CHAPEL HILL — Coaches, administrators and media representatives will be among those receiving awards next Thursday when the North Carolina High School Athletic Association holds its 2015 Annual Meeting.
The event is scheduled for the Dean E. Smith Center on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Thursday, May 7, the day after the spring meeting of the NCHSAA's Board of Directors has concluded.
The Association annually presents these statewide awards in several different categories, all based on those "who have done the most for high school athletics" rather than a single accomplishment or having an outstanding won-loss record.
The awards are named in memory or in honor of outstanding individuals in each category, five of whom are current members of the NCHSAA Hall of Fame. The state winners for 2015 include:
• Doris Howard Female Coach of the Year: Pam Gainey of Rocky Mount High School began teaching in the Rocky Mount City Schools system in 1989 and starting coaching at Rocky Mount High in 1994. She has an excellent career record of 391-169, with 10 20-victory seasons, 11 conference championships and nine conference tournament titles. She has coached in the North Carolina Coaches Association basketball all-star game and the North Carolina-South Carolina all-star classic. A graduate of Goldsboro High School, where she was a three-sport athlete, Gainey went on to play basketball at East Carolina University, receiving her bachelor’s degree there after earning the women’s basketball team academic award and Best Defensive Player honor as a senior. Her master’s degree is in exercise and sports science, She is married to Rocky Mount athletic director and men’s basketball coach Michael Gainey.
• Harvey Reid Male Coach of the Year: Eddie Gray of Garner Magnet High School has distinguished himself as a high school men’s basketball coach, guiding his team to the 2015 NCHSAA state 4-A men’s basketball championship. In more than a quarter century as a head coach, Gray has led the Trojans to more than 450 victories and made 21 appearances in the NCHSAA playoffs. He has been a teacher and coach at Garner since 1977, serving as head men’s basketball coach since 1990 after 10 years as the junior varsity coach and one as women’s head coach. He also was an assistant football coach from 1978 through 2012 and coached track as well as cross country. He is a Garner graduate who earned his undergraduate degree at North Carolina State University and his masters at the University of North Carolina. He is also a high school and collegiate baseball umpire.
• Dave Harris Athletic Director of the Year: Rex Wells of Asheville High School has just recently announced his retirement after 23 years at Asheville. He has been very active in the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association, with 16 years total as an athletic director, and is a former past president of the NCADA. He was an outstanding wrestling coach for 25 years, with over 300 dual team victories before stepping down as Asheville’s wrestling coach, and before that guided Brevard to a state wrestling championship and coached at Enka. He also coached football for 38 years and was defensive coordinator on two state champions. Wells graduated from Enka in 1973 and later from Western Carolina University. Wells has been the state director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in recent years and was inducted himself in 2009 for his "lifetime service to wrestling." He was one of the 100 Administrators To Remember for the NCHSAA centennial celebration.
• Bob Deaton Principal of the Year: Carla Black of Concord High School is a member of the Board of Directors of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, currently serving a four-year term. She received her undergraduate degree in middle school education from Winston-Salem State University and her masters in administration from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She has previously been named the Cabarrus County Educator of the Decade by the local chapter of the NAACP and was the winner this year of the Charlie Adams Distinguished Service Award for Region 6
• Bob McRae Superintendent of the Year: Dwayne Stallings of Perquimans County has over 30 years in as a public school education in North Carolina, including 21 as an administrator in Perquimans County. He has been the superintendent there for eight years and has served a term on the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Board of Directors for the last six years. He also has served as a head coach or assistant coach in three different school systems during the teaching and coaching portion of his career.
• Tim Stevens Media Representative of the Year: James Alverson of radio station 99.9 The Fan in Raleigh is a former high school football player at Lee County, where he lettered three years under coach Charlie Groves. A 2009 magna cum laude graduate of North Carolina State University in media communication, James is the play-by-play voice of high school football and basketball on 99.9 the Fan and Buzz Sports Radio and is the assistant program director on the three sports stations under the Capitol Broadcasting banner. He hosts the weekly HighSchoolOT wrap up show on Saturday mornings during football season and also has broadcasted college baseball and softball, professional soccer and ACC men’s and women’s basketball. He is an active member of Providence Baptist Church in Raleigh.
• Elton Hawley Athletic Trainer/Medical Person of the Year: Dr, Josh Bloom of Carolina Family Practice and Sports Medicine is a partner physician there and is also medical director of the Carolina Sports Concussion Clinic. He is head medical team physician for the Carolina Hurricanes (NHL), and also team physician for USA Baseball and Cary High School. He is actively involved in sports concussion research, legislative initiatives, and education. He has also been a valuable member of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Sports Medicine Advisory Committee. Dr. Bloom attended Tulane University School of Medicine, where he completed his Medical Degree along with a Master's Degree in Public Health. Prior to medical school, he attended Dartmouth College, where he was an Academic All-American linebacker, as well Co-Captain and Team MVP. Dr. Bloom grew up in Alamosa, Colorado, where he was a state champion wrestler and an all-state linebacker.
In terms of background of the award’s names, here are some highlights:
Doris Howard of Fayetteville was one of the state’s most successful female coaches during a 41-year career at Hope Mills, Central and Cape Fear High Schools, winning 533 games in basketball, and is in the NCHSAA Hall of Fame.
Harvey Reid, also an NCHSAA Hall of Famer, is the state’s all-time winningest basketball coach with over 800 victories, most of which came at Wilson Fike.
Dave Harris was the athletic director of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools from 1967 to ‘91 after an excellent football coaching career, primarily at Harding. He was a charter member of the NCHSAA Hall of Fame.
Bob Deaton was one of the state’s outstanding high school principals during a long career in education, primarily at Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, and was president of the NCHSAA in 1977-78.
Bob McRae is the former superintendent in Randolph County after a long career at Kings Mountain and was president of the NCHSAA in 1997-98. He has served as chair of the Realignment Committee as well as in other NCHSAA capacities.
Tim Stevens is the long time prep sports editor at the Raleigh News and Observer and has been recognized nationally for his work covering high school athletics, as a member of the National High School Sports Hall of Fame.
Elton Hawley is a native of Dunn who for many years was the athletic training coordinator for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools. He was the initial inductee into the North Carolina Athletic Trainer Association Hall of Fame.
