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June is usually the start of a serene time for Johns Hopkins assistant director of athletic communications Jill Guise before she gets back to work in August.
Not this time.
On June 18, Guise received the Ann King Advocacy Award from the Eastern Athletic Communications Association, named after the woman who forged a nearly 40-year career in the industry before she died of cancer in 2023. The award recognizes a female sports information representative with at least 15 years of experience for supporting college athletics, improving women’s impact in the profession, and encouraging their colleagues, according to the organization.
On June 27, Guise and her stepchildren, Carly, 26, and Shane, 23, hosted a celebration of life for husband and father Scott Guise, former director of athletic communications at York College, who died Dec. 3 after fighting colorectal cancer for almost five years. The day before, there was a golf tournament to raise money for colorectal cancer research and a scholarship at York in Mr. Guise’s name.
“I am amazed and humbled at how many people came out for Scott’s Celebration of Life,” Jill Guise said. “There were so many family, friends and colleagues who came — some of whom came long distance and some I haven’t seen in quite some time. It was a very bittersweet day and another reminder that he’s not here anymore.”
For three decades, Mr. Guise was director of athletic communications for the Spartans. In 2005, he accompanied the men’s basketball team on its run to the NCAA Division III Tournament semifinals. In 2025, he earned the Middle Atlantic Conference Giant Steps Award, which honors those who inspire others through perseverance and service.
Shortly after his father, Larry, was seriously injured in an accident at home in October 2020, Mr. Guise found blood in his stool, but attributed it to the stress of his father’s medical care. In September 2021, a colonoscopy revealed a tumor in his colon, and subsequent scans and bloodwork showed the cancer had spread to his liver.
Despite more than two dozen operations and procedures that removed all or parts of his colon, liver and gallbladder and over 40 cycles of chemotherapy, Mr. Guise continued to work at York. His wife of 14 years said he loved to be on campus.
“Scott was very much a people person,” she said. “He was an extrovert. He got energy from being around people.”
But after attending a nephew’s wedding in South Carolina in November 2025, Mr. Guise’s health worsened. He underwent more scans, which revealed that the mass in his liver had expanded.
Mr. Guise was administered an experimental treatment, but on Nov. 29, a nurse informed his wife that lab work showed his kidneys had failed. Mr. Guise began hospice care at home on Dec. 1 and died two days later.
“It happened very quickly, which I’m actually thankful for because at that point, he was basically sleeping all day and was in some pain — not a lot of pain, thankfully,” Jill Guise said. “But I know that’s not what he would have wanted for his family.”
Before her husband’s death, Jill Guise got the chance to inform him of the Ann King Advocacy Award, for which he had nominated her.
“He was very happy for me, and it meant a lot to him,” she said. “He was my biggest champion and cheerleader.”
Ernie Larossa, the director of athletic communications at Johns Hopkins who hired Guise in 2006 to work with him, introduced her at the Eastern Athletic Communications Association’s awards event in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
“I noted that I kind of feel like for the last 20 years, I’ve been watching a young Ann King at work because Jill is just so supportive, just very passionate about our profession, very passionate about supporting the young people and the women in the profession, and it’s like seeing what Ann was doing for all those years before Jill,” he said. “So to see Jill receive an award that is named in Ann’s honor is pretty unique, pretty special.”
That last weekend of June was a mix of emotions for the Guise family. The Scott Guise Hackers and Slackers Memorial Invitational took place Friday afternoon at Royal Manchester Golf Links in Mt. Wolf, Pennsylvania, and 21 groups played in threesomes as the fourth spot was left open in Mr. Guise’s honor.
A celebration of life took place Saturday afternoon at the Grumbacher Sport and Fitness Center at York. Jill Guise said her husband — who received a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award from the College Sports Communicators in April – would have been touched by the presence of several hundred attendees.
“It truly was a celebration of Scott’s life,” she said. “There were a lot of memories shared with a lot of laughs and tears — just what Scott would have wanted.”
Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at [email protected], 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.
Jill and Scott Guise pose with family on their wedding day. From left to right, Scott Guise, daughter Carly, Jill Guise and son Shane celebrate the occasion. (Courtesy of Jill Guise) Show Caption1 of 2Jill Guise and Johns Hopkins director of athletic communications Ernie Larossa after Guise accepted the Ann King Advocacy Award at the Eastern Athletic Communications Association's award ceremony on June 18. (Courtesy of Jill Guise)Expand
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Not this time.
On June 18, Guise received the Ann King Advocacy Award from the Eastern Athletic Communications Association, named after the woman who forged a nearly 40-year career in the industry before she died of cancer in 2023. The award recognizes a female sports information representative with at least 15 years of experience for supporting college athletics, improving women’s impact in the profession, and encouraging their colleagues, according to the organization.
On June 27, Guise and her stepchildren, Carly, 26, and Shane, 23, hosted a celebration of life for husband and father Scott Guise, former director of athletic communications at York College, who died Dec. 3 after fighting colorectal cancer for almost five years. The day before, there was a golf tournament to raise money for colorectal cancer research and a scholarship at York in Mr. Guise’s name.
“I am amazed and humbled at how many people came out for Scott’s Celebration of Life,” Jill Guise said. “There were so many family, friends and colleagues who came — some of whom came long distance and some I haven’t seen in quite some time. It was a very bittersweet day and another reminder that he’s not here anymore.”
For three decades, Mr. Guise was director of athletic communications for the Spartans. In 2005, he accompanied the men’s basketball team on its run to the NCAA Division III Tournament semifinals. In 2025, he earned the Middle Atlantic Conference Giant Steps Award, which honors those who inspire others through perseverance and service.
Shortly after his father, Larry, was seriously injured in an accident at home in October 2020, Mr. Guise found blood in his stool, but attributed it to the stress of his father’s medical care. In September 2021, a colonoscopy revealed a tumor in his colon, and subsequent scans and bloodwork showed the cancer had spread to his liver.
Despite more than two dozen operations and procedures that removed all or parts of his colon, liver and gallbladder and over 40 cycles of chemotherapy, Mr. Guise continued to work at York. His wife of 14 years said he loved to be on campus.
“Scott was very much a people person,” she said. “He was an extrovert. He got energy from being around people.”
But after attending a nephew’s wedding in South Carolina in November 2025, Mr. Guise’s health worsened. He underwent more scans, which revealed that the mass in his liver had expanded.
Mr. Guise was administered an experimental treatment, but on Nov. 29, a nurse informed his wife that lab work showed his kidneys had failed. Mr. Guise began hospice care at home on Dec. 1 and died two days later.
“It happened very quickly, which I’m actually thankful for because at that point, he was basically sleeping all day and was in some pain — not a lot of pain, thankfully,” Jill Guise said. “But I know that’s not what he would have wanted for his family.”
Before her husband’s death, Jill Guise got the chance to inform him of the Ann King Advocacy Award, for which he had nominated her.
“He was very happy for me, and it meant a lot to him,” she said. “He was my biggest champion and cheerleader.”
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Ernie Larossa, the director of athletic communications at Johns Hopkins who hired Guise in 2006 to work with him, introduced her at the Eastern Athletic Communications Association’s awards event in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
“I noted that I kind of feel like for the last 20 years, I’ve been watching a young Ann King at work because Jill is just so supportive, just very passionate about our profession, very passionate about supporting the young people and the women in the profession, and it’s like seeing what Ann was doing for all those years before Jill,” he said. “So to see Jill receive an award that is named in Ann’s honor is pretty unique, pretty special.”
That last weekend of June was a mix of emotions for the Guise family. The Scott Guise Hackers and Slackers Memorial Invitational took place Friday afternoon at Royal Manchester Golf Links in Mt. Wolf, Pennsylvania, and 21 groups played in threesomes as the fourth spot was left open in Mr. Guise’s honor.
A celebration of life took place Saturday afternoon at the Grumbacher Sport and Fitness Center at York. Jill Guise said her husband — who received a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award from the College Sports Communicators in April – would have been touched by the presence of several hundred attendees.
“It truly was a celebration of Scott’s life,” she said. “There were a lot of memories shared with a lot of laughs and tears — just what Scott would have wanted.”
Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at [email protected], 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.
Jill and Scott Guise pose with family on their wedding day. From left to right, Scott Guise, daughter Carly, Jill Guise and son Shane celebrate the occasion. (Courtesy of Jill Guise) Show Caption1 of 2Jill Guise and Johns Hopkins director of athletic communications Ernie Larossa after Guise accepted the Ann King Advocacy Award at the Eastern Athletic Communications Association's award ceremony on June 18. (Courtesy of Jill Guise)Expand
Continue reading...
