Coach honored; learn more about local foundation

Today, the Gazette joins the community in paying tribute to the National High School Golf Coach of the Year for 2003. We're talking, of course, about Ron Coleman, the coach of one of the most successful golfing programs in Nebraska history.

In his 25 years as the McCook High School golf coach, the Bison have won seven state championships in team competition, including the last two --2003 and 2004 -- in successive years.

With this record of success, Coleman is exceptionally deserving of the national golf coaching award, which was announced in Feb. 24, 2004, by the National Federation of State High School Associations.

The three-page tribute to Coach Coleman appears on pages 9, 10 and 11 of today's newspaper. It is the start of a series of Community Tributes which will be appearing in the Gazette in coming months. Next in the series will be a tribute to Jeff Gross, who was named the Nebraska High School Boys Coach of the Year by the Omaha World-Herald. Jeff coaches the McCook High School Bison football team, which has won two consecutive Nebraska Class B state titles.

The tribute to Coach Gross will appear in late August, just before the start of the 2004 football season.

While Coach Coleman and Coach Gross are the ones receiving accolades, they will be the first to tell you that their success is the result of a team effort by student athletes, the coaching staff, the school system and the community.

We invite you to join in expressing appreciation to Coach Ron Coleman. His leadership has inspired golfing excellence in McCook for a quarter of a century.

We look forward to many more years of his teaching and coaching excellence.

Learn About the Foundation

Today's newspaper also offers an opportunity to learn more about the McCook Community Foundation, a still young fund which is gathering contributions for community projects in the McCook area.

In an eight-page newsletter which is inserted in today's Gazette, the foundation directors tell how the fund group was formed and discuss possible projects for the future.

The foundation also announces the selection of Denise Ringenberg as the fund's consultant. Denise will continue to serve as Housing Director for the McCook Economic Development Corp., but will be assisting the McCook Community Foundation on a part-time basis.

The newsletter is your opportunity to get better acquainted with the Community Foundation. Over the years, they have the potential to do a great amount of good for the McCook area.