Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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SEPTEMBER 6 - 12, 2017 UCW 33 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Fayetteville Academy Athletic Hall of Fame's New Inductees by EARL VAUGHAN JR. The second of two annual Region Four Coaches and Officials Emergency Fund golf tournaments is scheduled Oct. 15 at Gates Four Golf and Country Club. Fred McDaniel, retired student activities director for Cumberland County Schools and one of the original organizers of the tournament, said the event is doing everything it can to raise money for a good cause after the organizers tried to spread charity a little too far. At one time, money from the fund went to anyone facing a personal crisis due to health or other concerns, McDaniel said. They even sent money to high schools whose athletic facilities had been dam- aged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. But as the account balance dropped and the annual tournaments didn't replenish the money already given away, McDaniel said the fund had to change directions. "At the moment, we're back to where we just help coaches and officials,'' he said. "We had to go back to the people we were looking to start with.'' The fund began when the coaches and officials united to help for- mer coach Mark Heil, now retired, deal with the expenses his late son incurred in dealing with serious health problems. The first tournament was a success, but as the orga- nizers were congratulating themselves, McDaniel said former Pine Forest and E.E. Smith football coach Dean Saffos spoke up. "He said, 'Fellows, we need to do this all the time, every year, to look after our own,''' McDaniel said. "He said if we don't look after our- selves, who's going to do it?" The result was a union between coaches and offi- cials to hold the golf tournaments annually as fund- raisers for the cause. "We can't make everything well, but we can make it better," McDaniel said. This year's tournament will follow the format of past tournaments. There are slots for 32 teams. Check-in begins at 11 a.m. with lunch at 11:30 and play begin- ning at 1 p.m. with a shotgun start. The entry fee is $75 per golfer before Oct. 10 and $85 after. The entry fee covers a round of golf, lunch, beverages and prizes. For further information on the tournament and how to enter, go to the official tournament website, regionfour.org. Fred McDaniel, retired Cumberland County Schools activ- ities director Former cross country coach Donna McCollum and former basketball star Murray Duggins Jr. are the members of the latest class of inductees into the Fayetteville Academy Athletic Hall of Fame. McCollum and Duggins will be honored at a banquet and induc- tion ceremony scheduled for Nov. 21 at the school, the same evening as the annual alumni girls' and boys' basket-ball games. All inductees are enshrined with plaques that include high- lights of their athletic career and a picture. The plaques are on display in the lobby of the Fayetteville Academy gym. McCollum was primarily a cross country and track coach at Fayetteville Academy from 2002-15. She has an incredible personal story separate from her days at the Academy. She is one of only eight American women to have climbed the tallest peak on each of the seven continents, including Mount Everest, Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Denali. The cousin of former American Olympic running star Mary Decker Slaney, McCollum was a candidate to be a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic swimming team until the boycott of that year's games was an- nounced by President Jimmy Carter. When she first attended a Fayetteville Academy cross country meet as a spectator, she saw run- ners unable to complete the race without walking. She agreed to coach for one year, but when her players asked her to stay, she challenged them. "There are going to be sacrifices made along the way,'' she said. "It's not going to happen overnight. It will take us about four years to do this.'' In 2007, her boys' and girls' teams at the Academy made N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association history as they were the first school to take both championships at the 2-A level in the same season. "To take 14 teenagers and have them all be on was more than I had expected,'' McCollum said. "We were just a little private school where most of the runners couldn't finish three miles without walking. When they said they wanted this, they kind of woke up the schools in the area.'' McCollum called working at the Academy a privi- lege and said her induction into the hall was a fitting way to end a 32-year coaching career. Duggins Jr., a 1995 graduate of the Academy, was a member of the 1992 state championship boys' bas- ketball team at the school and was named confer- ence player of the year as a senior in 1995. He thanked former Eagle coach and current ath- letic director Chip Bishop for giving him a chance to play on the varsity as a freshman. "He's one of the most accomplished basketball coaches in the state and an even better person,'' Duggins Jr. said. "This is something I'm going to treasure.'' Duggins Jr. said he still misses the faculty at the Academy, along with the competition and the cama- raderie with his teammates. "We had four really good teams,'' he said. His advice to the players of today is the same that Bishop gave him when he was a player. "Always try as hard as you can,'' Duggins Jr. said. "Never give up.'' Region Four Golf Tournament Benefits Staff in Need by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Murray Duggins Jr. stands in front of some of the plaques recogniz- ing members of the Fayetteville Academy Athletic Hall of Fame. & PRESENT OUR WEEKLY LINE UP 6-8pm WCLN 107.3 CAPE FEAR HIGH SCHOOL COACH'S SHOW 7-8pm @ 301 Wingz, 407 Eastern Blvd Airing on WGQR 105.7 Bill Boyette w/ Coach Jacob Thomas TERRY SANFORD HIGH SCHOOL COACH'S SHOW 8-9pm @ Spinners, 2805 Raeford Rd Airing on WCLN 107.3 Trey Edge w/ Coach Bruce McClellan Coaches Corner w/ Don Koonce 105.7 starting @ 6:00pm 107.3 starting @ 6:00pm Followed by LIVE to The Fields Cape Fear HS @ Terry Sanford HS Kick off @ 7:30pm Airing on both 105.7 and 107.3 Ending with Postgame Scoreboard w/ Sonny Jones MONDAY 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 FRIDAY 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 WEDNESDAY