Distinguished Service Award
The Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame exists due to the hard work and dedication of a number of individuals. One of the founders of this organization was Billy Schrivner, and his dedication and leadership provided the basis for what the JMCSHOF has become. After retiring from the board, Schrivner continued to serve as a valued mentor and advisor until his passing in March 2014. It is with great honor that the Sports Hall of Fame Board grant the Billy Schrivner Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his selfless gifts to our athletic community.
2023 Winner: Jimmy Duke
James M. (Jimmy) Duke, a native of Jackson, is the recipient of the 2023 Billy Schrivner Distinguished Service Award.
A local radio and television sports broadcaster for nearly 40 years, Duke was a board member 22 years and served as production chairman and Master of Ceremonies of the Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame Banquet for 20 years. He has provided the voice narration for the Hall’s inductee videos for 27 years.
Duke graduated from Jackson High School in 1967. He attended Jackson State Community College before entering the work force in 1970. He worked for 13 years in the savings and loan business with American Federal S&L and Frontier Federal S&L.
In 1983 he became a partner in Golden Circle Land Company as a Certified General Real Estate Appraiser, retiring after 36.5 years in October 2019.
During his work career, his love for radio and TV broadcasting was a large part of his service to this community. His radio career began in 1966 during his senior year in high school. He was barely 17 when WDXI hired him to start a three-hour show, five nights a week playing Rock & Roll records. The boss told Duke that he would be fired if his grades started to suffer.
Duke was the drummer in a local Rock & Roll band at the time, and he still has his original full set of 1965 Ludwig drums, the same brand Ringo Starr played with the Beatles.
After two years with that show, Duke was hired in 1968 at WJAK radio and began learning sports broadcasting with Tom Mapes. He announced local Little League, Babe Ruth and American Legion baseball games.
In April 1977 Duke became a member of the ownership group of WJAK radio with Mapes, Bill Way, Jimmy Exum and John McCutcheon. In 1983, TRTV (Total Reach Television) began televising local high school and college football. Duke became the lead play-by-play announcer, holding that position from 1983-2005.
“We had no idea what we were doing at first, but we gave it a good try and it worked out,” Duke said. He had never broadcasted a football game or worked in television before his first game.
“I guess it was just one of those osmosis things,” Duke said. “I had seen and heard it done so much, I just tried to do what I had seen.”
It was a huge hit locally when area athletes and their parents could see replays of their games on television. Hi Saylors provided color commentary with Duke the first few years before Mike Singleton replaced Saylors and stayed with Duke more than 20 years.
“We had good chemistry,” Duke said. “Mike had played football and worked as an official, so he knew the game better and jumped in and filled the gaps.”
“I didn’t think I would like TV, but we had such a great crew of people,” Duke said. “Those days were the most fun I ever had with a microphone in my hand.”
His most challenging broadcast came atop the North Side High School press box. A sudden thunderstorm soaked the area, but the game continued.
“One of our engineers, Vic Watkins, stood there on top of that press box in ankle-deep water holding two umbrellas over us so we could broadcast,” Duke said. “I thought, ‘Oh, mercy, we’re going to get hit by lightning and die.’ But we made it through.”
Over the years Duke has served as master of ceremonies/announcer for many local organizations. These include: Jackson Dragway track announcer, Southeast Motor Sports track announcer, West Tennessee Boy Scouts Eagle Dinner MC, Area XI Special Olympics Track and Field MC/Host, Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce Small Business Awards MC, on-stage announcer for the NED, and MC for the Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame Banquet.
Duke, 73, is still active in several non-profit organizations. He presently serves as Board Chair for Madison Haywood Developmental Services, Board Chair for the Jackson Center for Independent Living, and board member for the Legends of Tennessee Music Museum at the Carnegie.
He and Judy, his wife of 50 years, have two children, Julie and Mike, three grand daughters and one great granddaughter.
2022 Winner: Mike and Pam McCarty
Mike and Pam McCarty, the founders of a memorial scholarship foundation in memory of their daughter Morgan, are the recipients of the 2022 Billy Schrivner Distinguished Service Award.
The McCartys grew up in Jackson and attended Jackson Central-Merry High School, where Mike played football and basketball. He graduated from Lambuth University and had a career in sales. He retired as Branch Manager of Tri State Mack in Jackson and is working part time for Integrated Marketing System in Jackson.
Pam earned degrees at Tennessee Martin, University of Memphis, and Cumberland University. She taught school in the Jackson-Madison County School System and has been a professor at University of Memphis Lambuth for 12 years.
The McCartys’ daughter, Morgan, was a junior at Tennessee Knoxville when she was killed by a hit-and-run driver in 2006. Mike and Pam began the Morgan McCarty Memorial Scholarship Foundation that year as a way to honor Morgan’s memory and to help students continue their education in college. They have supported area college students for the past 15 years with academic scholarships as well as scholarships through the Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame.
The Morgan McCarty Golf Classic has been held each fall as a fundraiser for the scholarship foundation. They began with hopes of having scholarships for one or two years, but 15 years later they have given 57 scholarships totaling more than $200,000. This year, the Morgan McCarty Scholarship Board will present a total of $23,500 in scholarships, including three $7,500 scholarships. It is awarding a $1,000 scholarship at tonight’s banquet to Henry Piercey of University School of Jackson. The McCartys son, Kirk, and his wife Erica make their home in Charleston, South Carolina. They have two daughters, Ellie Morgan, 4, and Claire Allyn, 2. The McCartys attend First United Methodist Church, where Mike teaches and Pam has a Grace for Grief group for parents who have lost children. Mike enjoys playing golf, and Pam is involved in the Madison County Master Gardeners and several book clubs. They both enjoy traveling to Charleston to see their granddaughters and family.
They give thanks to friends, family, and the foundation’s board of directors for supporting the mall these years. They are amazed at the success of the endowed scholarship fund that will continue to help students for years to come and be a reminder of Morgan’s big heart and kindness to others.
2020/2021 Winner: Hix “Sonny” Foote Jr
Foote never played football until his senior year of high school, when Mercer High and four other Madison County schools consolidated and their students went to South Side High in 1957-58. Foote, who played basketball at Mercer, played all sports at South Side and was a starter on the football team.
That was the extent of his football experience when he was offered the job of developing a football program at West High School in Denmark in southwest Madison County. After high school, Foote had served as a drill sergeant in the Army and later worked other jobs before completing his college degree to become a teacher and coach in 1980.
His former high school principal, James Walker, had become school superintendent and offered Foote his choice of two jobs. He could coach girls basketball at South Side, where Foote’s daughter was a starter on the team, or he could try his hand as the football coach at West.
Foote chose West, telling Walker, “I don’t know what kind of football team I can develop, but I would like to try to develop some successful young men.” Foote went home and told his wife Vicky, “I’ve got the chance of a lifetime to make a real difference in kids’ lives.”
West had won one game in its inaugural football season the year before. Foote had to bush hog the practice field, erect a goal post and use hand-me-down uniforms donated by another school. Above all, in a community known for its outstanding basketball teams, he had to motivate, condition and teach young players the basics of football. There was no middle school football program, so the game was new to West’s athletes.
That first season in 1980 the team won two games, including homecoming against Gleason. The second team in 1981 posted the first winning season with a 6-5 record.
The third year in 1982, West’s Tigers put together an impressive 7-3 record and won the Reelfoot Conference Championship. Foote was selected as The Jackson Sun’s Coach of the Year.
Foote coached at West through 1989 and made the state playoffs in 1986 and 1989. The school closed in 1990, and Foote became assistant principal at North Side High. But the bond he had with his West players remained strong for life.
When Foote was hospitalized in September 2017, many of his former players visited, prayed for him, hugged him, and told him to fight hard. Foote was 78 when he died on Feb. 1, 2018. One of his pallbearers was a West player who represented all of the Tigers coached by Foote.
A deacon and Sunday School teacher for 40 years, Foote is survived by Vicky, his wife of 55 years, and daughters Paige and Kippi.
2019 Award Winner: Terry Moore
Moore is most well-known for his role as Umpire-in-Chief at the West Tennessee Healthcare Sportsplex since its opening in 2006. He hired, mentored, and supervised all the umpires and scorekeepers for the Sportsplex, as well as for numerous baseball, basketball, softball, and volleyball leagues in the area. If there was a sporting event in West Tennessee, odds are Moore had a hand in training, supervising or assigning one or more of the officials involved.
In season, Moore basically lived at the ball park, oftentimes clocking 30-hour weekends. Managing 120 umpires and the opinions of fans oftentimes proved tricky. He’d listen to complaints and compliments from fans, and always gave constructive feedback to every umpire involved.
Moore’s influence went far beyond supervising umpires at the Sportsplex. Many would agree that the Sportsplex couldn’t run without Moore’s continuous dedication to go above and beyond his job responsibilities. He made a point to befriend everyone who worked there, and often helped the grounds crew. During tournaments, you could find Moore by the flagpole area, offering kind words and a smile to staff, players, coaches, parents, and fans.
Moore’s passion for sports began at an early age, playing basketball, football and baseball. Moore went on to play baseball and football at Tigrett Middle School and baseball at Jackson Central-Merry High School. When he was 15, Moore started umpiring baseball in his spare time when he wasn’t playing. He later spread his talents to officiating basketball and volleyball, later becoming a TSSAA official for middle and high school volleyball. Volleyball was a natural fit for Moore because he was an avid player in various city and church leagues.
When Moore started a family, he put his umpiring career on hold to start coaching his son’s teams. Always willing to lend a hand to others, Moore would often pick up other kids to ensure they made it to practice and games. When his son and step-son got to high school, Moore volunteered to help on the field at practice, coordinate fundraising initiatives, and assist with gameday travel arrangements and pre-game meals.
When he wasn’t at the ball park or spending time with family, Moore enjoyed following his beloved St. Louis Cardinals and hunting.
On April 17, 2018, Moore suddenly passed away after yet another night spent supervising a Little League tournament at the Sportsplex. His son and step-son, Garrett and Brandon, and wife, Tana, have stepped in to carry on the legacy of their beloved father and husband. The flagpole at the Sportsplex will remain a symbol of fond memories and the profound impact Moore had on thousands of people.
View the list of past recipients.