Page 22 - South Mississippi Living - February, 2019

COASTNOTES
Tommy Snell
Snell Named
GOLF COACH OF THE YEAR
story and photo courtesy of
TMississippi Gulf Coast Community College
he Golf Coaches Association of America has named Mississippi Gulf
Coast Community College’s Tommy Snell the Dave Williams Coach of the Year
presented by Golf Pride Grips.
“It’s something to be honored by the people who voted you in. You just kind of are at a loss for words,” Snell said. “It’s such an honor to be recognized that way.”
Golf Pride Grips presented the awards during the Hall of Fame Banquet at the GCAA National Convention
in Las Vegas. Snell led the Bulldogs to the program’s first national championship in 2018 when the team
shot 9-under to win the NJCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship by one shot. It was the team’s fifth win in 13 events, with another five second-place finishes. They never finished outside the top four and won the District D Championship, the school’s tenth region/ district win in the last 11 years.
Snell previously was named a Williams Award recipient in 2008, and won the Central District Coach of the Year Award. He has coached at MGCCC since 2000, and was inducted into the NJCAA Men’s Golf Coaches Hall of Fame.
www.mgcccbulldogs.com
Boney Named
NIOLON TEACHER OF THE YEAR
story by Lynn Lofton photos courtesy of Ocean Springs Education Foundation
P ecan Park Elementary School first grade teacher Tiersa Boney was chosen for
the seventh Niolon Teacher of the Year Award by the Ocean Springs Education
Foundation.
In making the announcement, Foundation President Leslie Kelley said, “This year’s recipient was nominated not once, but three times by students Parker Hintz, Mallory Talley and Cohen DeBuysere.
She receives a personal check for $500 and a $2,500 award that can be used in the classroom or for professional development.”
Boney also receives a personalized plaque and is listed as the 2018 recipient on an awards plaque displayed at the Central Office.
Teachers across the district are nominated for the annual award by a current or former student. The award is named in memory of Jan Niolon, who was
an active parent in the school district and served on
the foundation board as treasurer. Her daughter Piper (then a 7th grader), had written an essay regarding how a teacher had made a difference in her life when she taught her back in first grade. A week later, Jan and Piper were involved in a tragic accident that took both their lives.
Tiersa Boney