Happy Valley Hall of Fame Class of 2021… New inductees take place beside current members of Warrior HOF
Published 9:13 pm Friday, April 30, 2021
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders Happy Valley High School Principal Doug Mitchell (far right) welcomes everyone to the 2021 Happy Valley High School Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders Greg Barnett, Greg Goulds and Steve Barnett
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders Janet Grant
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders Janet Grant & HVHS Coach Chuck Babb
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders Mike Rader & HVHS Coach Chuck Babb
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders Mike Williams presented by Greg Goulds
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders Shelby Miller and Larry Brown
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders Teddy Wayne McKeehan and F.D. Spaller
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BY IVAN SANDERS
STAR SPORTS EDITOR
ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com
It is one thing for an athlete or coach to have an illustrious career at a school and another for that person to be enshrined in the school’s Hall of Fame where future students and athletes will remember their contribution to the school during their time walking the halls and sitting in the classroom while running the fields, tracks, and courts where others have predated their time at the school.
The Happy Valley Hall of Fame got just a little larger recently with a new class of inductees being enshrined on Warrior Hill.
Star Sports will take a look at those Warriors who were added to the current members of the Warrior Hall of Fame in today’s Weekend Edition and in the upcoming Wednesday Edition.
Mike Rader
1978-79 Teacher and Coach at HVMS. Coached an undefeated 7th-grade boys basketball team.
1979-2004 HVHS Teacher / Coach / Administrator.
Started off as 9th-grade boys basketball and assistant football coach.
1981-2000 Head Coach of Lady Warrior Basketball team.
Overall record of 403 wins and 221 losses.
District Champs three times and Regional Champion once.
Went 5-0 in substate games.
Played in five state championships.
Record in state games was two wins and five losses.
Lost in the 1989 Championship game to Cannon County.
Had six girls that were either All-State, All-State Tournament, or both.
Twelve girls went on to play college ball locally or as far away as West Pointe.
District Coach of the Year in 1989.
State Coach of the Year in 1989.
Principal from 2000-2004.
Coached Gatlinburg-Pittman girls basketball team from 2004 to 2010.
Retired from Pigeon Forge High School as an administrator in 2017.
Janet Renfro Grant
Graduated from HVHS in 1956.
Was a cheerleader, the sports editor of the newspaper staff, and participated in numerous clubs and activities.
Loved to sing and being in plays and named Most Talented girl of her senior class.
Received the DAR award during her senior year and graduated fifth in her class.
Graduated from ETSU in 1960 and married Bob Grant in October of 1961.
Hired to teach English at Happy Valley spending first two years at the old high school located in front of HVE.
Moved to new high school on Warrior Hill in 1962 where she sang “Bless this House”.
In 1969 left teaching to take care of her mother who was bedridden and became a mother herself.
Resumed teaching career in 1978 at HVMS teaching English and Math.
Returned to HVHS in fall of 1979 where she remained until her retirement in 2002.
Was the junior class sponsor for many years.
Sponsored the drama club, taught drama classes, and directed many plays including “Li’l Abner”, “Annie Get Your Gun”, and “The Glass Menagerie”.
Her personal favorite was “Our Town” which was the final play before her retirement.
She joins her father, Dave Renfro, and brother Coach Richard “Dickie” Renfro as a member of the Happy Valley Hall of Fame.
Shelby Miller
Graduated from Happy Valley in 1963 where he played basketball, baseball, and ran track.
Graduated from Tusculum College and retired from Inland Container as a Quality Manager.
TSSAA Official for 55 years.
Officiated high school basketball for 25 years.
Officiated 16 District Tournaments, 15 Regional Tournaments, 11 Sub-State Tournaments, Girls State Tournament, and Boys State Tournament.
Officiated high school football for 55 years and still working on the field.
Officiated football play of games for 45 consecutive years including five state football championship games.
Awards include the TSSAA A.F. Bridges District 1 Official of the Year.
Inducted into the Carter County Sports Hall of Fame.
Inducted into the National Foundation Mountain Empire Chapter Hall of Fame.
Will be inducted into the TSSAA Hall of Fame in Nashville in July.
Elected for two terms on the Elizabethton City Council.
Married to Creola Brown Miller.
Greg Goulds
In 1971 transferred to Happy Valley from Science Hill.
Participated in basketball, baseball, and track from 1971 to 1972.
All-Conference honors in basketball in 1971 and 1972 playing for head coach Charlie Bayless.
All-Conference in 1972.
Scored 16 points to defeat former teammates at Science Hill in 1972.
In baseball named 1971-1972 All-Conference as well as all Upper East Tennessee in 1971.
Lost only two games as a pitcher at Happy Valley.
Struck out 18 batters twice along with one no-hitter.
Had a game-winning base hit in the bottom of the seventh inning defeating Unaka for the Watauga Conference Championship in 1971.
Won the Watauga Conference Track Long Jump Championship on his first jump in 1972.
Played baseball at Milligan College on a scholarship for Harold Stout for four years.
Graduated from Happy Valley in 1972 and from Milligan College with a BA degree in Health and Physical Education in 1976.
Graduated from ETSU with a Master’s Degree in Supervision and Administration in 1984.
Taught in the Carter County School System from 1976-1985 at Happy Valley Middle School, Happy Valley High School, and Cloudland High School.
Taught in the Washington County Schools from 1985 to 1990 at Daniel Boone High School.
Johnson City Schools from 1991 to 2007 where he worked at Science Hill High School working mainly with at-risk students. Retired in 2007 after 30 years in education.
Coached Happy Valley Middle School football and basketball from 1976 to 1978.
Cloudland High School head boys basketball coach from 1979 to 1981.
Happy Valley High School football, basketball, head baseball coach from 1982 to 1985.
Daniel Boone High School assistant boys basketball from 1986 to 1990.
Science Hill High School boys assistant basketball back-to-back State Championships in 1994-1995, Girls head coach in basketball, softball head coach, and baseball assistant coach from 1991-2007.
Crossnore School for Children Girls head basketball coach from 2010 to 2013.
Currently girls basketball varsity assistant at Science Hill High School.
Softball assistant junior varsity coach with daughter Kortney Caldwell at Science Hill High School.
Mike Williams
Graduated in 1972 from Happy Valley.
All Watauga Conference and honorable mention All-State as a senior.
Led the Warriors in scoring in his junior and senior years which led to a playing career at Lees McRae College.
After his playing career at Lees McRae, he started his teaching and coaching career where he was a head coach for 21 seasons. He steered Morristown East, David Crockett, and Unicoi County to 330 wins and had eight 20-win seasons.
He won 20 games coaching at each school at least once.
He led Morristown East to its only state tournament appearance in 1979.
While at Unicoi County, he coached the Blue Devils to back-to-back state tournament appearances in 1985 and 1986. His 1986 team made the semi-finals.
He led Morristown East twice to the sectional semi-final.
Teddy Wayne McKeehan
Graduated from Happy Valley in 1974.
Track All-Conference, All-District, All-Region, and Runner up in the Jr. Olympics.
Football All-Conference, All-District, and honorable mention All-State.
Basketball All-Conference, All-District, All-Region, All-State, and helped to lead the Warriors to State Championship.
After graduation from ETSU started his coaching career at Cherokee County, GA.
Coached seven years at Volunteer High School – two years as the head basketball coach.
The last 36 years, he has owned his own lawn care business.
Teddy Wayne McKeehan is truly one of HV’s greatest.
Jimmy Jones
1970 State golf champion as a 15-year-old sophomore.
Two-time Region 1 champion with a three-under 69 to help HV achieve a third-place finish behind D-B and Science Hill.
Shot rounds of 73 and 72 in Nashville to win state. First player from the area to win it all.
In 1972, shot a 72 to win the regional. TIed for third place in the state tournament, shooting back-to-back rounds of 73.
Played for East Tennessee State, emerging as a key contributor. Played on the 1975 NCAA tournament team that achieved a top-10 national ranking.
