My dad was a pastor at First Baptist Homer for a while; that exposed me, thank goodness, to the awesome richness and people of Claiborne Parish, people like former Haynesville High, University of Georgia, and NFL player Demetric Evans, who Saturday night was part of the Class of 2018 inducted into the Ark-La-Tex Museum of Champions in Shreveport’s Convention Center.

Just to wrap that up, I got to looking around the room and thinking about how fortunate we are to have this event, how rich the area is in athletic talent of all kinds, and how lucky I am.

I love Grambling State — former Tigers star Kenny Simpson was a 2018 inductee — and was lucky enough to have a picture made Saturday with some hilarious women who went to GSU when I went to Louisiana Tech.

Ruston’s been so good to me, as has Class of 2018 inductee and 8-year major league baseball pitcher George Stone, whose memorabilia is pictured here and is now on permanent display in the Convention Center.

Finally, two inductees, Jerry Stovall and the late Don Shows, lured the West Monroe faithful over Saturday night. My mom was a sophomore when the school opened and I was lucky enough to go to high school there when we moved to Louisiana from South Carolina. West Monroe High has done more for me than I could ever do for the Rebels.

Memorable night. Talented, hard-working inductees. Wonderful event that shines the spotlight on athletic excellence in our area.

Put the Ark-La-Tex Sports Museum of Champions Induction Ceremony on your Bucket List and try it in 2020.

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