SYLACAUGA, Ala. – Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 15, the Sylacauga City Schools (SCS) Foundation held a ceremony to honor Steve and Carol Sprayberry, recipients of the 63rd Chair status within the Foundation.
The presentation was made in the Sylacauga High School (SHS) foyer at 4:00 p.m.
SCS Foundation President John Parrish welcomed those attending the event, and Dr. Joe Morton, founder of the SCS Foundation, made remarks on the Sprayberrys and their significant involvement with SCS and the Sylacauga community.
Dr. Morton expressed his gratitude to what Carol, Executive Director of the SCS Foundation, and Steve have meant to the school system.
In Carol’s tenure, the SCS Foundation has started events such as the 5K Fun Run and Breakfast with Santa, added the Aggie Walk Brick Campaign, and raised an incredible amount of money for the system through efforts like the Toyota of Sylacauga monthly sales check.
Not only did Dr. Morton detail what the Sprayberrys have done, but he shed some light on how they will change student’s educational paths in the near future.
Before his passing in October of last year, Steve Sprayberry made it his mission to afford high school students not just in Sylacauga, but throughout the entire state, the opportunity to educate themselves and gain credits towards becoming insurance agents.
Mr. Sprayberry, a former state champion at Sylacauga and national champion at the University of Alabama in football, coached throughout the Southeast before returning to Sylacauga and co-starting Wright-Sprayberry Insurance.
Steve was taught perseverance both in the classroom and on the field, and he wanted to give high school students the chance to achieve what he had accomplished.
With friends, family, former teachers, business associates, and teammates on-hand, Dr. Morton explained that Steve’s pursuit of this goal had been relentless and, in the end, successful.
Starting next fall, the SCS system along with other Alabama high schools, will offer credited classes that are specific to the field of insurance.
Dr. Morton also spoke of his friendship with the Sprayberrys. He reminisced on painting guideline arrows with Steve for SCS 5K Fun Run participants to follow and learning about how Steve and Carol first met.
He described a celebratory tale that focused on the “corners” of the Steve and Carol’s life together and how it all started and came full circle, back to Sylacauga.
After Morton’s speech, Carol gathered with her family for pictures around the newest Chair plaque on the SHS foyer wall.
The SCS Foundation was founded in 1988. Its mission statement is “to enrich the quality of education for students by providing financial support to classroom teachers and programs.” The SCS Foundation has given over $1.4 million in grants since its inception.
