Schools and individuals from all parts of West Tennessee were recognized at the TSSAA Regional Meeting at University School of Jackson on Wednesday, November 6 as part of the 20th Annual A.F. Bridges Awards program.
The A.F. Bridges Awards are 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 foundations of TSSAA.
The A.F. Bridges Awards program includes Divisional Awards for schools that have shown exemplary sportsmanship and awards for individuals in the categories of 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. In total, the awards recognize 63 individuals and as many as 27 schools from all parts of the state that represent what’s best in high school athletics.
Nominations were made by a Citizenship/Sportsmanship Committee and member schools in each athletic district and the final selection was made by a State Selection Committee.
Below is a full list of this year's West Tennessee honorees.
Athletic District 7
School System Administrator of the Year
Michael Davis, Hardin County
Principal of the Year
Ann Keyl, Sacred Heart of Jesus High School
Athletic Director of the Year
Casshawndra Sain, South Side High School
Female Coach of the Year
Rebecca Ashe, Adamsville High School
Male Coach of the Year
James Counce Jr., Henry County High School
Official of the Year
Floyd Flippen, Southwest
Contributor of the Year
Brantley Smith, Lexington TN
Athletic District 8
School System Administrator of the Year
Dr. Versie Hamlett, Humbodlt City Schools
Principal of the Year
Christi Huffman. Brighton High School
Athletic Director of the Year
Cetrice Bounds, Covington High School
Female Coach of the Year
Sharman Coley, Covington High School
Male Coach of the Year
Mitch Wilkins, Gibson County High School
Official of the Year
Jimmy Meeks
Contributor of the Year
Brock Porter
Athletic District 9
School System Administrator of the Year
Bo Griffin, Millington Municipal Schools
Principal of the Year
John S. Bush, Douglass
Athletic Director of the Year
Reed Willis, Middle College
Female Coach of the Year
Teresa Thomas, White Station High School
Male Coach of the Year
Jerald Cook, Freedom Prep
Official of the Year
Mark Herrington, West TN Interscholastic
Contributor of the Year
Lou Stackley, Sports Entertainment and Medical Services
A.F. Bridges Divisional Awards
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 and other member schools.
CLASS A
Dresden High School
Halls High School
South Fulton High School
CLASS AA
Memphis University School
Obion County Central H.S.
Westview High School
CLASS AAA
Kirby High School
Liberty Technology Magnet H.S.
Of the 26 divisional recipients, one school in each class will receive Tennessee’s top award for overall outstanding effort, the A.F. Bridges State Award of Excellence. 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 winner of that award will be announced at a later date.
