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By TYLER RALEY | Staff Writer

ALABASTER – The Shelby County Schools Board of Education delivered a special presentation to honor one of the county’s most successful baseball coaches with a commemoration he will not soon forget.

During a regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, May 1 at the Shelby County Instructional Services Center, the board unanimously approved a motion to name the baseball field at Vincent Middle High School as “Kenny Wright Field.”

The new name is presented in honor of former Vincent baseball coach Kenny Wright, who coached the program starting in 1980 and ending his tenure in 1992. Over the course of his career with the Yellow Jackets, Wright is the only coach to have won back-to-back state championships, with those coming in the 1983-84 and 1984-85 seasons.

Dr. Lewis Brooks, superintendent of Shelby County Schools, shared a sentimental embrace with Wright when presenting him with the honor, as he knows him on a personal level which made the moment special.

“What I’d like everyone to know is how much this means to me to be able to present this to coach Wright,” Brooks said. “I met coach Wright as a 23-year-old young kid head coach and didn’t know what I was doing. He took me in, he and his wife Jane… I’m just appreciative of so much that I learned from coach and so thankful for the opportunities that we had together as friends to impact children’s lives and kids’ lives.

“I’m just grateful for his journey in Shelby County Schools, but more so in our beloved Vincent community. This is a special honor for me to be able to present this.”

In other news, the board presented three teachers the Owens-Young Award, which spotlights teachers who show exemplary integration and leadership with technology in the classroom. The award honors Denise Owens and Michael Young, who were both former Shelby County Schools employees that passed away, but were innovative in those areas during their careers.

This year’s winners of the Owens-Young Award were Krista Bender of Oak Mountain Intermediate School, Heather English of Chelsea Middle School and Tamika Whitt of Calera High School. Each teacher will receive a $1,000 check to be used in their classroom towards the purchase of any technology advancement.

The board also approved a bid for CNP smallwares, which was awarded to Mobile Fixture and Equipment for its price bid on the items, as well made the approval for personnel actions related to human resources.