Jim Minter will receive the Erk Russell Spirit Award at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame’s annual awards banquet next month.
The GSHF has announced the recipients of its annual achievement awards and the establishment of a new award in honor of GSHF member Taz Anderson, who passed away in September of 2016.
Minter will receive the “Erk Rus- sell Spirit Award,” Claude Lewis will receive the “J.B. Hawkins Humanitarian Award,” and Ray Cutright will receive the “Taz Anderson Service Award” as part of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame’s 2017 Induction Ceremony scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 25, in Macon.
Presented by the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Foundation’s Board of Directors and State Authority, the Spirit Award recognizes contributions to sport that mirror the enthusiasm that GHSF legend, Erk Russell, brought to coaching football.
Minter grew up a farm boy in Fayette County and rose up the ranks to become the editor of the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. After graduating from the Henry Grady College of Journalism at UGA and serving a stint in the U.S. Army, Minter became a sports writer for the Atlanta Journal. Minter worked alongside legends like Furman Bisher and Ralph McGill and hired legends like Lewis Grizzard.
While Minter covered the major sports stories of the day and coaches such as Butts, Dodd, Curry and Dooley, his greatest joy was finding the lesser known stories in sports that inspired, entertained and informed.
Minter was a legend himself who worked tirelessly to bring Georgians the “scoop” along with all the other subtleties that sports define and accentuate. His heart has always been for covering sports in his home state.
The induction ceremony will be held at Macon’s historic City Auditorium. The members of the Class of 2017 who will be inducted at the banquet are: football player Keith Brooking, golfer Laura Coble, tennis coach Manuel Diaz, football and track athlete Willie Gault, basketball player Matt Harpring, football player Garrison Hearst, athletic leader/golf coach Liz Murphey, and football player Jeff Saturday.
The weekend will begin with the GSHF Golf Classic at Idle Hour Country Club Friday, Feb. 24; the GSHF’s annual FanFest will be held Saturday afternoon from 1-2:30 p.m. at the museum. The induction ceremony will take place Saturday, Feb. 25, at the Historic Macon City Auditorium with the cocktail reception at 5:30 p.m. downstairs and the banquet at 6:30 p.m. in the main room upstairs.
For more information, visit www.gshf.org or email candiceh@gshf.org.
