August 10, 2013

Hope our fans are having a great summer – several things on our athletic plate. To stay current with Greenbrier East Athletics, go to our new Facebook and Twitter Page: GEHS SPARTANS – where you will find schedules and other Spartan Sports info. Good luck to all our fall teams – we have high expectations for all of them.
Congratulations to new soccer coach Pat Murat, who also teaches at EGMS. Also congrats to former coach Don Wise who really worked hard for over a decade for GEHS Soccer – thanks for your dedication to our soccer program, Don.
Coach Ray Lee is published in the current American Football Coaches Association magazine – nice article – no one is a better ambassador or is working harder on and off the field for Spartan football. Our guys and coaching staff will not be satisfied with anything less than a playoff berth this season. Think you will like the new jerseys this fall.
We will be interviewing for a new baseball coach this fall. Want to thank cross country coach Darrell Pickenpaugh for his service to that program. Major P is resigning his position to spend time on other endeavors. No one cares more about our kids than he and the JROTC staff of Jerry Long and Lefty Smith.
Call or stop by the school to see Darla Fisher for a business banner or for Gold Seats for football season. After watching all summer the cesspool of professional athletics and the corruption of collegiate athletics, support and spend your money where it will be the most appreciated and do the most good – your local high school athletic programs – the last bastion of amateurism (for now).
Along those lines, our Spartan Athletic Foundation will be sponsoring a flea market at the State Fair. Please support it as every penny goes to our athletes. The SAF recently approved a very generous donation to East for partial payment for the new football jerseys, a brand new ice machine for the training room, and for the new GEHS all state photos (we are currently having all-state golfer Joe Boswell and last year’s girls 4×400 state champion relay team pix done). They recently helped the baseball team purchase a baseball hitting cage and are a vital part in their financial role for EAST.
All home football games will begin at 7 p.m. this season. Everyone Mr. Bryant and I talked to really liked the idea, especially our venerable play by play man Jeff Campbell – good enough for me.
Finally, the 2013 county school levy will be coming up later this fall – as passionate an advocate as I have been for GEHS athletics since 1988, the approval of this continuing levy is absolutely imperative to the academic stature of our schools. Please support it, but more importantly, especially if a teacher made a difference in your life, vote for it.