions. The process is completed with a practical written or oral presentation project.

Thurston is one of a very elite group of interscholastic athletic administrators nationwide to attain this level of professionalism.

The NIAAA is a national professional organization consisting of all 50 state athletic administrator associations and more than 12,000 individual members. It is dedicated to promoting the professional growth of high school athletic administrators and preserving the educational nature of interscholastic athletics and the place of these programs in the secondary school curriculum.