posted November 5, 2004
East Ridge High School's Catherine Neeley has been named athletic director of the year as part of the A.F. Bridges Awards program.
The program was expanded five years ago to include awards for School System Administrator of the Year, Principal of the Year, Athletic Director of the Year, Female Coach of the Year, Male Coach of the Year, Official of the Year, and Contributor of the Year. The awards recognize again this year 63 individuals from across our state who represent what's best in high school athletics. Recognition was made in the above mentioned categories in each of the nine athletic districts in our state.
Nominations were made by a Citizenship/Sportsmanship Committee in each athletic district and the final selection was made by a State Selection Committee.
Bernard Childress, Assistant Executive Director of the TSSAA stated, "Being recognized for one of these awards as a school or individual should be seen as one of the highest honors in high school athletics in our state. Those who receive the awards truly reflect what high school athletics should be about, and that's good sportsmanship and good citizenship."
All of these awards will be presented at the regional meetings held at the following sites:
Monday, November 8 at 10:00 a.m. - Nashville (Hunters Lane High School)
Wednesday, November 10 at 1:00 p.m. - Jackson (Union University
Thursday, November 11 at 1:00 p.m. - Knoxville (Knoxville Central High School)
2003-2004 A.F. Bridges Awards
Athletic District 1
School System Administrator of the Year
Dr. Lyle Ailshie - Greeneville City Schools
Principal of the Year
Daffin Anderson - Cherokee High School
Athletic Director of the Year
Gary Householder - Seymour High School
Female Coach of the Year
Brenda Evans - Science Hill High School
Male Coach of the Year
Graham Clark - Dobyns-Bennett High School
Official of the Year
Shelby Miller - Football and Basketball
Contributor of the Year
Jim Kiss - Sullivan North High School
Athletic District 2
School System Administrator of the Year
John Fogarty - McMinn County
Principal of the Year
Mike Reynolds - Farragut High School
Athletic Director of the Year
Jerry Thompson - Maryville High School
Female Coach of the Year
Jerilynn Carroll - Knoxville Halls High School
Male Coach of the Year
Bill Young - Christian Academy of Knoxville
Official of the Year
Kenny Everett - Basketball
Contributor of the Year
Jim Bletner - University of Tennessee
Athletic District 3
School System Administrator of the Year
Larry Payne - Cleveland City Schools
Principal of the Year
Margie Allison - South Pittsburg High School
Athletic Director of the Year
Catherine Neely - East Ridge High School
Female Coach of the Year
Beverly Tarver - Bledsoe County High School
Male Coach of the Year
Larry Davis - Polk County High School
Official of the Year
Stacey Rymer - Volleyball and Basketball
Contributor of the Year
Stephen Hargis - Chattanooga Times/Free Press
Athletic District 4
School System Administrator of the Year
Allen West - Clay County Schools
Principal of the Year
W.A. (Buddy) Pate, Jr. - Eagleville High School
Athletic Director of the Year
Jerry Mathis - Tullahoma High School
Female Coach of the Year
Lesley Smith - Livingston Academy
Male Coach of the Year
Jimmy Maynord - Smith County High School
Official of the Year
Jack Borden - Football
Contributor of the Year
Livingston Regional Hospital
Athletic District 5
School System Administrator of the Year
Dr. Margaret W. Wade - Franklin Road Academy
Principal of the Year
Paul Decker - Hendersonville High School
Athletic Director of the Year
William Workman - Clarksville High School
Female Coach of the Year
Joanne Tribue - Hunters Lane High School
Male Coach of the Year
Dennis Goodwin - Donelson Christian Academy
Official of the Year
Walter Overton - Football and Basketball
Contributor of the Year
Dr. Clarence Sanders - Gallatin (Team Physician)
Athletic District 6
School System Administrator of the Year
Dr. Bill Thrasher - Columbia Academy
Principal of the Year
Bryan True - Summertown High School
Athletic Director of the Year
Ronnie Seigenthaler - Brentwood High School
Female Coach of the Year
Heather Warren - Wayne County High School
Male Coach of the Year
Brian Kelly - Centennial High School
Official of the Year
Tim King - Volleyball, Softball, and Basketball
Contributor of the Year
Tony Wolfe - Columbia Area McDonald's
Athletic District 7
School System Administrator of the Year
Jim Ward - McKenzie
Principal of the Year
Bill Kee - Camden Central High School
Athletic Director of the Year
Doyle Murphy - Chester County High School
Female Coach of the Year
Nancy Fitts - Jackson North Side High School
Male Coach of the Year
Wade Comer - McKenzie High School
Official of the Year
Newman Ramsey - Football
Contributor of the Year
Michael Sparks - Fellowship of Christian Athletes (Director)
Athletic District 8
School System Administrator of the Year
Tim Fite - Tipton County Schools
Principal of the Year
Sam Miles - Dyersburg High School
Athletic Director of the Year
Bobby Mullins - Crockett County High School
Female Coach of the Year
Teresa Mills - Halls High School
Male Coach of the Year
Jesus Patino - Haywood High School
Official of the Year
Wilford Smith - Football
Contributor of the Year
Bud Vinson and Brian Moore - Munford Touchdown Club
Athletic District 9
School System Administrator of the Year
Robert Cole - Memphis City Schools
Principal of the Year
Dr. Timothy Setterlund - Collierville High School
Athletic Director of the Year
Jim Heinz - Evangelical Christian School
Female Coach of the Year
Lisa Lewis - Collierville High School
Male Coach of the Year
Charlie White - Germantown High School
Official of the Year
Joe Darr - Football and Softball
Contributor of the Year
Jeff McElveen - Coca-Cola
A.F. Bridges Divisional Awards and State Award of Excellence
The A.F. Bridges Divisional Awards are given to schools that have had no reported unsportsmanlike conduct incidents during the previous school year and have displayed an overall positive effort to teach, expect, and demand a positive atmosphere of sportsmanship at their particular contests.
The schools that received this prestigious award were nominated by local officials associations, other member schools, and the Tennessee Observers Program for Sports (TOPS).
Of the 27 divisional recipients, one school in each class will receive Tennessee's top award for overall outstanding effort in its division. One of the three schools in each classification will be presented the A.F. Bridges State Award of Excellence shortly after the divisional awards are handed out. This is the highest award that can be bestowed upon a school to honor its overall efforts to promote citizenship and sportsmanship at school, and at athletic contests.
The A.F. Bridges Award is given in honor of the TSSAA's first executive secretary. He served as executive secretary from 1946 until his retirement in 1972. Under his leadership, athletics in the state of Tennessee reached a level of excellence and competence that earned the respect of all people. Mr. Bridges was a person of high principles who displayed firmness and fairness, as well as the high ideals of ethics and integrity, as he and many other school people established the foundation of TSSAA across our state.
EAST TENNESSEE
Class A
Christian Academy of Knoxville
Temple High School
Whitwell High School
Class AA
Carter High School
Sullivan Central High School
West Greene High School
Class AAA
Bearden High School
Greeneville High School
Maryville High School
MIDDLE TENNESSEE
Class A
Forrest High School
Van Buren County High School
Westmoreland High School
Class AA
Dekalb County High School
Livingston Academy
Smith County High School
Class AAA
Cookeville High School
Dickson County High School
Franklin County High School
WEST TENNESSEE
Class A
Halls High School
Dresden High School
Scotts Hill High School
Class AA
Brighton High School
Chester County High School
McKenzie High School
Class AAA
Dyersburg High School
Hardin County High School
Millington Central High School
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