10-member class to be inducted into EMCC Sports Hall of Fame during Homecoming weekend
In conjunction with East Mississippi Community College’s Homecoming festivities this coming weekend (Oct. 12-13) on the Scooba campus, 10 new members will be formally inducted into the EMCC Sports Hall of Fame.
SCOOBA – In conjunction with East Mississippi Community College's Homecoming festivities this coming weekend (Oct. 12-13) on the Scooba campus, 10 new members will be formally inducted into the EMCC Sports Hall of Fame.
EMCC's 2018 Sports Hall of Fame inductees will be honored with a Friday night (Oct. 12) reception and banquet to be held at the F.R. Young Student Union. The 10-member class is also scheduled to be recognized Saturday afternoon (Oct. 13) at EMCC's Sullivan-Windham Field during halftime activities of the reigning national champion and top-ranked Lions' 2 p.m. Homecoming football contest against the Holmes Community College Bulldogs.
The 2018 induction class of the EMCC Sports Hall of Fame consists of Larry Anderson, Jack Lewis Dudley, Lynn Ethridge Roberson, Mary Ann Hodges Fulton, Lance Lewis, Mike Luke, Kate Neely McCarty, Dwane Taylor, Larry Vick and Raleigh Wood III.
East Mississippi Community College will also honor the school's 2018 Alumnus of the Year (John Apple) and Distinguished Service Award winner (Dewayne Hull) during Homecoming weekend in Scooba. Apple and Hull will be honored during EMCC's alumni/friends luncheon set to take place Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at the F.R. Young Student Union on the Scooba campus. The award recipients are also slated to be recognized during Homecoming halftime festivities of Saturday afternoon's EMCC-Holmes football contest.
For additional information about EMCC's 2018 Homecoming weekend on the Scooba campus, please visit www.eastms.edu.
2018 EMCC SPORTS HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CLASS
LARRY ANDERSON – A 23-year coaching veteran at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Larry Anderson was a standout basketball player at Noxubee County High School before taking his talents to play at East Mississippi Community College during the early 1980s. After playing and later coaching at Rust College, Anderson was hired at MIT in 1995 and has become one of the most successful and respected coaches within the NCAA Division III men's basketball ranks. The Macon native owns a career coaching record of 375-244 at MIT, including a 216-68 mark and eight national tournament appearances over the past decade that has included a 2012 Final Four berth and an Elite Eight showing last season.
JACK LEWIS DUDLEY – Honored with a roadside sign located at the intersection of Highways 45 and 16 in Scooba as the "Birthplace of World Champion Turkey Caller Jack Lewis Dudley," the late local legend initially made a name for himself as a two-sport letterman (basketball and baseball) at DeKalb High School and East Mississippi Community College. Born and raised in Kemper County, Dudley became best known as a superstar in the world of wild turkey hunting and turkey calling. Using only his natural voice, he ascended to the forefront of turkey calling in the Magnolia State by winning the Mississippi State Championship during back-to-back years (1968-69) while claiming the Mississippi Open title and National Championship in 1969.
LYNN ETHRIDGE ROBERSON – As part of a three-generation family of East Mississippi Community College student-athletes, Lynn Ethridge Roberson enjoyed a rewarding and successful 42-year teaching and coaching career in the state of Mississippi. The daughter of EMCC Sports Hall of Famer Ikie E. Ethridge, she graduated from West Lauderdale High School before earning a band scholarship to EMCC while also playing an integral role in the school administration's decision to reinstate the women's basketball program during the early 1970s. After continuing her collegiate career playing basketball and softball at Southern Miss, Roberson embarked on her four-decade career in education. The two-time Teacher of the Year recipient retired earlier this year from Clarkdale Middle School.
MARY ANN HODGES FULTON – Mary Ann Hodges Fulton was one of the state's most talented women's basketball players of her era during her two productive seasons at East Mississippi Community College in the early 1950s. She was raised in the Martin community of Collinsville and was a prep standout at Hickory High School. As a two-year starter for Coach Clayton Blount, she helped lead the EMCC Lions to a state tournament appearance as a sophomore. In addition to her community service work and involvement with volunteer activities, she lovingly supported her husband's (Bobby Royce Fulton) coaching career following his retirement from the United States Air Force. She was an avid sports participant and loyal sports enthusiast throughout her life.
LANCE LEWIS – Lance Lewis made an immediate impact as a game-changing wide receiver at East Mississippi Community College and his pass-catching exploits helped initially bring the Lions to the forefront of the NJCAA football ranks a decade ago. A two-sport standout (football and basketball) at Concord (N.C.) High School, Lewis transferred to EMCC following a season at West Hills College in California. He collected NJCAA All-Region 23 honors as a member of the Lions' 2009 MACJC state championship team after averaging 17.3 yards on 52 receptions with 16 touchdown catches. Following a very successful two-year career at East Carolina University with 149 career catches for 1,716 yards and 22 TD grabs, Lewis has had brief NFL playing stints with the Redskins, Cowboys, 49ers and Saints.
MIKE LUKE – A native of Kemper County, Mike Luke continues to represent District 4 since being elected to the Kemper County Board of Supervisors in 1977. He hails as the longest-reigning supervisor in the state of Mississippi. The former basketball standout at DeKalb High School and East Mississippi Community College has spent four decades of loyal service representing the citizens of District 4 in addition to having taught and coached at Carthage, Kemper Academy, Noxubee County, Neshoba Central, Kemper County, Philadelphia and Choctaw Central. As a long-time elected official, Luke played an integral role in getting roads cleared for emergency crews following the area's 2010 tornado and worked diligently with the board of supervisors to bring John C. Stennis Hospital to DeKalb.
KATE NEELY McCARTY – Kate Neely McCarty guided East Mississippi Community College's fast-pitch softball program to unparalleled heights during her seven-year association with the Lady Lions. Along with directing the team to postseason play during each of her four seasons as head coach, including the program's first fast-pitch division championship in 2011, Neely McCarty's EMCC teams also consistently earned Top 10 All-Academic Team national recognition. She stayed on at EMCC to work in wellness and intramurals before getting back into coaching this past year at Clarkdale High School. The Tupelo native played softball at Meridian Community College and went on to earn her bachelor's and master's degrees at Mississippi State University.
DWANE TAYLOR – Dwane Taylor helped bring Southeast Lauderdale much recognition during his three-plus decades of loyal service and dedication as an educator and administrator at his high school alma mater. Following a successful two-year playing stint as a quarterback at East Mississippi Community College during the early 1970s, Taylor stayed close to home to further his college education at Livingston University (now West Alabama). His influential career as a well-respected football coach and social studies teacher was established at Southeast Lauderdale during his 34-year association with the school. Taylor served 25 years as Southeast's head football coach before taking over duties as the school's director of athletics and later as principal before retiring in 2013.
LARRY VICK – Kemper County native Larry Vick has spent nearly 40 years working in the education field as a teacher, coach and administrator. A multi-sport performer at Kemper Academy, Vick played both football and baseball as an East Mississippi Community College freshman before concentrating on baseball during his sophomore year. He earned a baseball scholarship to Livingston University (now West Alabama) and played in the 1976 NCAA Division II College World Series. Following a 10-year teaching stint coaching baseball and assisting in football within the Mississippi Private School Association (now MAIS), Vick worked 22 years as an administrator within the Lauderdale County School District and has spent the past four years as the district's transportation director.
RALEIGH WOOD III – With 30-plus years of experience within Mississippi's public school system as a teacher, coach and administrator, Raleigh Wood III joins his brother, Marcus, as East Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame inductees during successive years. The Starkville High School product pitched for the EMCC Lions during the early 1980s before earning his undergraduate degree from Mississippi State. Wood began his education career in his hometown and helped guide his high school alma mater to three Class 5A state baseball titles as an assistant coach. After subsequent stops as head baseball coach at Winona and Grenada, he began his administrative career within the Grenada School District, where he has served as elementary school principal since 2012.