Paris-Henry County Sports Hall of Fame ~ Press Release 2004

The Paris-Henry County Sports Hall of Fame will hold its 11th Annual Banquet on
Thursday, April 1, at 6:30 PM at the Paris Elks Lodge.
Five new inductees plus the Distinguished Service award will be presented to the following:

Barry Lee Barnett played football at Grove High School and went on to play baseball in college. He worked professionally as a football and baseball coach at several schools.

Frank Cate played basketball at Grove. He earned a college scholarship at Northeast Mississippi Junior College for baseball and basketball. He also attended Carson-Newman College.

Lucrecia Willis King was a four-year starter on the Buchanan High School Lady Wildcats basketball team from 1957-1960. She was three-time all-conference player and helped the Lady Wildcats advance to a third-place finish in the state tournament in 1960.

William C. "Bill" Cullivan played basketball and football at Grove and walked on to play football at the University of Tennessee at Martin. He also coached at Grove Junior High and Henry County High School.

Rupert Williams taught and coached at several county schools but is best remembered for serving as basketball coach at Henry and Puryear high schools. He was on the bench the night Paris-Henry County Sports Hall of Fame inductee Janet Hays scored 100 points for the Henry Lady Pirates against the Puryear Lady Hornets at Henry.

The Distinguished Service Award will be presented to David Loudy for his many years of contributing to sports in Paris and Henry County in various capacities.

Those six will be permanently honored by having their picture displayed on the Sports Hall of Fame Wall in the Henry County Courthouse Annex.

In addition to these awards, a girl and boy student from each of the schools of Paris and Henry County will be inducted into the Student’s Sports Hall of Fame. They will be honored for their outstanding athletic abilities, but also for having displayed qualities of leadership, good citizenship, and dedication to their respective schools. They will be awarded a medallion.

Tickets to the event are available from any Hall of Fame board member and will be on sale at Paris Insurance Company offices, at 203 W. Wood Street. The price is $17.50 each. Tables for eight will be offered for $140.00 and will be reserved for those purchasing them. In order to be assured of a seat for the dinner and program, everyone is encouraged to buy them as soon as possible.

The annual banquet speaker will be BOOTS DONNELLY, Athletic Director
Middle Tennessee State University