GCAC
2021 Scholarship
Recipients!
Celebrating Sports Fellowship,
Spirit, and Community Pride
GCAC funds scholarships for local athletes, as well as helping local athletic departments. The membership is made up of more than 80 men and women who are graduates and supporters of college athletic programs across the country, including the SEC and other conferences.
To raise money to support scholarships and athletic programs, an annual golf tournament, several trivia nights and other activities help to accomplish the club’s mission.
Each of the eight Fall meetings includes dinner and a well-known guest speaker as well as team reports and a “crying towel” award. The meetings are held at the Craft Farms Golf Clubhouse on Monday evenings.
Those interested in joining GCAC may contact Andrew Harte,
membership chairman, at 251-223-3622 or email at Andrew@remaxgs.com , or go to the website at
If you have identified anyone you would like to invite to join the club this year, please send me their name and email address. I will work with Andrew Hart to solicit these potential members next week.
Thanks you for your continued support of GCAC!!!
President: George Autrey
Alleigh Coburn Harsh Gandhi
George Autrey Taylor Means
2020 Won't allow for our typical meetings, but,
there is an alternative way to get together for Football-Fun-Friendship!
President George Autrey explains below.
Hello again GCAC members,
Just wanted to send out a reminder that the normal 2020-21 GCAC Season has been cancelled, but also make you aware of an opportunity to gather/huddle, albeit a socially distanced huddle on select Monday's at The Safari Club around 6:30 PM.
The Gulf Coast Athletic Club was formed in 1999 from a small group getting together in the fall to socialize and talk football. Since then, we have grown and evolved while keeping to the original mantra of “Fun is Fair.” Since our inception, we have donated over $200k to local athletics and funded scholarships for 36 Scholar Athletes. Although the GCAC board voted in favor of formally cancelling the 2020-21 season, some of us have decided to gather for food, fellowship, and football. It’s back to the basics, informal and no dues. GCAC has had up years and down years but never missed a season and don’t plan to start now. We are calling it “the GCAC Huddle”. We will meet informally beginning this Monday, September, 14 at The Safari Club (at the new Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo) around 6:30 PM. It may look a little different than we have done it recently and more like that original group in 1999, but as long as there are folks who want to talk football, there will be GCAC. Anyone interested in joining us for “the GCAC Huddle”, we would love to have you.
Please be sure to contact me at autregn@yahoo.com to be put on an email alert for updated meeting times.
George Nick Autrey III
334.391.2292
251.279.0412
Postponed
Thanks to Hurricane Sally,
the GCAC Golf Tournament
is postponed until further notice. Please see the letter from Fred Dickinson below.
I have been notified by Craft Farms Golf Resort that due to the massive damage from Hurricane Sally, the club courses will NOT be open and ready for public play by Nov 13 and no date has been determined for re-opening. Accordingly, the 2020 GCAC Golf Tournament has been cancelled until further notice. After Craft Farms re-opens, a new schedule could be considered if the board decides to do so.
Fred Dickinson
2020 Prognosticator of the Year
Award Winner!
Ken Fletcher
Awarded at a small get together with:
Back Row: Charlie McAnnally--Joe Gilchrist--Chris Warner--Steve Means
Front Row: Ron Sumter--George Autrey--Ken Fletcher
Gulf Shores High School
Introduces New Football Coach
Presenting
Coach Mark Hudspeth
Mark's family looks on – wife Tyla and sons Major, Captain and Rocky.
Link to AL.com: Introduction to Gulf Shores
Link to AL.com: "We will be relevant"
Website Publishing: Jim Walker
Hello, GCAC Members! July 23, 2021
It's another year of College Football and it looks like lots of changes are on the way. Oklahoma and Texas may be joining the SEC and there are discussions of expanding the 4 team championship tournament by 2023.
Locally, we also have changes, with a new coaching staff at Gulf Shores High School and Orange Beach High will field a varsity team.
I hope you are as excited to get started as I am!!
I'm writing to give you information on what's going on with GCAC and to let you know we are ready to begin accepting memberships for this year.
First our season is scheduled to begin on August 30th, at Craft Farms country club. As many of you know, the club has been closed for months and we have been coordinating with Chad Leonard to make sure they are ready for us. Unfortunately Chad has not committed to being ready August 30th but they are doing all they can to meet that date. So we plan to keep our current schedule (see attached) and will change as necessary. We have also been informed that our meal and room costs are increasing this year but as of yet have not received our annual contract. As a result, we will be adding $25 to our membership dues this year. So, instead of $250 for the year, it will be $275 which is an increase of about $3 per meal for 8 meals.
We have not locked in any speakers thus far but have several good leads. We have always had terrific speakers and believe we will duplicate our success this year as well.
From a Covid Perspective, we will be operating under CCC guidelines. Further information can be found at www.CDC.gov. We will also communicate any Craft Farms specific protocols as we learn more from them.
2021 -22 dues can be paid by sending a $275 check made out to GCAC and sent to PO Box 2167, Orange Beach AL, 36561 or by paying by PP, credit or debit card by CLICKING HERE Please note that if you see a message at the top of the PayPal payment screen asking if you are Gulf Coast Athletic club Foundation, please click "NO". PP has started displaying this question. We use the same PP account for both the Foundation and the Club, thus the question.
I look forward to seeing you all out this year....we can use some socializing after this CV19 pandemic.
--
David T. Lee
davidtlee107@gmail.com
Meeting Dates for 2021-2022 Season
Aug. 30 Mark Hudspeth Gulf Shores HS Football Coach
Sept.13 Pending
Sept. 27 Brad Edwards Former ESPN College FB Analyst
Oct. 11 Cole Cublic Auburn Alum/Analyst/Announcer
Oct. 25 Pending
Nov. 8 Phillip Rivers NFL Hall of Fame Candidate
Nov. 22 Pending
Jan. 17 Senior Bowl Meeting
---Additional Speakers to be announced---
Congratulations to the
Gulf Coast Athletic Club
$2,500 Scholarship Winners!
Alleigh Coburn and Harsh Gandhi
(pictured with GCAC President, George Autrey and Taylor Means)
We are so sorry to announce the passing of GCAC member, John McCormick.
John was an avid Tennessee fan wearing the colors proudly at each meeting.
John was also a huge part of the team overseeing GCAC Golf Tournaments.
John was a past President and served on the BOD.
We certainly extend our deepest sympathies to John's wife Anne.
A really great guy that will be missed by friends and family.
Shown here receiving a plaque honoring his service to GCAC.
From Our GCAC Meeting
Monday
August 30th
Mark Hudspeth
Gulf Shores
High School
Head Football Coach
President George Autrey opened up the August 30, 2021 meeting of the Gulf Coast Athletic Club at 7:00pm at Woodside Restaurant in Gulf Shores as our usual meeting space at Craft Farms is still undergoing refurbishments from Hurricane Sally. He thanked everyone in attendance given the inclement weather we have experienced due to this most recent storm, Hurricane Ida. After the season we all had last year it feels good to be back together again! Since we last met as a club we have lost several members, including Gary Klussman, Wayne Villadsen, John McCormick, and most recently Ted Dupre. There will be a service this Saturday, September 4 at the GlenLakes Golf Club in Foley at 2pm for Ted Dupre. Ted along with Gary, Wayne, and John were all long time members and supporters of GCAC and will be sorely missed!
George Autrey updated the club regarding the membership for this year. So far around 35 members have paid this years dues. Any members wanting to rejoin again this year, please see GCAC Treasurer David Lee. There are several great speakers on the schedule for this season so encourage those not in attendance and those you think may be interested in our club to attend the next meeting, September 13.
The club is hosting another year of its College Football Pick 'em Challenge for the Prolific Pigskin Prognosticator Trophy. Week 1 starts this Saturday, so do not forget to get signed up. See George Autrey for more information. Last season’s champion Ken Fletcher looks to defend his title after narrowly edging out Bill Broyles.
The Pre-Season Top 25 was announced recently and the top team to start the 2021 season is Alabama, followed by Oklahoma, Clemson, Ohio State and Georgia. Several members gave their teams updates for the upcoming season. There seemed to be a good deal of optimism for each team represented at the meeting!
This week’s speaker was Coach Mark Hudspeth who is the current Head Football Coach at Gulf Shores High School. Coach Hudspeth has been a football coach at several NCAA teams including Central Arkansas, Nicholls State, Delta State, Navy, North Alabama, Mississippi State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Austin Peay. Coach Hudspeth told several interesting stories from his time at Navy, where before the game vs. Army President George W. Bush came into the locker room to give pregame speech as well as Senator and former Midshipman John McCain. Coach Hudspeth talked about his time with Coach Ed Orgeron at Nicholls State and his time working with Dan Mullen at Mississippi State.
Coach Hudspeth has been a part of some successful football programs and has continued that success so far this season. The Gulf Shores High School football team is boasting a 2-0 record so far with wins over Elberta (17-7) and Brookwood (31-0). They will face a very formidable opponent this week when they play at Spanish Fort, who is the reigning Class 6A Runner-up.
Gulf Shores City Schools Board President, Kevin Corcoran also spoke to the club about the current success on the football field as well as all the improvements in facilities and equipment. All these accomplishments have been achieved by the local support it has received by members of the club as well as others in the Gulf Shores community. In order to continue the level of success Gulf Shores is currently experiencing on the football field, it will take continued efforts and local support. Kevin, thanked Coach Hudspeth for his hard work and even told of a story from the first week of the season where the Dolphins were on the road vs. Elberta. Coach Hudspeth after the game was heard in his post-game speech stressing to his players the importance of leaving the opposing locker room in better shape than what they found it. All this to say, Coach Hudspeth is not only coaching for wins on the field, but coaching and teaching his young players to be good citizens and appreciate the opportunities they have in front of them.
George Autrey closed the meeting out, again thanking those in attendance and reminded everyone of the next club meeting, Monday, September 13th. An email will be sent out soon regarding meeting location and speaker. Lastly, sign up for the Football Pool and get those new members to join the club.
From: George Nick Autrey III
Special Thanks
To
Woodside
Restaurant
For Hosting
this meeting!
Located at
20249
State Park Road
In Gulf Shores
