Track organizers are the ones who deserve medals
Published 6:36 pm Tuesday, May 7, 2013
There were not enough medals handed out Saturday during the finals of the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Class 1A-3A state track championships, hosted at Selma’s Memorial Stadium.There were a few people who deserved to be placed atop the medal stand, given an award, honored for their work and celebrated in grand fashion. Among them were the team of volunteers — many of then students from Selma High School and Concordia College — who helped control the flow of traffic and parking around Memorial Stadium.
For anyone who has attended a large event at Memorial Stadium, finding a parking spot can, at times, be somewhat frustrating, but these young men and women did a great job coordinating the work and deserved the parking revenues their organizations earned.
Then there was the volunteers — again, many of them students — who tended to the track, raked the sand pits and retrieved the discuss, shot put, javelin and those who placed, moved and removed the hurdles more times than they would care to count.
But most of all, atop the medal stand should have been Selma’s Park and Recreation Director Elton Reece.
For months, Reece and his team have worked to ensure the facilities at Memorial Stadium and Bloch Park were at the very best for the state’s greatest high school athletes and their work was evident and appreciated.
State athletic officials sang the praises of the city, the facilities and the welcome they received from residents.
To all of those charged with organizing Selma’s role in hosting this event, we say thank you and please take your position on the stand. It’s well deserved.