It was a great morning at the Columbus Trade Center as the Chattahoochee Valley Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2024 was inducted. We had a packed house to honor five men as they took their spots in the Hall.
The big noise was for Dell McGee, who was named the new head football coach at Georgia State less than 24 hours ago. I’m excited for him and his opportunity. He has his two national championship rings from Georgia as one of the architects of the title teams as running backs coach and the Bulldogs’ chief recruiter. He’s a perfect hire for the Panthers, a coach who can take the team to the next level in the Sun Belt Conference.
Dusty Perdue has racked up a dozen state titles as basketball and softball coach at Glenwood and is close to a combined 1000 victories in those sports. Monk Johnson was a football star at Spencer at Tennessee State, drafted by the 49ers. Tommy “Mac” Chambers was a basketball star at South Girard HS in Phenix City who went on to be a referee in the NBA. Mason Lampton was the driving force behind the Columbus Steeplechase. A worthy group to say the least.
It was also great to recognize over three dozen area high school athletes who made great contributions to their school’s programs. GRIT: Growth, Resilience, Initiative, Teamwork. Yeah, I like that. Good stuff.
For me, it was fun to hang around with the folks I covered as a sportscaster for nearly four decades, swapping stories and laughs. I’m proud to be on the CVSportsHOF board of directors, and I definitely look forward to helping the organization take things to the next level.
I’d love that to see Dad’s name in there someday.
Duly noted. Please send in his resume, etc., as soon as possible. He needs to be on the consideration list, if he isn’t already. He was the first person I interviewed for my very first story after getting hired by Channel 9.