Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Highland Park ISD to honor former basketball coach

By Pegasus News wire

Bo Snowden, fondly remembered by many Highland Park Scots as an outstanding basketball coach, teacher, and athletic director, will be honored for his invaluable contribution to the district before the boys’ varsity basketball game Dec. 21.

HPISD School Board President Jeff Barnes played for Coach Snowden.

“I greatly admire Coach Snowden and will always remember him as leader with a steady demeanor who earned the respect of all of those of us who played for him and learned from him,” Barnes said,

Like Barnes, former Athletic Department administrative assistant Clarice Hilburn remembers Coach Snowden’s respectful ways, along with his playful side.

“He would never call me Clarice. It was always Mrs. Hilburn,” she said. “He also knew the importance of having fun, and I can remember a few of his pranks. For years, I was in charge of selling the tickets for all the games. One thing he loved to do, even after he retired, was to get on the phone and disguise his voice and say he’d like two tickets on the fifty-yard line in the best chairs in the stadium. After awhile, I got to where I could recognize his voice, thank goodness!”

Scots Head Coach David Piehler has invited Coach Snowden’s former players, managers, and his many friends to the celebration, which will begin at 4:30 p.m. at the HPHS cafeteria. He will also be honored on court just before the varsity game begins at 7:30 p.m.

“We’d like everyone to bring letters, pictures, or mementos to be included in a scrapbook we are putting together for him,” Piehler said.

Snowden began his teaching career at Denison High School, then joined HPISD in 1968 as an American History teacher and head basketball coach. His coaching record stands at 393-133. He retired from the district in 1996 and spent five years as a coach and athletic director at Providence Christian School.

Snowden and his wife Judy have three children. Daughter Julianna is a teacher at Covenant Presbyterian School in Nashville, Tenn. Son Travis and his wife Kelly are both teachers in Springtown, Texas, where Travis also coaches. Daughter Melissa and her husband Robert Turner reside in HPISD and have three children: Ashley, a first-grader at UP Elementary; Clark, 4 years old, and Daniel, 1 year old.

Source: HPISD

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