Siloam Proud

When Ken Harriman returned for a second stint as athletics director to the Siloam Springs School Dis- trict for the 2019-20 school year, it was originally on an interim basis. Kevin Downing, who had been athletics director since 2013, had accepted an AD position at Benton - ville West late in the sum- mer of 2019, leaving SSSD without a leader at the top of its athletics program. Needing to fill the posi- tion quickly with experi- ence, SSSD administration turned to Harriman to fill the gap. It wound up being so much more than anyone could have asked for. An interim position wound up being a two-year ride. "I really liked being a part of it again," Harriman said. "When you retire, your life changes and when you've spent a lifetime working around people you don't realize how much you're going to miss it. That first year back was really special." According to coaches and staff, Harriman gave the athletics department the jolt it needed, main - taining a constant support- ive presence, showing up to practically every event at home or on the road that he possibly could, and inspiring people to be bet- ter athletes, coaches and people. Harriman found he had rejuvenated himself, once again dealing with kids and coaches. And then the covid-19 pandemic hit, followed by an unexpected bout with Hodgkins Lymphoma. But through it all Harriman's resolve or dedication to his job shined through. Harriman was voted Class 5A Athletics Director of the Year by the Arkansas High School Athletic Ad - ministrators Association. "Through all the changes and adversities we have faced over the past year, Ken has been an unwaver- ing leader for our athletic program," said Brandon Craig, Siloam Springs head football coach. "Through changing and difficult times, he has maintained a consistent approach that has helped to make all of our jobs easier. I look at him with admiration and respect for the job that he has done. He had a per - sonal battle with cancer and never let it affect his attitude or how he treated anyone. His support and guidance has been extraor- dinary for all of us. He will truly be missed." Harriman announced in December of 2020 that he would not be returning as athletics director. At the time, though it was not publicly announced, Har - riman was in the midst of receiving treatment for cancer and there were no guarantees about how his situation would end up. Jeff Williams, who had just wrapped up his only season as head football coach at Pea Ridge after a long career at Fort Smith Southside, was hired in February to replace Har - riman. Harriman says he feels good about leaving the athletics department in Williams' hands along with the collection of coaches he brings behind. "I feel good about where we're at," Harriman said. "I really think our pro - grams are rock solid right now. Everybody has their own impression, wins and losses and all that. But as far as the way we treat kids and take care of kids, then I think we do the right thing. When I was here 20 years ago, I told my coaches we want to be state champs of the things that matter. The things that matter are, are you taking care of kids? Are you pushing them? Are you forcing them to be better than they want to be? If we're doing that and we're setting boundaries, and we're letting them know that not only do we care about you but we'll go to bat and all that, then we're being state champs at the things that matter." Harriman said one of the things he used to tell his coaches is, "the way you ought to judge your season is not how many you win and how many you lose. The way you ought to judge your season is this, and this alone, when the last game comes, playoff, regular sea - son, wherever it's at, if the last game ends and your kids wish that you had one more, you've had a great year. You've had a great year. If the season ends and you have the majority of your people saying I'm glad that's over, then you need to look in the mirror." Harriman's leadership Athletics assistant Julie Kelly has worked under a number of athletics direc- tors over the last decade, beginning with Kerwin Dees, then Kevin Snavely for a year, Downing, Harri- man and now Williams. Transitions in adminis- tration are not easy, but she said when Harriman came on board in August of 2019, things couldn't have gone better. "That first year was an incredible year, especially to have a change in leader - ship," Kelly said. "Coach Harriman and I work so well together and he was the perfect person to lead our team. His servant lead- ership style was just what we needed and when he started in August, he hit the ground running." Kelly said Harriman trusted his staff to make decisions for their pro - grams and he gave support in whatever areas were needed. "Coach Harriman is one of the most humble people I know, and his leadership style is attractive to every- one around him," Kelly said. "He seeks input from our staff as a whole. He finds opportunities to let others on his staff shine, and he expresses appre - ciation even when it's not expected. The ways that he makes people feel so val- ued and appreciated make you want to work harder and to do the very best that you can in your job. He is always quick to give credit to others before tak - ing any credit himself. Our students love him because he treats them with such dignity and respect and he takes great interest in their activities and their families. He has been so intentional to praise both our kids and coaches when they have any type of successes." When the covid-19 pan - demic hit in March of 2020, Kelly said having Harriman on staff proved invaluable. "There was so much immediate change and so much unknown," she said. "We were faced with so many restrictions but also wanted to give the most opportunities for our kids and coaches to be as nor - mal as possible." Kelly said the theme for the athletics department for the 2020-21 school year was #PantherFamily. Coaches wore T-shirts with this theme and it fit the at - titude of the department, she said. "Under Coach Harri- man's leadership, we felt it was important to rec- ognize and remind our coaches, our students and our community that this pandemic would eventu- ally end and, as a Siloam Springs community and family, we would get through it together," Kelly said. "There was so much divisiveness in our nation and in our own community about politics, masks, vac - cines, social distancing, etc., and Coach Harriman would constantly remind us all that we wanted to make sure we responded the best way possible in every situation because when the pandemic would finally end, we wanted to make sure we still had great relationships with those around us. That's the type of man he is. He doesn't care just about himself; he cares about those around him. We are all better both personally and profession - ally as a result of his leader- ship. He sacrificed so much for our school the last two years and we are definitely better because of him. He is most deserving of a sec- ond retirement!" Kelly also is moving on to a new role, taking a position at Fayetteville Public Schools. Harriman said Kelly has been the backbone of the athletic department. "When coaches would come to me and ask me questions that I didn't know the answer to, she was a phone call away or a trip down the hall," Harri - man said. "And there was always an answer, and there was always a reason for an answer. And so as a result, you just build up so much trust in that." Battle with Hodgkins-Lymphoma In the midst of the co- vid-19 pandemic in the spring semester of 2020, Harriman also had his own personal battles. In January of that year, he had begun noticing some swelling in his neck. He didn't think much of it and it went away, but in June it came back. At that time, everyone was wearing masks and gaiters and to most people it wouldn't have been no - ticeable. "I thought, 'I better get this checked out,'" Harri- man said. He went to an ear, nose and throat doctor and wound up having four lymph nodes from his neck removed for biopsy, and Hodgkins Lymphoma was found as a result of that. "Of course you become an expert on that thing researching," Harriman said."I've had no history in my family. I don't even know anyone who's had Hodgkins lymphoma, but I had it. One of the things when you research it is you find out it's one of the few curable cancers there is, and so the hardest part of this was telling people. That was the hardest part." The doctors believed it was an early stage of Hodgkins lymphoma, Har - riman said, with the cancer contained to the neck and face. "If it descends into the lower neck and chest, they consider it to be a later stage," Harriman said. "If it goes below your dia - phragm that's when every- body starts worrying." After getting the results back in late October, Har- riman began receiving cancer treatments the first week of November. He still showed up to as many events as he could during this time, but there were good days and bad days, coinciding with the treatments. "If the hardest part of this is telling people, the second hardest is the way you disrupt people's lives," Harriman said. "You dis - rupt your family. Now all of a sudden they have one more thing they have to be consumed with. You dis- rupt the people you work with because there's times when you're not here, and when you are here, they kind of treat you with kid gloves. That was the worst part of this whole experi - ence is having to disrupt so many people." Harriman said he leaned heavily on Kelly through- out this time. "Julie Kelly basically ran this athletic department," he said. "She's done that for quite a while anyway, but especially during that time when I was in and out, she was the glue and the back - bone that held this place together." Even while receiving cancer treatments though, it was like Harriman never missed a beat, according to his peers. "He led us so well even through the days he had treatment or days that he didn't feel good," Kelly said. "He would be texting me while he was getting che - mo and we would discuss what needed to be done and what was coming up that we needed to work on. Through all this, we even pulled off planning the 5A State Soccer Tournament." Feeling back to normal Harriman said he re- ceived his last cancer treat- ment on Feb. 24. "They had told me 21 days earlier in the season before, 'We think we got it,'" he said. Harriman said they would go ahead do the final treatment, do a blood sample just to make sure. Around March 16, Har - riman said he had his exit interview and got the news that he was cancer free. But there wasn't much time to rest. The state soccer tour - nament was coming up in mid-May, along with the completion of spring sports. For Harriman, going through the spring season was particularly important because of the 2020 spring sports campaign being cut short because of covid-19. "I had developed a pretty good relationship with our coaches by that time and was really looking forward to watching our spring sports compete," Harriman said. "It was like the life was ripped out of them." Siloam Proud 4C n Wednesday, June 23, 2021 Siloam Springs Herald-Leader fwfpizzeria.com 479-524-0766 118 S. Broadway Historic Downtown siloam springs Proud to serve the Siloam community! 210 E. US 412 • Siloam Springs, AR SteakS • CHICkeN • Seafood BURGeRS • SaladS • fUll BaR dINe-IN, CaRRY-oUt & CURBSIde www.callahanssteakhouse.com 479-524-4674 HoURS of oPeRatIoN: Monday thru thursday 4pm-9pm friday, Saturday, Sunday 11am-9pm Proud to serve siloam sPrings for 28 years! Kind, humble heart define Harriman Coaches say athletics director's leadership will be missed By Graham Thomas Staff Writer n gthomas@nwadg.com Graham Thomas/Herald-Leader Siloam Springs athletics director Ken Harriman is retiring at the end of this month. Harriman is in his second stint as the district's athletics director. See HARRIMAN on Page 6C

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