By the time students finish school, they’ve had dozens of teachers.
Some make good memories, others not so much.
“After 50 years, I had a lot of teachers, and I can say there are a few memorable ones,” Crossett School District Board of Education member Eddie Goodson said. “Every student (Bobby Richardson) had remembers him.”
Richardson was a long-time educator in the Crossett School District. He also coached the Crossett High School track and field team to 18 state championships. Those championships were so closely paced together that between 1975 and 1989 the team claimed 14. Under his tutelage, four cross country teams also claimed state titles. Richardson was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.
Off the track, he was a math teacher, a position he kept until the end of the 2001 school year.
For years, members of the community have suggested that the track at Yarbrough Field be named in his honor. And for much of that time, Richardson has rejected the suggestion.
“I have been approached numerous times in my seven years (on the board),” CSD board member Katie Jordan said, speaking of the community’s desire to name the track in the former coach’s honor. “In the past, board members have shared that Coach Richardson had asked that it not take place because he did not want to bring the attention to himself.”
Now, however, Jordan said that she’s been told this year that Richardson’s family was ready for the honor.
When Jordan took the matter to the other members of the board, they voted unanimously to name the track after Richardson.
“He is a special person to me, he and his family, so I think it really ought to be a big deal (when the track is dedicated),” board member Keith Carter said.
Superintendent of Schools Gary Williams said that the school district will plan a formal event to recognize Richardson.
“I think it is a good thing,” Williams said. “He is highly respected locally, and respected around the state, the kind of teacher we want all our children to have.”
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