Up & Coming Weekly

July 16, 2019

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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18 UCW JULY 17-23, 2019 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM McKinley "Macky" Hall died earlier this month at the age of 85. Since the 1990s, the Hope Mills water tower has paid tribute to state titles won on Hall's watch as South View athletic director. Hope Mills News & Views EARL VAUGHAN JR., Senior Staff Writer. COMMENTS? EarlUCWS- ports@gmail.com. 910-364-6638. Hall remembered as leader with passion for schools by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Former coworkers at South View High School and friends from the education com- munity remember McKinley "Macky" Hall Jr. as a devoted supporter of education who had a strong loyalty to his many friends in the South View school district. Hall, a former football coach, Hope Mills political leader and longtime school board member, died earlier this month at the age of 85. Bobby Poss was head football coach at South View during Hall's final years as the school's athletic director. He had a special nickname for Hall no one else used, calling him Tiger One. "He was so encouraging and supportive,'' said Poss, who guided the Tigers to their only state 4-A football championship in the fall of 1991. "He was a great administrator but also a very good friend. That's all he tried to do, be a helper. He was thinking and the wheels were turning.'' When Poss arrived at South View in 1989, the school had never made the North Carolina High School Athletic Association football playoffs in its previous 17 years. Poss was placing his first equipment order with Hall, and Hall asked if there was anything missing. Poss told Hall that at his previous job at Seventy-First, he always ordered new socks for his team to wear in the state playoffs. "South View had never been to the playoffs, but Macky said we better order playoff socks,'' Poss recalled. South View finished the 1989 season 9-4 and won the first two state football playoff games in school history. "We ordered playoff socks and we got to wear them,'' Poss said. "That was an example of the kind of encouraging he can do for a guy.'' Poss said Hall did the same for other South View coaching legends like Randy Ledford, Ron Miller and Eddie Dees. "I don't think a coach ever felt slighted by Macky,'' Poss said. "He was the first all-in guy before it became a popular term.'' Greg West served with Hall on the Cumberland County Board of Education. He called Hall a plea- sure to work with and someone who cared deeply about schools, both the buildings and the people in them. "He didn't raise his voice, and he spoke to the point and spoke his mind,'' West said. "He wasn't confrontational. He worked with people to try to talk you into seeing it his way.'' Current South View athletic director Chad Barbour first got to know Hall five years ago when Barbour took over the position. Though retired, Barbour said Hall continued to show support for the schools, and especially South View. "Anything you look at as far as South View athletics and the success we've had in the past is basically a direct reflection of his efforts here as athletic director,'' Barbour said. "He was the engi- neer behind that great state championship run.'' Over a period of about a half-dozen years just before and after Hall stepped down as South View athletic director, the Tigers won state cham- pionships in baseball, football, boys golf, boys basketball and softball. "He got the right coaches in place, gave them what they needed, and they built somewhat of a dynasty through his leader- ship,'' Barbour said. "That carried over for many years.'' Even after his health began to fail, Barbour said, Hall was a regular at South View home football games and was instrumental in get- ting the school a larger, modernized press box. Unsuccessful attempts have been made to have the press box named in Hall's honor. "He held South View very near and dear to his heart,'' Barbour said. Former Cumberland County Schools stu- dent activities director Fred McDaniel coached with Hall when the latter was head football coach at Terry Sanford in the mid-1970s. "He was really an advocate for kids,'' McDaniel said. "As a board member, he was concerned with athletes, not so much win- ning and losing, but our integrity, making kids do the right thing. He worked hard for kids and their well-being, giving them the best opportunity.'' Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner followed Hall's work as athletic director at South View and recalled he was a familiar fixture at town events, athletic fields and restaurants. "He was involved in the community beyond being on the school board,'' Warner said. "He was always very active until the last few months.'' Warner said Hall was part of a special time when South View was the only school in Hope Mills, before Jack Britt and Gray's Creek opened. "It was the height of school spirt in Hope Mills,'' she said. "That was when they decorated the town orange and black.'' This was something that Tiger One certainly appreciated. Meetings For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Town Clerk Jane Starling at 910-426-4113. • Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Monday, July 22, 6:30 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center • Appearance Commission Tuesday, July 23, 6:30 p.m., Parks and Recreation • Veterans Affairs Commission ursday, July 25, 6 p.m., Parks and Recre- ation Center Activities • Good2Grow Farmers Market Saturday, Aug. 3, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., between Town Hall and Parks and Recreation Building. • Hope Mills Area Kiwanis Club at Sammio's, second Tuesdays at noon and fourth Tuesdays at 6 p.m. For details, call 910-237-1240. • Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Senior programs at Parks and Recreation Building. Senior programs are for those ages 55 and up who are residents of Cumberland County. Various activities, especially Zumba classes, are scheduled Monday through Sunday throughout the day. For details on times and days, check the schedule at townofhopemills.com. You can call the recreation center at 910-426-4109 or e-mail Kasey Ivey at kivey@townofhopemills.com. • Hope Mills Parks and Recreation is currently accepting registration for men's and coed adult softball for the fall 2019 season. Registration will end Aug. 3 or when all leagues are filled, and the season will begin Aug. 12. e cost is $500 per team. For additional information, call 910-308-7651. Promote yourself: Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com. CALENDAR NEWS

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