Garrett and Yates inducted into Athletic Hall of Fame
Wayne Garrett '61 and former faculty Ms. Mary Frank Yates were honored for their contributions to the School's basketball program.
Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School inducted two of its athletic greats into the School’s Athletic Hall of Fame during Homecoming Weekend.
Mr. Wayne Garrett ‘61 and former faculty member Ms. Mary Frank Yates were honored Saturday, October 26. Both have connections to basketball - Mr. Garret was a standout basketball player, and Ms. Yates served for decades as the official basketball scorekeeper for Rabun Gap. They are the first Hall of Fame honorees at Rabun Gap since 2013.
Athletic Director Dale Earnhardt presented the awards in the Carton Board Room while a large crowd of more than 70 alumni, family, and friends supported the Hall of Fame honorees.
Known by many as the best athlete to come out of Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, Mr. Garrett was a force to be reckoned with on the basketball court. He played all four years of high school and was a member of the 1961 team that won the 4-B North playoffs. After his impressive high school stint, Mr. Garrett continued his basketball career at Piedmont College and was named MVP there.
Fellow alum and former teammate Varney Watson talked of Mr. Garrett’s innate basketball knowledge and how he plyaed as a team player.
“He’s what they call a total package. There wasn’t much he couldn’t do. We all looked up to him,” Mr. Watson said. “It was amazing how he contributed to and how well he represented this school. This award is well earned and well deserved.”
Ms. Yates taught mathematics at Rabun Gap for 40 years and was an integral part of the basketball program as the team’s scorekeeper.
She was described at the ceremony by Mr. Mike Cook ‘71 as a teacher devoted to her students, as reflected by the large number of alumni who showed up to honor her. He remembered Ms. Yate’s great sense of humor, commitment to doing things the right way, and her famous catchphrase - “Now we’re cookin’ with Crisco.”
“While she was doing the incredibly good job she did, you could always count on her sense of humor. There was always a way to do things, and even if you knew the job was difficult, Mary Frank would make it where it moved along smoothly,” said Mr. Cook.
The Hall of Fame induction is set to be an annual Homecoming tradition at Rabun Gap.
Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School
.png){kind=logo}
Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School is a private, coeducational day and boarding school for grades Pre-K through 12. Centrally located between Atlanta, GA, Greenville, SC, and Asheville, NC, we prepare young people for college, career, and a lifetime of leadership and service.
