Kevin and Dec
President George Autrey opened the October 12, 2026 meeting of the Gulf Coast Athletic Club at 7:00pm. More than 60 football fans gathered at the Craft Farms Golf Resort expecting to hear from one of Football’s All Time Greats, Coach Jackie Sherrill, but that was not to be. Coach had a non-life-threatening medical issue arise, called to apologize, but will be back hopefully later this season.
George welcomed all, acknowledged our Scholar-Athletes present with their parents, and several guests were introduced. He thanked all for their RSVPs.
Our annal fundraising golf tournament will be Friday morning, October 23, 2026. This outing allows us to raise funds for our two Scholar-Athlete scholarships to be awarded to a deserving male and female Gulf Shores student at the end of the school year. George named our Major sponsors. There will also be a great Silent Auction that day hosted by a local Ladies Mardi Gras Society, represented tonight by Taylor Means’ better half (for sure), Cady Means. Good fun all day!! See the website for more info or call Fred Dickinson.
President George, having a good picking year, also gave the Football Pick’Em contest results for the past few weeks. Our former fearless leader, Professor David Lee, continues to lead the pack at this point with Colorado Buffs fan Karen Sabatino a close second.
The GSHS Dolphine Report was given by Coach Jason Watts. Football continues on a hot streak, taking out Elberta, but at Spanish Fort this Friday for the Region lead. Swim Team already has 14 qualified for State, Volleyball is in the Area Tourney, and Cross Country has the entire Boys Team qualified for State. Wrestling and Basketball are getting ready. GO, DOLPHINS!!
Dr. McCollough introduced the first of our GSHS Scholar-Athletes. Harley Barnhill has a 4.2 GPA in dual enrollment classes, plus is a member of the 30+ Club. She stars in Track & Field as a Pole Vaulter and Soccer, tutors Middle Schoolers, and has 2 Part Time jobs. Going to Auburn, she’s always wanted to be a Vet. “What an honor and opportunity. Thank you.”
Our Male Scholar-Athlete is Rory Davis with, as Doc says, one of the most impressive resumes we’ve seen. A 4.2 GPA, he is also in the 30+ Club, and a National Merit Scholar Semi-Finalist! A JNROTC Officer, he loves Cyber-Security, and, as a High Schooler, has competed and won several HS and National contests with his teammates, the #1 Cybersecurity High School in America. He is in Cross Country and track and is a major part of GSHS Model United Nations. He wants to go to Embry-Riddle or Georgia Tech.
Doc commented that these are two great examples of what’s happening at GSHS. We have risen from #176 to #4 in the ratings! GS School Board Chairman Kevin Cocoran acknowledged we have incredible students and Staff. He welcomed all to visit the school.
Team Reports were handled deftly by the always entertaining Dec McClelland and Crying Towel Chairman Emeritus, the aforementioned Kevin Cocoran. These two could make a dead man laugh, so you can only imagine the rest of the evening. After moments of outright pity for most of the teams, the coveted Crying Towel was awarded to LSU’s own Frank Sanchez, who now has 5 towels in his five years in the Club. His wife is asking we switch to tablecloths. LSU lost in the last OT period 35-34 to the Kentucky Wildcats on the road.
Editor’s Note – I was sitting across from the greatest example of GCAC’s camaraderie and fellowship. Sitting side-by-side with smiles and laughs were Kentucky Fan Robert and LSU Fan Frank. We may battle one another on the field, but, in the end, we’re all friends.
The rest of the night was amazing. The Club always produces tons of laughs every meeting, but tonight was special. Dec and Kevin replayed an edited version of a 2015 GCAC “Game Day” Sports Network with Kevin as Host and Dec’s “Lou Holtz” as commentator. Several current and former members were featured, including Alabama Barb Patty, Doctor McCollough, Tennessee’s John McCormick, Washington State’s David Demeyer. It was hilarious back in 2015 and just as funny now. Dec and “Calvin” were wonderful!
After the $105 50-50 was awarded to Fred Dickinson, the meeting adjourned at 8:20pm
Respectfully presented,
Bill Tunnell, Secretary
