GCAC
2019 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: Linda Martin
Jake Lartigue and Kaily Werthem
Congratulations to our
2019 Scholarship Winners!
Kaily Werthem & Jake Lartigue
President Linda Martin and Vice President David Lee
were on hand to announce the winners of
2- $3,500 Scholarships awarded this year by
Your Gulf Coast Athletic Club!
From GCAC President, Linda Martin:
The 17th Annual Gulf Coast Athletic Club Golf Tournament was held at Craft Farms. The tournament was a great success with nearly 100 golfers enjoying a fun day of golf and festivities. The net proceeds from the tournament will fully fund the scholarships to be presented this year to deserving Gulf Shores High School senior scholar athletes and helps assure GCAC‘s continued support for Gulf Shores High School Athletics.
Thanks to all who participated as golfers and those who volunteered their time to make this tournament a success. A special thanks to Fred Dickinson and his committee members for all their hard work.
Congratulations to all winners!
Womens
1st Place Gross Ladies: Carolyn Boudreaux 1st Place Ladies Net: Linda Spangrud
Kathleen Forbes Joy Majors
Shirley LaFoy Angela Wolfe
Mary Ann Terrell Linda Runtz
Mens
1st Place Gross: Tom Bruce 1st Place Net: Caleb Davis
Preston DeFriend Cody Rhodes
John Mitchell Dennis Stastka
Leroy Shamburger Wade Ward
Thanks to everyone for helping to make this another great year for GCAC. I know everyone is looking forward to our new season which starts with our kick-off meeting in August.
See you then!
Linda Martin
President
2019 GCAC 17th Annual
Golf Tournament Results
Congratulations to our Winners!
A special thanks to our Tournament Chairman,
Fred Dickinson, who again has put on a great tournament. Also we want to thank Craft Farms and their staff for exceptional support to our tournament, to
all the volunteers who provided additional help, and
especially our tournament sponsors for supporting
the GCAC 17th Annual Golf Tournament!
Thank You!
To all our GCAC Sponsors!
Without your support, the
GCAC 17th Annual
Golf Tournament
would not be possible.
17th Annual
GCAC
Golf
Tournament
Click on the picture below to view
more scenes from our tournament.
Another great lineup of Gulf Coast Athletic Club speakers for this year!
Please respond to President Linda Martin's E-Mail RSVP
just prior to each meeting to help prepare for the event.
GCAC Speaker Schedule for the 2019-2020 Season
Aug. 26: Jake Coker Former Alabama QB
Sept 9: Tommy Tuberville Former AUburn Coach
Sept. 23: Sherman Williams Former Alabama/Dallas Cowboys RB
Oct. 7: Johnny Davis Former Alabama/NFL RB
Oct. 21: Verge Ausberry Former LSU Player/Coach
Nov. 4: TBA
Nov. 18: TBA
Dec. 2: Trivia Night
Jan 20, 2020: TBA
From Our
GCAC Meeting
Monday
August 26th, 2019
Jake Coker
University of Alabama
Quarterback
President Linda Martin opened the 2019-20 season of the Gulf Coast Athletic Club at 7:00pm on Monday, August 26, 2019. She thanked the large crowd assembled and said she was looking forward to another great year. She had the Board stand up, noting we had two new Directors this year.
David Lee then took over the podium for a well-deserved tribute and memorial to our late member and former master Membership Director, Dixie Dave DeMeyer. He recently had a stroke and passed away far too quickly from this earth. Dave was a huge Washington State Cougars fan and, last year, had the legendary former WSU Athletic Director Stan Jankovich here as his guest and our Guest Speaker. David Lee told several Dixie Dave stories, from his tragic US Navy Ensign flying days where he was involved in a mid-air collision in Pensacola during training, his subsequent 2 year recovery, and other exploits of our dearly beloved fellow member. Good Bye, Dixie Dave DeMeyer, gone but never forgotten.
Linda introduced Membership Chair Andrew Hart who reported we have 80 members and counting at this point. New members and guests were introduced.
David Lee took over the mike again and told all of the Football Pool on again for this year. Joey Daughtery will be handling this and we’ll get cranked up this week. $25 gets you in the pool picking 10 games per week against the point spread for the next 14 or so weeks. This year, each player only gets 2 autopicks, then all losses after those two for all weeks not selected by the participant. Our Defending Champion as the Most Proficient Pigskin Prognosticator is Mrs. HiYield herself, Cynthia Tunnell.
Coach Matt Blake was introduced and made his way to the stage amid a chorus of “GO DOLPHINS” commemorating the first ever season-opening win for the newly established Gulf Shores High School City System. Coach said they had a great off-season and there was excitement in the air. He talked about getting to hire 6 new coaches for the new Athletic Staff and thanked Superintendent Matt Akin for his support, also, of course, the continued support of the Chair of the School Board, our very own Kevin Corcoran!! The 17-14 win came with a blocked last-minute Satsuma field goal attempt! So proud, GSHS!
Dec McClelland will give Team Reports and the legendary Crying Towel again this year. He noted this was the 20th year of GCAC and thanked Kevin Corcoran, Dr. Gaylon McCollough, and Chuck Norwood as original members. The CT resumes in two weeks. He did note the demise of the Mayor’s ponytail.
Dr. McCollough said, before introducing our Speaker, the Club annually hosts male and female Student Athletes during our fall meetings and scholarships are awarded to one each at year’s end. The amounts have ranged from $2,000 to $5,000 each, depending on our fundraising events’ success.
He then introduced former FSU and Alabama Quarterback Jake Coker, the only Division One QB to play on two different National Championship teams, once at FSU under Coach Jimbo Fisher and winning the Championship in 2015 under Coach Nick Saban. Your Editor felt Coker’s presentation was refreshingly candid, honest, humorous, and extremely sincere, lots of experiences in a short time.
He graduated from St. Paul’s in Mobile, and detailed his quest for a college scholarship. His Father was also present and added comments to Jake’s well-received remarks. We might add his wife was also present and it was announced they are expecting after year’s end. Knee and shoulder injuries riddled his playing career and cut short his pro career with the Arizona Cardinals. He now works for a Mobile bank.
He told numerous stories about FSU and Alabama, how so many things were the same at each (the FSU food wasn’t the best), and the mental toughness needed to excel. “Saban means a lot to me,” Jake said, and related some emotional moments during his career that helped him and the Tide win in 2015 after an early loss to Ole Miss. Elected Team Captain that year, he said the season was “what I always wanted to do.” Well Done, Jake Coker!!
The 50/50 was drawn and awarded and adjournment was at 8:27pm.
By: Bill Tunnell
David's passion for all things Washington State is legendary. We'll think of you every College Game Day as the WSU flag flies proudly.
Our Next
GCAC Meeting
Monday
September 9th, 2019
Tommy
Tuberville
Former Auburn University
Head Coach
Tommy Tuberville began his head coaching career in the SEC with the Ole Miss Rebels in 1995, but he is best known for his 10 seasons at the helm of the Auburn Tigers football program from 1999-2008. Tuberville took over an Ole Miss program buried by NCAA sanctions and revived it during his four years in Oxford. Tuberville posted three winning seasons at Ole Miss, never winning fewer than five games in any season. He earned his nickname “the Riverboat Gambler” for his aggressive play-calling while coaching the Rebels. He had his best year at Ole Miss in 1997 when the team went 8-4, winning the Motor City Bowl and finishing the season ranked 22nd in the final Associated Press poll. Following a 6-5 season in 1998, Tuberville vowed he’d never leave Oxford, then promptly departed for Auburn two days later.
Tuberville was 85-40 in 10 seasons at Auburn, including a perfect 13-0 season and an SEC championship in 2004. His team finished the ’04 season ranked second in the final polls despite missing out on a chance to compete in the national championship game. Tuberville won at least nine games five other times at Auburn and finished first in the SEC West division four other times. He was 5-3 in eight bowl games as coach of the Tigers, but was let go as head coach after a 5-7 season in 2008, his first losing season since his first year at Auburn in 1999.
Tuberville was a two-time SEC coach of the year in 1997 and 2004, and in ’04 was named AFCA Coach of the Year and Walter Camp Coach of the Year.
