The Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame (FCSHOF) held its 2022 Induction Ceremony Saturday, April 9, in the Epworth Community Building and school auditorium.
The 2022 Hall of Fame Inductees included Glenn Gardner, Patty Callihan, Don Clement, Chuck Jabaley, Charles Tyger Vollrath and Megan Queen Orton as well as the 1965 and 1966 East Fannin Girls and Boys Basketball teams.
Gardner was a student at Copperhill High School. He participated in football and basketball from 1925 through 1928. He continued his athletic career at Oglethorpe University playing baseball in 1929 and 1930 hitting .367 in 1930. The team went 16-1 and ended at Southern Conference Championship. Gardner went on to play semi-professional baseball from 1930 through 1941. During this time, he won the Northwest Georgia Textile League batting title in 1932 with an average of .430. He also played with the Dixisteel of Atlanta (1936 through 1938) and started at second base. The team went on to win the Mid-South amateur titles in 1937 and 1938, finishing as national runner-ups in 1937. Gardner was named to second-team All-Tournament in the 1937 National Tournament.
Callihan played basketball at West Fannin High School from 1971 through 1975. She received the team’s Most Improved Player award as a sophomore and Most Valuable Player as a junior and senior. Callihan scored 900 career points and led the team in rebounding as a junior and senior. She was one of the first girls to play both offense and defense during the transition from half-court to full-court play in Georgia girls basketball. She was named to the Region 8A West All-Tournament team her senior year, and she was elected as the Most Athletic girl in West Fannin’s Class of 1975.
Clement was a tri-sport athlete at East Fannin High playing football, basketball and baseball from 1958 through 1962. He was elected co-captain of the football team as well as the boys’ basketball team his senior year. He was also the Most Athletic boy in East Fannin’s Class of 1962. During his senior year, Clement outscored the entire Copper Basin team by scoring 42 points while the entire Copper Basin team scored 40. After his years of play, he officiated elementary school basketball games in Fannin County for eight years. He also coached youth football, basketball and softball for over eight years. Clement continues to be an avid runner. He has completed several marathons as well as 49 Peachtree 10k Road Races. Clement is also a charter member of the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame and has served as the Board Treasurer since the formation of the group in 2012.
Jabaley played football at Baylor Preparatory School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and graduated in 1969. He has a successful amateur golf career from 1985 through 2008. During this time, he competed in the TGA Two-Man Scramble Tournament in 1989, won the TGA Tennessee Open Tournament over many professionals as an amateur, won the Atlanta Atlantic Club club championship in 1994, finished Runner-Up in the Tennessee Amateur Tournament in 1995 among his four other top-five finishes and also won other tournaments including the Chattanooga Open, Lake-Tanzi Pro-Am, Tennessee Senior Match Play, six Cleveland club championships and four club championships at the Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tennessee. Jabaley was elected into the Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.
Vollrath ended his high school career with nine varsity letters from 1986 through 1989. He earned three letters in football, two in track and field, two in golf, one in baseball and one in basketball.
Vollrath was invited to play football at the University of Georgia as a preferred walk-on and earned varsity letters in 1991 and 1992. He continued his education at Georgia Tech serving as a strength and conditioning coach as well as a coach for the cheerleading team that finished fifth in National Competition in 1996.
Vollrath also worked as a guide for the Ocoee Whitewater Center, and he later joined the USA canoe/kayak team in 1995. This allowed him to compete in one and two-man canoe and kayak events around the world. He qualified and competed in six US Olympic Trials. He also earned top finishes in other events: 12th place in the Pan American Championship in Costa Rica (2017) and second in the World Games in New Zealand (2017).
Vollrath was also a member of the Fannin County Fire and Rescue from 1987 through 1993. He was on a business trip to New York September 11, 2001, when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center, and he volunteered his service as a first responder. Vollrath worked with firemen for five days fighting fire and cleaning up Ground Zero.
Orton played basketball at Fannin County High School from 2003 to 2007. She was selected as Best Offensive Player her sophomore and junior seasons and Most Valuable Player her senior season. She was recognized as Northwest Georgia Tip-Off Club Player of the Year as a sophomore, junior and senior. She was a “formidable defender and shot-blocker” while also scoring 972 points during her high school career.
Orton continued her basketball career at Shorter University in Rome from 2007 through 2012. While there, she was named to the conference All-Freshman team in 2007-08, Most Improved Player in 2008-09 and was the recipient of the Team Champion of Character award as a senior. Her career at Shorter totaled 685 points, 637 rebounds and 184 blocked shots. Orton is now the assistant coach of the Fannin County High School Lady Rebels basketball team.
The 1965-66 East Fannin High School Boys and Girls basketball teams were also inducted. Both teams advanced to the Georgia Class B State Tournament, being the only teams in school history to do so.
The girls’ team consisted of Linda Wilcox, Susie Helton, Mary Stewart, Gwendolyn Bryant, Linda Lance, Barbara Richards, Madeline Falls, Donna Mull, Lucy McKinney, Beulah Nicholas, Kathy Allen and Kay Bailey and were coached by Roscoe Nash.
The team finished with a record of 24-6 as runner-ups in Region 4B. They ended their season with a loss to Washington County in the first round of state playoffs.
The boys consisted of Johnny Rogers, Chip Nichols, Dale Buchanan, Morgan Arp, Jimmy Golden, Steve Atkins, Ronnie Reel, Freddy Ganues, Roger Henry and Danny Ross, team managers were Oscar Buchanan and Jerry Rice, and the team was coached by Jack Myers.
The team finished with a record of 25-7 also as runner-ups in Region 4B. They ended their season against Waynesboro in the first round of the state playoffs, who would go on to be the state champions. The FCSHOF also recognized the 2022 Athletes of the Year.
Senior Becca Ledford was chosen as the female athlete of the year. She played volleyball, golf, track and field and basketball at Fannin County High School. She scored 1,051 career points during her basketball career.
She was awarded an athletic scholarship to play basketball at the University of West Georgia. Ledford led the team to the Class AA State Championship game as a junior and the Elite Eight as a senior.
Senior Seth Reece was chosen as the male athlete of the year. He played baseball, football and track and field at Fannin County High School. As a senior, he rushed for 1,202 yards and passed for 1,116 yards scoring 18 touchdowns.
Reece was awarded an athletic scholarship to play football at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York.
The FCSHOF Board of Directors consists of Sandy Acker, Tim Towe, Ron Beavers, Gilita Carter, Don Clement, Janet Cook, Denise Roberts, Jerry Daves, Windell Davis, Johnny Farmer, Rene Godfrey, Mike Harper, Tom Hamby, Richard Jabaley, Stephen Nazerian, Glenn Patterson, TJ Thompson, Denson Hamby as well as Andy Arp.
All contributions to the Hall of Fame may be sent to the following address: Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame, P.O. Box 775, McCaysville, Georgia 30555.