Vickey Ritchie is Mom to many, and Sheila Harris is called Mother by three rather impressive young ladies.
Shelia Harris is living the dream of any Mother this week, and her joy spreads across all three of her Kiddos!
Today is the 178th commencement 🎓 service at Emory & Henry. This moment belongs to the middle daughter, Natalie Harris. It was right after we moved here that a trip to E & H was made to document the signing day for the one that I dubbed ” Jan Brady.”
Natalie was following in the footsteps 👣 of her Big sister, Adrienne Harris. Adrienne went from The Hill to E &H with two dreams to chase. Goal ⚽️ #1- continue her soccer career at the next level and Goal #2 – earn her degree in hopes of returning to Carroll County and following in the footprints 👣 of her Mother, Shelia.
Shelia Bunn and Marion Harris raised three children. It’s still a mystery to many about what Marion said way back when to secure the hand ✋️of this young Lady.
Adrienne Harris McGuire received the highest honor 🎖 that an elementary school teacher can earlier this week when she was named Teacher of the Year at Hillsville Elementary School. Last night, at Tommy Thompson Field Coach McGuire hosted a send-off of her second senior class.
Coach handled the event with as much class as a parent of one of the six young student athletes could hope for.
Speaking of proud parents from last night, Shelia Harris was one of the half dozen moms participating in the ceremony. Callie ” Half Pint ” Harris is finishing up her four years on The Hill, and the 5’2 spark plug has somehow managed to match the determination of her two older sisters.
Breaking the trend of the Harris girls, the little one just signed her letter of intent at Ferrum College
Callie with her Basketball 🏀 teammates on signing day.
Shelia has an extra burden similar to the likes of Mrs Greg Bolen, Mama Smoot, Myranda Burress, and even my own bride 👰♀. Being the spouse of a cartoon like character is not always easy and involves a great deal of rolling ones eyes.
Inside of a seven day window 🪟, Shelia has witnessed the following, in no particular order :
Daughter #1, known on our site as ” The Future,” was honored 🎖 by her peers for her skill set in her classroom. She also has taken over the family business as the gatekeeper for Girls Soccer at CCHS.
Daughter #2 – Natalie Harris is minutes away from walking 🚶♀️across the stage to pick up piece of paper #1 of 2. Natalie came to E & H with a plan in mind and even managed to learn and play LaCrosse after her volleyball career ended.
Daughter #3 – Half Pint is now on her way to the next chapter. Graduation is weeks away now, and it would take a self standing story to list her accomplishments during her stay on The Hill. The first time, I realized that this young lady would not be held back by her lack of size, which took place in the winter of her sophomore year.
Alyssa Ervin and three fellow seniors were back for a third attempt to capture a State Championship in basketball. Veteran head coach Marc Motley was in need of a fifth starter, and it was Half Pint that earned the spot.
Shelia Harris might need oxygen by the end of the day Sunday, but thankfully, it will be Mother’s Day, so Marion will do his very best to show both his wife and his Mother 👩, that they are loved and appreciated.
The next Mother in the spotlight will be Vickey Ritchie. The road to E & H today went through Elk Creek because that is where Coach is working her magic 🎩 today
In closing, we see 👀 you, Mrs Shelia Harris and WOW !
Door 🚪 #1 – The Burcham Bunch is set to host the Galax Maroon Tide at 3 pm !
Door 🚪 # 2 – Vickey Ritchie will be taking some members of our Special Olympics program to the edge of the water.
Door 🚪 #3 – Dakota Walls Racing 🏁 will be up at Pulaski County Motorsports Park. Our sophomore will be in the field for the night 🌙 race 🏁.
Door 🚪 #4 – In our Saved by the Bell 🔔 segment, Miss Natalie Harris is set to receive her first college degree !Later on this morning, Travis Osborne and his Bible Verse of the Day!
Psalm 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.
I’m not sure that you could possibly have four events on the same day that could be any more diverse. A little something for everyone, one day ahead of Mother’s Day.
This weekend, Lance Burnett and his New River Community College teammates dropped a 4-3 decision that ended the dream season of the Muskies, just short of the Promise Land that is the Championship in Alton, Illinois.
The game was played on a field that I’m way too familiar with as it served as one of our numerous home away from home fields for West Virginia Tech University.
We go back to the beginning, every child who picks up a glove, bat, basketball, or soccer ball, dreams of playing the game for as long as possible. The final time that a person can put on a jersey varies from person to person, and there is a wide margin. John Elway will always have one of the greatest hang-ups of the spikes stories of All-Time.
But we all know that the Elway walk-off was a one in a billion type ferry tale, and some stories never made it past Rec Ball. Others make their way onto a middle school team or the next step up – Junior Varsity.
Sports are designed to be a safe place for our youth, but even at the beginning levels, it has become a challenge to protect the environment that the games are played in.
Back to the story about young Lance because he is the latest example of someone who grew up on The Hill, was educated by the teachers at our schools, coached up by some quality leaders. What is a success story ? Let’s go to the dictionary for some help with that question…
Lance, surrounded by family and friends, stopped at a McDonald’s yesterday evening, and while it wasn’t a grand ballroom or in front of cameras from the likes of ESPN but his words were nothing short of elegant.
Having eaten at every McDonald’s between Charleston and The Hill, I can picture the moment. Having met NRCC Head Coach Wes Adcock last week, there are options that would allow Burnett to pitch a third year. Our skipper at WVU-T, Lawrence Nesselrodt, would welcome a young man who has been a shining star both on and off the ball diamond 💎.
That’s the beauty of the Burnett story in itself. The baseball side of life doesn’t have to end right now because he has reached the end of the road. It’s time for Burnett to get on the road to the success away from the game.
The young man who Adcock describes with pride in his voice, the same young man that the staff openly believes, was the first Domino that led his program to its newfound heights, has been equally successful off the field.
Our 3 Muskies
Sydney Nester took her ability to throw a softball and turned into two degrees spread across six years. Nester story was equal parts drive, determination, and family roots. Going from The Hill to NC State and finally on to Marshall University. Knowing the road from Huntington to Laurel Fork, I’m sure that the Nesters have frequented the same McDonald’s as the Burnett sign off.
Let’s get to the third member of this trio, Adrienne Harris( McGuire). After four years on The Hill, Harris took her soccer talents over to Emory and Henry and worked on her degree. Due to the Covid outbreak, Harris had a window of opportunity to return to the Lady Wasps for a final season on the Pitch.
Instead, Harris returned to The Hill, traded her spikes for a whistle, and put her education to work in the classroom over at Hillsville Elementary School in a kindergarten class.
Nester maximized her playing career at Marshall with it ending just shy of the Herd making it out to Oklahoma City for the College World Series.
While we have masses that live and die with Cavalier sports. We have select residents who think sports are a waste of time but that’s the beauty of this particular story. It’s not a sports story!
This is an example of what can happen when a youngster is raised in a loving home and educated in our school system. Then they played a sport which had them being coached up by our staff.
Yesterday evening, a young man, born and raised here, set down his ballglove, and he did it with both elegance and grace. If you’re reading this and had an ounce to do with it, take a second and smile about your efforts.
A.S.P.N on The Hill 