News releases

The Scott County Sports Hall of Fame inducted of its Class of 2023 of nominees earlier this spring, recognizing former athletes and coaches who excelled in their sports.

The ceremony was held on April 22 at the Livingston Performing Arts Center at Roosevelt State Park in Morton. The Class of 2023 includes seven honorees bringing the total membership to 98 since the first induction in 2015.

The Class of 2023 includes Haywood Reeves (Forest), Krista Donald (Lake), Darvis Vance (Lake), Genia Griffin Jackson (Morton), and Clyde Muse (Sebastopol). The class also includes the late Nathan Russell and the late John David Calhoun, both of Forest. 

“This is about giving honorees another opportunity to shine and for us to say, ‘thank you’ for the contributions they made,” said Frank Edmondson, president and chairman of the selection committee. “We appreciate the continued support of our sponsors and everyone who has contributed in any way. We could not continue doing this without your help.”

Members of the Lake High School girls basketball team and their coach were honored for winning the class 2A state championship earlier in the spring. 

Edmondson said the Hall of Fame was honored to welcome Legendary Mississippi athlete Dot Murphy as the keynote speaker, adding that she is an example of the caliber of athletes the organization honors each year.

“Dot is well known by many people across the state as one of the best athletes in our history,” Edmondson said. “We [were proud to have] her be a part of our event.”

A Starkville native, Murphy played at Maben High School and later Starkville High School where she won two state basketball championships, was twice named an All-State player and team captain of the Mississippi All-Star game. She scored 2,772 points, averaging 33 points per game. In track, she won a gold medal, three silver medals, and two bronze medals in a Southern regional meet.

Murphy continued her athletic career at the Mississippi University for Women where she led MUW to a national championship in 1971. She was twice named All-American, and she was the first MUW player to score more than 1,000 career points. She averaged 22 points per game while at MUW and was selected to play in the World University Games for the United States in 1973. She was named an Outstanding College Athlete of America and was an honorable mention for that group’s Hall of Fame in 1973 and 1974. In 1973, she was honored with a parade in Starkville as the city named September 21 for her.

Murphy later entered the coaching ranks as an athletic trainer at Mississippi State University. She was an assistant women’s basketball coach at UT- Martin, head coach of women’s basketball at Itawamba Junior College, and head coach, PE instructor and director of the MUW basketball camp.  

Murphy has served as a coach at Hinds Community College since 1984 where she has coached receivers on the Eagles’ football team and served as a fulltime assistant coach and athletic training coordinator and physical education instructor since 1987. 

Edmondson said this year’s ceremony brought the Hall of Fame a step closer to a major milestone in its history.

“We are looking forward to bringing another class of former sports participants into the fold and honoring their achievements. That is our primary focus,” Edmondson said. “This ceremony will also serve as a beginning in preparing for our 10-year anniversary in 2024 and reaching the 100-member mark.

The Scott County Sports Hall of Fame inducted its Class of 2022 of inductees, recognizing former athletes and coaches who excelled in their sports.
The ceremony was held on April 23 at the Livingston Performing Arts Center at Roosevelt State Park in Morton. The Class of 2022 includes seven honorees bringing the total membership to 91 since the first induction in 2015.  
Those attending were strongly encouraged to wear masks and all necessary health and safety guidelines were followed during the event. The Forest ticket locations included the Bank of Forest, Cox Chevron, and Community Bank. Tickets were also available at the Bank of Morton and Priority 1 Bank in Morton and Scott County Broadcasting Network on Highway 80 in Lake.
Frank Edmonson, president of the Hall of Fame and chairman of the selection committee, said this year’s ceremony marks a return to previous event formats.
“We are happy to get back to our normal routine of inducting nominees in April as we did prior to COVID,” Edmondson said. “After inducting two classes last year to make up for cancelling the event in 2020, it is great to be back on track. We are looking forward to celebrating this class with the community.”
The Class of 2022 includes the late Jake Nester, Perry Fletcher, David Farris, Stanley Douglas, Lee Dukes, Sandy Puckett Keenan, and the late Howard Sessums. 
“This is all about giving our honorees one more opportunity to shine and for us to say ‘thank you’ for the contributions they made,” Edmondson said. “We appreciate the continued support of our sponsors and everyone who has contributed in any way. We could not continue doing this without your help.”
The public is welcome to submit nominations. Once a person is submitted and declared eligible, he or she remains in the nominations pool for consideration for future classes.
“The selection of each class is not an easy task as there are many worthy individuals who are qualified. We appreciate the continued submissions that have given us eligible nominees to consider,” Edmondson said. “We strongly encourage everyone who thinks they know someone who should be in the Hall of Fame to fill out a nomination form whether they think their person has been nominated or not.” 

Friends and family members of 17 inductees gathered on Saturday, July 24, to see two classes of honorees officially installed into the Scott County Sports Hall of Fame.

After missing last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hall of Fame returned to the Livingston Performing Arts Center at Roosevelt State Park to recognize former athletes and coaches who excelled in their sports during their tenures in Scott County. The sixth induction ceremony brought the total membership to 84.
Following the introductions of the inductees and presentations of their plaques, Jason Dyess served as the keynote speaker. A Meridian native and resident, Dyess is a freelance photographer for print and digital media outlets and an associate pastor.  
Members of the 2020 class that officially joined the Hall of Fame include Shelia Dupree, Ken Bramlett, Sandra Freeman, the late Rodney Stowers, Edgar Simpson, Shay Hodge, Rex Keeton, McKinley Kincaid, Truman Moore, and Tommy Lee.
The 2021 class includes Effum McBounds, Jack Taylor, John Richardson, Miles Porter, Dan Gressett, Jason Judge, and Randy Brunson.
Frank Edmonson, president of the Hall of Fame and chairman of the selection committee, said the committee hopes that next year’s event will be able to return to the spring, usually held in April.
“We had a great turnout and we appreciate everyone who attended the ceremony in support of these great individuals who contributed so much to sports in Scott County. This is all about our honorees and giving them one more opportunity to shine and for us to say, ‘thank you,’” Edmondson said. 
The ceremony also included presentation of colors by Boy Scout Troop 63 of Forest and Rev. Jarvis Adams of Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church provided the invocation and benediction. Members of the Lake High School Softball team served as hostesses.
“We appreciate the patience and continued support of our sponsors who have stayed with us as we adjusted to the unforeseen circumstances. We could not continue doing this without their help and support. They have stepped up to be a major part of this organization’s mission,” Edmondson said.

 The Scott County Sports Hall of Fame will celebrate five years of having recognized former athletes and coaches who excelled in their sports with its induction of the 2019 class members.
This year, 12 honorees will take their place in the Hall of Fame, bringing the total membership to 67 all the way back to the first class which was inducted in 2015. The 2019 induction ceremony will start at 5 p.m. on April 27 at the Livingston Performing Arts Center at Roosevelt State Park in Morton. Tickets will be $10 per person and will become available on April 1 at locations in Forest, Lake, and Morton.
Frank Edmonson, president of the Hall of Fame and chairman of the selection committee, noted the importance of this year’s class that will receive recognition for their contributions to their sports and communities.
“We are really excited about this year’s class because it marks our fifth year since we started this incredible journey,” Edmondson said. “This is an important milestone and we are thankful to everyone, businesses and individuals, for their support. We could not have started and continued without the help of our sponsors. This is all about our honorees and the contributions they made during their athletic careers.” 

Scott County honored nine former athletes and coaches today as the third class of the Scott County Sports Hall of Fame was inducted.
The event was held April 22 at the Livingston Performing Arts Center at Roosevelt State Park in Morton. 
Members of last year’s inaugural class was among more than 150 people who attended this year’s event in support of the new members.
Frank Edmonson, president of the selection committee said the induction was  an opportunity for the former athletes, coaches and related inductees to be celebrated for their contributions.
“We are pleased with how well this year’s planning of our third induction class has proceeded. We have received tremendous support from the community as we honor a rich legacy in sports within Scott County history. We were proud to present this year’s class,” Edmondson said. "We had a great audience to attend in supporting this year's class."
This year’s guest speaker was Richard Williams, former men's basketball coach at Mississippi State University, who has ties to Scott County.
Williams served as the college basketball head coach at Mississippi State from 1986 to 1998. He is the second most successful coach in school history with 191 victories (191–163). 
Under Williams’ leadership, the Bulldogs played in the 1990 National Invitational Tournament. In 1991, Miss. State won the Southeastern Conference championship, its first in 28 years, and made the NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs returned to the National Invitational Tournament in 1994.
Williams’ 1995 MSU squad won the SEC West Division and reached the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. 
In 1996, Williams’ squad won the SEC West Division and the SEC Tournament and made the school’s only Final Four appearance. He received two SEC Coach of the Year awards.
Edmondson said the Hall of Fame strives to give due recognition to the inductees’ accomplishments.
“It is a means for the inductees to be honored and recognized for their hard work and success that made them eligible and worthy of this recognition,” Edmondson said. “Just like the first two classes, the selection of this year’s inductees was not an easy task as there are so many worthy individuals who are qualified.”
Edmondson said the first class was much larger than last year’s 11 members and this year's nine members.
“We felt the need to more inclusive in the first class but from this point on, each class will have five to 10 members plus an at-large member,” Edmondson said. “We still have a very long nominee pool to select future classes.”
An at-large inductee was elected by members of the Hall of Fame. This membership includes former inductees and persons interested in supporting the organization through paying dues to join. Each year, this group gets to select one inductee from a list of three provided by the Hall of Fame committee.
The public is welcome to submit nominations for future classes. Edmondson said the success of the Hall of Fame to be as inclusive as possible depends in a great measure on the public’s input.
“We strongly encourage everyone who thinks they know someone who should be in the Hall of Fame to fill out a nomination form whether they think their person has been nominated or not,” Edmondson said 

A near capacity crowd of family and friends watched as 25 former coaches and players were introduced as the first class of inductees of the Scott County Sports Hall of Fame.
Walking to the tune of the theme song from the Rocky movies, the inductees were brought on stage to the cheers and clapping of the audience. 
The inaugural class induction was held at the Livingston Performing Arts and Media Center at Roosevelt State Park in Morton as the first event of the Hall of Fame committee.
Scott County Sports Hall of Fame President Frank Edmondson it is believed that this was the creation of the first county-wide sports hall of fame in the State of Mississippi.
“We are proud and blessed for the opportunity to make this new Scott County Sports Hall of Fame a reality. It is a means for the inductees to be honored and recognized in their home county for their hard work and success that made them eligible and worthy of this recognition,” Edmondson said. 
“The selection of the first class was not an easy task as there are so many worthy individuals who are qualified and will be considered for future classes,” he added.
Edmondson said the support from the community was special to the committee and the inductees.
“The support for this event was outstanding and we could not have done it without everyone who supported it and us as we began this project,” Edmondson said.
The induction ceremony  included an invocation by Bro. Earl Clark of Morton’s First Baptist Church followed by the National Anthem by vocalist Malcolm McBride, a student at East Central Community College. 
The presentation of colors and Pledge of Allegiance was made by members of Boy Scout Troop 63 of Forest.  
Edmondson presented the 2015 class with introductions and presented their plaques. 
Inductee Dave Marler gave a response on behalf of the class. A keynote address was provided by Sid Salter who reflected on each inductee based on his coverage of sports during his tenure as publisher of The Scott County Times.
The inductees remained after the ceremony to sign autographs for the audience.
The 25 members of the Class of 2015 include:
Forest: Rashard Anderson, Greg Carter, Tutti Calhoun Carter, James "Bo" Clark, Jack French, James (Jim) B. Harvey, Sylvia Howell Krebs, Dr. Charles David Lee, Tom Stewart Lee, Jr., Dave Marler, W. D. “Red” Stroud and Todd Pinkston.
Lake: Freeman Horton, Granville Freeman and Peyton Weems.
Morton: Dr. Howard Clark, Michael Davis, Rita Gail Easterling, Andre Hollis, Michael Kincaid, Jason Latham, Dulymus “Deuce” McAllister and Freddy Roberts.
Scott Central: Marlo Perry
Sebastopol: Ed Amis 
Family members for the late Stroud and late Dr. Lee accepted plaques in their memory.
Edmondson said the first class was much larger than the future classes will be due to it being the first. 
“We felt the need to more inclusive in the first class but from this point on, each class will have five inductees selected by the committee and a sixth inductee selected by the Hall of Fame Membership,” Edmondson said. “We still have a very large nominee pool to select future classes and it will continue to grow.”
The 11-member  committee organized as a non-profit corporation and began meeting in August 2014 to establish the Hall of Fame with the goal of inducting its first class in 2015.
Nomination forms were released and the public was invited to submit nominations. Committee members made the selection of the first class on October 21.
Nominations will be re-opened soon for consideration in the 2016 class. Nominations are due each September 30 to be considered for the following year’s class. 

Just a few weeks after a local Scott County native was inducted into the state sports hall of fame, an effort was launched to establish a local program to honor athletic achievement across the county.
An organizing committee met at Kat’s Kave in Forest to establish the Scott County Sports Hall of Fame with the goal of inducting its first class in 2015.
The hall of fame for Scott County athletic interests was the idea of Frank Edmondson of Lake who had heard about the same kind of program in other areas of the state.
“When I heard about it being done in other places, I thought ‘why not Scott County?’ We have such a rich athletic tradition of achievement and this would be a great way to showcase that tradition,” Edmondson said.
He contacted Rick Cleveland, executive director of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in Jackson, for consultation. “Rick was excited about the idea and encouraged me to pursue it.”
From there, over the course of the summer, Edmondson began talking to prospective residents across the county to get the committee together to make it happen.
In its first meeting, the committee elected Edmondson as president and Vance Cox of Forest as vice-president and discussed eligibility rules, possible locations for hall of fame displays and the induction ceremony.
“There are so many people that are worthy of induction throughout the modern history of our county. We will likely have a large initial class and pare it down after that for annual inductions,” Edmondson said.
The committee used the eligibility requirements from the state hall of fame as a guide, tweaking it for local needs.
“Men and women who have distinguished themselves and gained prominence in amateur and/or professional athletics, who have brought positive recognition to themselves and Scott County Mississippi and to the State of Mississippi” and who have met eligibility requirements of the selection committee would be considered as nominees.
Nominees would include native Scott Countians who have attained success outside the county or state or natives of other counties or states who have chosen to reside, compete or be involved in Scott County athletics for at least two seasons at the high school level.
Two key components that the committee adapted for local use was setting the  requirement that a person must have been out of school for a minimum of two years. A coach nominee must have at least five seasons of paid coaching experience and retired from athletics for a minimum of five years and/or over the age of 50. The waiting period is waived for deceased persons nominated posthumously.
Nominees may also include individuals who have not competed on the field, but who have made valuable contributions to athletics. This would include, but not limited to, officials, journalists, owners, athletic directors, association directors, sports information directors, trainers, physicians and cheerleaders.
“We acknowledge that even with detailed guidelines, there may be deserving individuals who do not fall within the existing eligibility guidelines,” Edmondson and the committee said. 
A person proposed in this situation could be considered in the nominating pool if all members of the selection committee are in attendance and  approve the exception.
Committee members are already aware of numerous potential nominees, but they will be welcoming nominees from the general public. 
Official nomination forms will be made available at public areas around the county and online. Only  official nomination forms will be accepted. All information on the forms must be legible and readable.
Forms must include information about a nominee that can be verified
Nomination forms can be sent to P.O. Box 1040, Forest, MS 39074.
Donations to help offset costs will be welcome. 
An online presence has already been created on Facebook as the committee continues to organize its operations.