The Georgia Athletic Directors Association has inducted four more Georgia legends into its Hall of Fame. The four esteemed athletic directors who will be joining the current 27 members include Dave Hunter, Mark Kelly, Carter Wilson and Tommy Stringer.
DAVE HUNTER
As the head coach at Brookwood, Dave Hunter accumulated a 149-35 record over the course of his 15-year career and brought the Gwinnett Public School system its first-ever state championship, all while acting as the Brookwood athletic director.
“We accumulated 31 state championships when I was athletic director at Brookwood,” said Hunter about the school’s athletic success. “I was proud of the accomplishments of our teams in all of Brookwood sports.”
When asked about the honor or being inducted to the GADA Hall of Fame, Hunter had nothing but praise for those who helped get him here.
“It’s a tremendous honor because your peers vote you in,” he said. “You spend your whole life in athletics and this is how they’ve shown me I’ve done a good job.”
On top of this prestigious honor, Hunter was also inducted into the Gwinnett County Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.
MARK KELLY
Mark Kelly served as Athletic Director of St. Pius X for 31 years, retiring in January, but was first a Golden Lion while playing under long-time football head coach George Maloof. After graduating from St. Pius in 1971, Kelly went on to play basketball at Christian Brothers University in Memphis but eventually returned home to attend Georgia State while coping with the return of cancer he was diagnosed with his senior year of high school. St. Pius offered Kelly a position as a teacher’s assistant up his return, and he became cancer-free two and a half years later. Kelly coached basketball while teaching social studies and physical education before taking over as AD.
CARTER WILSON
Much like Kelly, Carter Wilson also acted as the athletic director for his alma mater, Decatur High School. After a stint as head coach of the Georgia State men’s basketball team in the 90s, Wilson took over as athletic director in 2000 while also assuming boys basketball coaching duties. As a coach, Carter led his team to back-to-back final four appearances in 2001 and 2002, and some of his greatest accomplishments as an athletic director have come through his leadership on extensive construction and renovation projects regarding Decatur’s athletics venues.
TOMMY STRINGER
Tommy Stringer, who is known for being the longtime head football coach and athletic director of Loganville High School, is the fourth member of the 2018 class. Through his years at Loganville and as head coach of the Baker, Druid Hills and Clarkston football teams, Stringer accumulated 143 career wins. Stringer had been dealing with an illness and passed away this past February at the age of 78. He will be remembered as one of the most devoted coaches, athletic directors and administrators in Georgia high school sports history.
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