- RON KEMP
- VOLUNTEER COACH FOR YOUTH BASEBALL [11 YEARS]
- VOLUNTEER COACH FOR YOUTH FOOTBALL [8 YEARS]
- IN LAST YEAR OF COACHING YOUTH FOOTBALL, THE TEAM WAS UNDEFEATED AND UNSCORED ON.
- TRAINED LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AS SPORTSWRITERS.
- HEAVILY INVOLVED IN FUND-RAISING EFFORTS FOR YOUTH ACTIVITIES.
- .RON KEMP HAS BEEN ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THE RECTOR COMMUNITY SINCE HE FIRST MOVED TO RECTOR IN 1977. HE DEMONSTRATED A KEEN INTEREST AND APTITUDE IN SEEING THE VALUE OF YOUNG PEOPLE BEING INVOLVED IN SPORTS AT AN EARLY AGE. HE NOT ONLY SAW THE VALUE OF SUCH, BUT HE FELT COMPELLED TO BE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IS SEEING THAT OPPORTUNITIES WERE AVAILABLE TO AS MANY YOUTH AS POSSIBLE.
THIS LED HIM TO COACH YOUTH BASEBALL AND YOUTH FOOTBALL TEAMS FOR SEVERAL YEARS. THE RESULTS OF HIS EFFORTS CAN BE SEEN IN THE FOLLOWING. SOME OF THE BOYS HE COACHED AS YOUNG BOYS WENT ON TO PLAY ON SOME OF THE BEST TEAMS IN SCHOOL HISTORY, INCLUDING THE 1992 STATE CHAMPION BASEBALL TEAM AND 1987 DISTRICT CHAMPION FOOTBALL TEAM. SOMEONE SAID: “GOOD PLAYERS MAKE GOOD COACHES.” ALSO, “GOOD COACHES MAKE GOOD PLAYERS”. IT IS ALSO TRUE THAT GOOD COACHES MAKE GOOD MEN. RON DEMONSTRATED THIS.
WHEN RON WASN’T COACHING YOUNG MEN, HE SPENT TIME ON HIS ‘REAL’ JOB AT THE CLAY COUNTY TIMES/DEMOCRAT. IN THAT CAPACITY HE COVERED ALL SPORTS FOR CLAY COUNTY CENTRAL AND RECTOR HIGH SCHOOL ON A WEEKLY BASIS FOR 40 YEARS. HE WON NUMEROUS AWARDS FROM THE ARKANSAS PRESS ASSOCIATION FOR SPORTS WRITING AND PHOTOGRAPHY. HIS EFFORTS IN THIS AREA NOT ONLY RECOGNIZED THE STUDENTS BUT PROMOTED THE HIGH QUALITY OF RECTOR SCHOOLS.
BECAUSE OF HIS KEEN INTEREST IN FOOTBALL, AND THE BOYS WHO PLAY THE GAME, AND THE FANS THAT LOVE THE GAME, HE ORGANIZED A FUND-RAISING EFFORT TO INSTALL THE FIRST PERMANENT LIGHTING SYSTEM FOR THE RECTOR FOOTBALL FIELD. THIS PROVIDED MUCH NEEDED IMPETUS TO THE FOOTBALL PROGRAM.
DURING HIS 16 YEARS AS RECTOR MAYOR, HE SECURED GRANTS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF AND IMPROVEMENTS TO THE JEREMY MCDANIEL SPORTS COMPLEX. THE COMPLEX CONSISTS OF TWO BASEBALL AND TWO SOFTBALL FIELDS. IN ADDITION TO YOUTH LEAGUES, THE COMPLEX IS USED FOR ALL RECTOR HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL GAMES. NUMEROUS TOURNAMENTS HAVE BEEN HELD OVER THE YEARS, INCLUDING THE STATE HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT. VISITORS TO THE COMPLEX HAVE COMMENTED ON THE QUALITY OF THE FIELDS AND THE FACT THAT THEY CAN RELAX BETWEEN GAMES AT THE ADJACENT RECTOR MEMORIAL PARK.
FOR SOMEONE WHO WAS NOT BORN IN RECTOR…BUT CHOSE TO SPEND HIS ADULT LIFE IN RECTOR, RON KEMP HAS DEMONSTRATED A GREAT PASSION FOR SERVING THE PEOPLE OF RECTOR OF ALL AGES…ESPECIALLY THE YOUTH.