Coach “Stu”Smith to Speak March 5th Program at Old Independence Regional Museum (Posted by Ginger Smith)
Coach “Stu”Smith to Speak March 5th Program at Old Independence Regional Museum
The second sports-related program in Old Independence Regional Museum’s 2017 series on that subject will be held at 2 p.m. on March 5. Bruce Johnston, program chair, announced, “We are pleased to welcome Coach Stuart Smith as our guest speaker in our continuing series of programs under the regional exhibit title “Our Teams-Our Pride.”
Coach Smith has fashioned a distinguished career, almost exclusively at Batesville High School. He has served the athletic program as a football, baseball and girls track coach since his arrival in 1982. During that time he has coached eleven state championship teams, plus teams under his direction have won 31 district championships. He is a two-time Diamond Sports Region 6 Coach of the Year and he has been recognized with conference, state, and regional coaching honors. He is also a member of the Batesville Area and Lyon College Athletic Halls of Fame.
Johnston shared, “Back in the days when Newport and Batesville played out their rivalry on the football field every Turkey Day (Thanksgiving Day) afternoon, Coach Smith could be seen guiding the Batesville team. He coached in 26 of those contests, more than anyone in either community.”
During this program, Coach Smith will share his thoughts about great athletes with connections to Batesville and the surrounding area. To discover who some of those “greats” were, the museum invites the public to gather for his program.
Twyla Gill Wright said, “If you didn’t get to attend our first program this year because it was on Super Bowl Sunday, come to this one and see our new exhibit. People are already voicing how many memories the exhibit has brought to their minds. And remember, our monthly sports programs are a prelude to our museum hosting the Smithsonian Institution’s “Hometown Teams, How Sports Shape America” traveling exhibit, starting this December in our museum.”
The program will be free and open to the public. Normal museum hours are: Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $3.00 for adults, $2.00 for seniors and $1.00 for children. The museum is located at 380 South 9th street, between Boswell and Vine Streets in Batesville.
Old Independence is a regional museum serving a 12-county area: Baxter, Cleburne, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Marion, Poinsett, Sharp, Stone, White, and Woodruff. Parts of these present-day counties comprised the original Independence County in 1820’s Arkansas territory.
