The Falcons, the Georgia World Congress Center Authority and Levy Restaurants, along with Russell Athletic hosted the fifth annual Salute to High School Football Reception for GHSA-affiliated head football coaches on Saturday, December 15.
The reception, held in the Owners Club of the Georgia Dome, provided an opportunity for coaches to mingle and offered opportunities to win several prizes.
With President & CEO Rich McKay in attendance, head coach Mike Smith presented the 2012 Classification Coach of the Year Awards, the 2012 Warrick Dunn Captain in the Community of the Year and the Lifetime Achievement Award in between the first and second GHSA High School State Championship games.
The winners included:
Class 1A – Jon Lindsey – Irwin County High School
Class 2A – Lee Shaw – Rabun County High School
Class 3A – Tim McFarlin – Blessed Trinity Catholic High School
Class 4A – DeTimothy Floyd – Jonesboro High School
Class 5A – Tommy Parks – Harris County High School
Class 6A- Al Hughes- Lovejoy High School
Warrick Dunn Captain in the Community of the Year Award – Tsali Bentley – Union County High School
Lifetime Achievement Award – Ray Lamb – Commerce High School
The Warrick Dunn Captain in the Community of the Year Award recognized an outstanding varsity high school football student-athlete in the state of Georgia that demonstrated strong leadership skills both on and off the field. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to the coach who has significantly impacted high school football in the state of Georgia.
During the spring of 2013, Coach Smith and his Falcons staff will host a special football clinic for high school coaches at the club's state-of-the-art training facility in Flowery Branch, Ga.
During the reception, the Falcons also gave away:
- Six $500 equipment grants from USA Football, one for each classification
- Six $800 grants from the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation, one for each classification
- Three autographed Atlanta Falcons Elite Nike jerseys from Matt Ryan, Roddy White and Julio Jones
- Five $100 gift cards to the PGA TOUR Superstore
- Two $250 gift cards to h.h. gregg
