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PAGE 6A October 2023 PAGE 10 April 2024
AHSAA Director to Retire
FARMERS MARKET - The Albertville Farmers Market opening day is May 4 and the hours are from 8-12 that morning. The Farmers Market will be open from May through October every Saturday 8-12 and on Tuesdays from 3-6 in the afternoon. On opening day, there will be free compost available and the Albertville High School culinary department is making and giving away free strawberry shortcake bites with strawberries from local farms. The Market will accept SNAP/EBT cards. The market will also offer Double Up Food Bucks for every $1 of EBT spent, and give out $1 Double up bucks for free up to $20. (the EBT money is matched up to $20.) FIGHTING HUNGER - To help address hunger, and in celebration of National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day on April 2, Gadsden Regional Medical Center donated more than 600 jars of peanut butter to the Etowah Community Food Bank. All of that peanut butter was donated by employees, medical staff, board members, and community partners during the recent Jars of Love Peanut Butter. $115 MILLION INVESTMENT - Two Rivers Lumber Co. LLC plans to invest $115 million to build a state-of-the-art sawmill in Coosa County as the company’s second operation in Alabama. Demopolis-based Two Rivers Lumber has committed to creating 130 jobs at the new Alabama sawmill, which will specialize in the production of Southern Yellow Pine dimensional lumber. Peak North America is leading construction of the facility in Kellyton, with a start set for June. To support the project, the Lake Martin Area Industrial Development Authority is donating 110 acres of land, valued at $2.2 million. In addition, AIDT, the state’s primary workforce development agency, is providing services to the company Denise Walls, executive director of the Lake Martin Area Economic Development Alliance, said Two Rivers is a perfect fit for the Lake Martin Regional Industrial Park, which is a partnership between Alexander City and Coosa County. RUNAWAY JUVENILES FOUND - On Tuesday, April 9, 2024, Detectives from Lee County Sheriff’s Office in Fort Myers, Florida contacted the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Unit for assistance in locating two runaway female juveniles that were possibly at an address near Kilpatrick. Investigators and deputies went to the address and were able to locate the juveniles. The Alabama Department of Human Resources was contacted and the juveniles were turned over to the juvenile authorities and will be returned to Florida. During the investigation, Aura Sanchez-Lopez (age 41 of Kilpatrick) was arrested and charged with Interference with Custody (x2) and Obstructing Government Operations (x2). WORKING TOGETHER - The police departments for Gadsden State Community College and the City of Gadsden have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance community safety and cooperation. The agreement aims to promote mutual assistance and collaborative efforts to ensure the well-being of residents and students in Gadsden. Through the MOU, both departments pledge to share resources, expertise and information to enhance public safety and emergency response capabilities. Gadsden State created the new police department to serve all five of its campuses last year. EXPLOSIVE DEVICE ARREST - Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall recently issued a statement following the federal indictment and arrest of Kyle Benjamin Douglas Calvert, age 26, of Irondale. Calvert is being charged with two felony counts of malicious damage by explosive and possession of an unregistered destructive device. The charges are related to an explosion that occurred in February at the Attorney General’s Office. No staff or bystanders were injured by the explosion. “My staff and I are breathing a collective sigh of relief this morning knowing that this individual has been taken off the streets,” said Attorney General Marshall. “Although more information will be provided in the weeks to come, I think it is safe to say that this was not a random act of violence. We are grateful to our federal and local partners for their assistance in this matter and are pleased that the offender faces federal charges carrying significant prison time.” If convicted, Calvert faces a maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment and a fine for malicious damage by explosive, and 10 years of imprisonment and up to a $10,000 fine for the possession of an unregistered destructive device. NEWS & EVENTS
Alabama High School Athletic Association Executive Director Alvin Briggs informed the AHSAA Central Board of Control his plan to retire from his current position effective September 2. He made the announcement at the CBOC’s April meeting. That was the biggest news coming out of a very busy Central Board meeting. Briggs has been with the AHSAA since 2011 serving in a variety of roles including Director of the Alabama High School Athletic Directors & Coaches Association (AHSADCA) and Associate Executive Director prior to becoming executive director when Steve Savarese stepped down in 2021. Briggs moved into the executive director role in July of 2021. Overall, Briggs has spent 35 years in education and he was the first person selected for Executive Director who was already working on the AHSAA executive staff. “My time with the AHSAA has been memorable. I am humbled and thankful for having the opportunity to serve our member schools and Central Board as their executive director. I am grateful to the AHSAA staff for their commitment to serving our member schools. I will miss this extended family. I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish and am confident the AHSAA will continue to move forward facing and overcoming the many challenges that the future might bring. Now, after much prayer, it is time for me to retire.” Central Board president Mike Welsh thanked Briggs for his service. “We want to congratulate you on your retirement, and we thank you for your service,” He told Briggs following the announcement. Briggs, the fifth executive director in AHSAA history, guided the AHSAA through some difficult times, taking over at the tail end of the Covid pandemic. He was instrumental in starting Girls’ Flag Football, secured the current site (Oxford’s Choccolocco Park and Jacksonville State University) for the state baseball and softball championships, saw a tremendous growth in participation in the non-revenue sports as well as guiding the AHSAA to record years in the revenue sharing paid back to member schools – especially coming out of the Covid pandemic, Attendance to all championship events thriving ever since. The CBOC approved several sports committee recommendations made through the Board’s Championship Committee and presented by Assistant Director Jeff Segars including: Football: Approved the starting date for middle school football contests to be aligned with junior varsity starting dates which are the first Monday after varsity teams are allowed to play. Cross Country: Insured the sport’s season gets its 10 weeks and also waived the ban on runners using GPS watches. Volleyball: Approved the use of 1 official in a sub- varsity contest only when the officials association informs the school it is unable to assign the required minimum of two. Basketball: Approved giving schools the option of using a shot clock for regular-season non-area games – only if both schools agree. The CBOC also approved allowing the AHSAA to use a shot clock in its summer classics and the North-South All-Star Games as a means to gather data and help train the personnel needed to operate the shot clock. Class 7A schools were also approved to extend their regular season one week since those schools do not compete in the sub-regional round of the playoffs. Flag Football: Approved 15 dates for varsity/junior
varsity and 10 dates for middle schools. Also approved developing a regular season and playoff format that corresponds with padded football, but also approved allowing flag teams to play multiple playoff games at one site on the same date to reduce travel. Swimming: Approved eliminating section meets and using regular-season times to determine qualifiers for the state meet – similar to the current indoor track format. Bowling: Approved changing the playoff format currently used in section and state meets to follow the regular-season format. Also approved was making the championship round a double-elimination round and extended the playing dates from 20 to 22. Wrestling: Approved adjusting the section and state wrestling schedules to accommodate girls’ wrestling. Also, in the sport of wrestling, approved insuring that the wrestling placement in section tournaments receive higher consideration in the final seeding for the state meet and determined if a wrestler is disqualified in the section meet, that place in the state meet would result in a forfeit. For the wrestling duals, the CBOC approved allowing cross- bracketing in playoff format. The Central Board also elected officers for the 2024- 25 school year with District 1 member Terry Curtis being elected president, and Pelham’s Kim Kiel from District 5 was elected vice president. They take office on July 1. Other Central Board action included: • Approved the 2023 Super 7 and Football State Playoff financial report. • Approved 2024 financial reports for Regional and State Bowling, Duals, Section and State Wrestling, Indoor Track, and 2024 Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Basketball. • Heard a report from Associate Executive Director Kim Vickers concerning the Classification Task Force and approved their recommendations. • Approved the 2024-25 Required Forms release date and any form changes. • Approved the Strategic Process and Budget. • Approved Wilson’s official volleyball for 2025-26 season. Heard a report from AHSADCA Director Brandon Dean concerning the 2024 Summer Conference and All-Star Sports Week. • Approved expenses for the 2024 NFHS Summer Meeting to be held in Boston (MA). • Approved the 2024-25 Calendar of Events, the 2024- 25 Sports Calendar and the AHSAA Five-Year Calendar (2024-2029). • Discussed the current proposals to be addressed by the Legislative Council.
Snead State College Names Kenny Hill As Women’s Head Basketball Coach
Snead State Community College has named Guntersville High School Girls Basketball Coach Kenny Hill as the program's next women's head basketball coach. Hill will step into the position left vacant by the retirement of Coach Craig Roden. “Coach Hill is a stellar addition to the coaching staff. His knowledge and experience will enhance our program and continue the tradition of success we’ve had with our student-athletes,” said Snead State President Dr. Joe Whitmore. “We appreciate the leadership we’ve had the past year under Coach Roden, and we’re excited to see where Coach Hill takes our Lady Parsons next season,” said Snead State Athletic Director Casey Underwood. Hill has spent the last four years leading the Guntersville Lady Wildcats out of a losing streak to multiple championship wins and advancements to the Sweet 16. The team had only won 9 games over a three-year period, but in his first year, Hill led the team to overcome its 13-game losing streak and complete the season with a record of 23-7. The team won the area championship and advanced to the Sweet 16. Then his career continued to thrive from there. In his second year, he set a school record for wins at 30-5, won the county, area, and Northeast Regional Championship, and won the Class 5A State Championship. Hill was named the 2022 Marshall County Coach of the Year and the 5A ASWA Girls Coach of the Year. During the next year, Hill coached his team to a 29-5 season with County and Area Championship wins and advancement to the Sweet 16, and the next year, he and his team finished the season with a 20-12 record. Prior to coming to Guntersville High School, Hill served as Head Boys Basketball Coach at his alma mater,
Photo By Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger
Scottsboro High School, where he coached his teams to win more than 100 games and two Area Championships in 2015 and 2017 with advancement to the Sweet 16 in 2015, 2017, and 2019 for the first time in the school’s history. His coaching career spans over 20 years, during which he’s also spent time in the classroom teaching standard and advanced biology, botany, zoology, driver’s education, and biotechnology. He is a product of the Alabama Community College System, having earned an Associate degree from Northeast Alabama Community College. He went on to earn a Bachelor's degree from Athens State University, a Master degree from the University of West Alabama, and STEM and Driver’s Education certifications from the Alabama Department of Education and Jacksonville State. Hill and his wife Brooke, have a daughter, Brylee, and a son, Kajae.
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