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From MSFame.com Special Events The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum celebrated
160 students from Metro Area middle and high schools participated in panel discussions with six outstanding Mississippi sports females. Two-time Olympian (gold medal in track) Mildrette Netter Graves of Clarksdale, JSU Lady Tigers head basketball coach Denise Taylor, Callaway High School tennis and basketball coach Maxine Johnson, former president of the Mississippi Women's Golf Association,Jerri White, Outdoor Program and Property Director for the Girl Scouts, Lisa Gabriel, and Blue Cross Blue Shield Health and Wellness Coordinator, Nicole Barrett,, inspired and regaled the audience with their stories of athletic success and failures. From winning the gold medal at the 1968 Olympics (Netter Graves) to participating in barrel racing and pole bending (Gabriel and Barrett), there were sports stories for every taste. Kathryn Hester, past president of the Mississippi Sports Foundation, dedicated the Women In Sports Day Luncheon to Ruma Haque, Mississippi Sports Foundation Vice President who was killed in a car wreck last June shortly after attending a Museum Board meeting. Former Mississippi State University baseball star and professional pitcher Jeff Brantley and his wife Cindy, were the featured speakers at the luncheon. Cindy and Jeff described the early days of their professional baseball life in the minor leagues and the joys and stresses of being a professional sports family. Jeff related how he and Cindy had determined to return to Mississippi to raise their children in an atmosphere which included yes m'ams, no m'ams and love of family and friends. The purpose of Women in Sports Day is to celebrate the accomplishments of female athletes, to encourage the participation in sports and fitness by females of all ages, and to acquaint the public with the significant benefits of participation in sports and fitness. The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame has 11 current female members (Lucy Harris Stewart (DSU Basketball); Sylvia Howell Krebs (Forest HS and Belhaven Basketball); Mary Bentley Mills (former LPGA golf great); Willye B. White (five time Olympian in track); Dorothy Vest (MS tennis champion and teacher); Peggy Gillom (Ole Miss and WNBA Basketball star); Carla "Shorty" Lowery, (Forest HS Basketball and Coach); Dot Easterwood Murphy (MUW basketball star and current assistant foot ball coach at Hind CC); Sammye Johnson (assistant athletic director at MSU and volleyball star at MUW); Carolyn Henry (national senior tennis champion); and Margaret Wade, (deceased) (Coach of the national champion DSU Lady Statesmen). Two females will be inducted in the 2003 Hall of Fame Class: Mildrette Netter Graves (two-time Olympian and gold medal winner in track) and Sue Gunter, (LSU Ladies Basketball Coach). © Copyright 2001-2002 by Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Museum |
