by Reece Rutland, Rend Lake College Public Information

INA, IL  – Rend Lake College has been blessed with a number of fantastic coaches. For those in the know when it comes to Warrior athletics, the names Hummer, Ellingsworth, Corn, Wills, McClure, and McLain bring memories and stories flooding back about successes and legacies.

One of those storied coaches to build a tradition of success both on and off the competitive field is men’s golf coach Dave Smith. Building the program from the ground up, Smith established one of the most prolific RLC sports dynasties and continues to be a staple in many Warrior lives.

It was hard work. When Smith took over the team in 1989, he was looking up at regional powerhouses like Lincoln Trail, Danville Area and Lincoln College. The growing pains lasted three years with The Lake finally winning its first tournament in 1992.

In his 26 years at the helm, Smith and his team captured seven consecutive Region XXIV Division II Championships between 1994 and 2000 (eight championships in total). For his part, Smith walked off with seven Region XXIV “Coach of the Year” awards. He coached 13 All-Americans and an individual National Champion, and had RLC competing as an entire team 14 times on the national stage. In his career, Smith, and his team, finished second in the nation twice, third twice, fourth once, fifth twice and sixth twice. The Warriors have amassed more than a hundred collegiate tournament championships under Smith.

While the team never brought home a national title, Smith did get his first individual National Champion when Leroy David Griffin (Effingham) won the title in a scorecard playoff in 2009.

“That was fun,” Smith said. “Griffin won it in a playoff and I sure enjoyed that. I was tickled for him.”

Griffin might have brought home a national championship, but Smith’s best player is equal parts triumph and heartbreak.

Jace Bugg (Henderson, Ky.) led the Warriors to third national berth as a freshman in 1996 and fifth as a sophomore. He was one of the top eight amateurs in the country right out of RLC. He was a three-time Nationwide Tour champion, winning the Canadian Tour in 2001 before joining the more prestigious Buy.com Tour where he was ranked seventh midway through the summer of 2002, on his way to getting his PGA Tour card since the top 15 automatically qualified.

Tragically, Bugg was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia shortly after the 2002 Nationwide Tour Championship. After a year of chemotherapy treatments and an unsuccessful bone marrow transplant, he suffered a brain hemorrhage early December 4 and died a few hours later at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Evansville, IN. He was 27.

“I was sitting in my rocker . . . on a Sunday night in November,” Smith recalled. “The phone rang. I picked up. [Bugg] said, ‘You ain’t gonna believe this coach. I’ve got leukemia.’ It was hard to even speak at that point.”

Shortly before Bugg passed, Smith traveled to Henderson to see Bugg at his parents’ home and present him his plaque for being inducted into the RLC Sports Hall of Fame the month before. Bugg was too sick to make the trip to Ina.

Smith told GolfWorld Magazine Columnist Bill Shields that Bugg had his hands on the award for an hour and a half. Shields wrote, “For a little while on Autumn Lane, it was spring again.”

“If Jace hadn’t gotten sick, he was on the PGA Tour,” Smith added. “He shot even par on the nationwide tour championship with leukemia. He was just tough as hell and played through it.”

His dedication to his players was, and continues to be, on display.

Former RLC Board of Trustees Chairman Bryan Drew spoke about his former coach.

“I played golf for Dave,” Drew said. “He was a good coach, but far more than that really. He was more than a coach to a lot of guys. As evidence of that, I’ve been on a golf trip or two and it’s amazing. You can go just about anywhere in the country and you would be surprised how many Rend Lake College graduates, or guys who came through here playing golf, you’ll find at country clubs, resorts and golf courses all over the United States. [RLC golf] is something that has really been a good representation of the college and has been very beneficial to us. The college is known in a lot of places because of it and he has done a very good job.”

Smith’s impact wasn’t limited to Rend Lake College. In fact, he has meant a lot to the game of golf at the junior college level. He began his membership with the NJCAA Region XXIV Golf Committee in 1993 and chaired that committee from 1997-2006. In 2000, he was elected Vice President of the National Golf Coaches Association and served as its President from 2001-02.

So, how did a man so synonymous with coaching at RLC that he named his boat “Hey Coach!” get his start at the college? Not by coaching.

He started at the college as a young instructor in 1981 – the better part of a decade before coaching. He is now a Professor Emeritus of Welding Technology and has taught countless students this valuable trade for more than 30 years running. Smith retired as a professor and returned as a full-time emeritus professor in 2009. Discounting that brief retirement period, Smith sits atop the unofficial RLC seniority list of active full-time employees.

 

 

by Steve Dunford 

Before I get into taking about Kelly Mason, allow me to give a little history of WEBQ’s coverage of sports.

All my life I listened to high school basketball on WEBQ in Harrisburg.  The station always covered more than the Bulldogs. They cover have the GEC heavily. Over the years.

Since WKSI in Eldorado, went off the air nearly a couple of decades ago, the station covers the Eagles.  WEBQ-FM is now on the old WKSI frequency of 102.3.

Before then WEBQ-FM’s frequency was 99.9  It was known as Rock 100.  Several years ago Zimmer Broadcasting (now River Radio) bought the 50,000 watt blowtorch, and it is now Z-100..

There were three play by play men that always had the WEBQ sound as I call it; Mackie Nichols, Dave Bard and Wyatt Drake. These legends should never be forgotten for their broadcasting ablility and their dedication.

Occasionally on High School broadcasts, you would hear Dr. W (Larry Walton) doing color.  He tried to set the Guinness book of World Record for staying on the air consecutively the longest. He fell short by a few hours.  You would also hear Briggs Gordon (aka. Uncle Briggs) as a color man.

The station has always been a trendsetter covering sports.  Several nights, they broadcast and  stream three games on AM, FM, and on the internet.

A few years ago I listened to a T’ville streaming broadcast and Kelly Mason was at the mic.  She has a conversation with the listening audience.  The best comparison I can make of her style is recently retired Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully.

I asked her how she got her start.  She was listening to WEBQ. and heard they needed some on air talent to cover sports. The station was having a live remote at a hardware store, that just opened up in Eldorado.

She was talking to Sales Manager Sonny Dotson and Cathy Horton, who has wore many hats at the station over the years.  She asked them about the position, and the rest is history.

The 1983 Eldorado graduate lettered in many sports, as well as at John A. Logan College.  She went on to be a golfer for SIU.

While she was at Southern, she did a little coaching at John A. Logan. My cousin, Michelle Marvel was on a volleyball scholarship at the time.  She said she knew her well, but lost contact.  I told her that she is a chiropractor, practicing in West Frankfort and Eldorado.

The conversation turned to Redbird Girls Coach Matt Hampleman. I told her that we used to work out together, ate supper at our house a lot, and  was my brothers best man.  She said he is one of the “good guys” in the business.

She then told me that some were not accepting of her, when she got her start.  She said the late West Frankfort broadcaster Bruce A. Fasol, was an encouragement and a great help to her.

Kelly does play by play for several sports for the station.  She told me she has not called a football game yet.  Two sports that are unique she calls, is volleyball and soccer.

The conversation switched to Morgan Griffith.  I told her I wish I could have been at every game, but my health prevented me from it.  I told her that she is an incredible individual, and she already has an Associates degree from John A. Logan.  Most of all she is an outstanding young lady.

The conversation switched to the GEC.  I told her that I watch every Thompsonville game on YouTube and that is mainly how keep up with the conference. I told her that I have developed an awesome relationship with T’ville coach Pete Gordon and his wife. I then told her I talk to Gallatin County coach Doug Miller and there have been times I have talked with Hardin County coach Rodney Lane to the wee hours of the morning.

This is what she said about the GEC.  “I love covering that conference.  They gyms are packed every night.  It gives you a Hoosiers feel.

She told me that she would like to see more girls coverage.  She covered nearly 40 softball games for Harrisburg and Eldorado.  She got her wish.  WNSV in Nashville carried their game against West Frankfort.    Michael Marlo, who is growing by leaps and bounds as a broadcaster, was doing play-by-play for Q 106, during the Benton-Harrisburg game.

To promote her broadcasts, she had 2,000 business cards printed up, and handed them out to the other team.  She encouraged them to listen to the broadcasts  She said if I don’t have listeners, all I am doing is practicing.

She did not call last Tuesday night’s regional game from the broadcast booth.  She was sitting in a lawn chair among the Harrisburg faithful. I thought this was cool sitting in the crowd calling a game.

Last Thursday we swapped places.  I was in Harrisburg with my good friend Brian Johnson, covering the regional game with West Frankfort.  She was in West Frankfort covering the regional championship game between Harrisburg and Nashville.

There was a rain delay at West Frankfort.  The cell that prompted the Severe Thunderstorm Warnings missed Harrisburg.  After getting home from Harrisburg, I was able to start listening to her broadcast at the top of the third.

Nashville scored two runs in the top of the sixth to win the game 2-0.  She painted a wonderful picture of excitement.  After the tough loss, she said several times the Bulldogs were the best 17-19 team you would see.  She also had some encouraging words in the post game show.

I am going to rewind back a couple of months.  Kelly was flying solo calling the Christopher-Gallatin County game, at the NCOE Class 1A sectional.  The Bearcats were  down by double digits at times during the game.

In the fourth quarter they staged a huge comeback.  It was a barn-burner as the Hawks pulled it out 42-40.

This was also the night that an EF-4 tornado touched down in Perryville, and dissipated just south of Christopher.  She was giving tornado warnings and weather information and not missing a beat calling the tight game.  They were timely, she was sometimes ahead of Channel 12.

The broadcast that night was outstanding.  I am not a radio man, but I think her performance that night, is worthy of being nominated for a Silver Dome award.

I have covered local sports for the second school year now.  One of the great things is the relationships you make along the way.  When I met Kelly Mason last Tuesday, it was like we known each other for 20 years.  I am looking forward to crossing paths with her in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.wsiltv.com/story/35469423/unsung-hero-isaiahs-new-leg

MARION, IL  (Ashley Smith- WSIL TV Please click on the link to read the full story and accompanying video.  Here is an exceprt)

A Marion teen is playing his favorite sport with ease thanks to a generous donation.

Isaiah Parrish plays basketball with his friends at Marion Junior High School. He runs up and down the court and sinks his shots with finesse.

But that hasn’t always been the case for this active 14-year-old.

Isaiah was in a lawn mower accident 10 years ago.

Doctors were unable to save his leg.

That was devastating news for his mom, Brandy Parson. She says Isaiah has always been an active kid.

NOTE:  I am very familiar with Nubability, and DuQuoin athlete Sam Kunert during his high school playing career.  He was an inspiration to several people including myself.