Kevin Scarbinsky
The Gulf Coast Athletic Club opened its November 6, 2023 meeting in the Clubhouse at Craft Farms Golf Resort at 7:00pm. President George Autrey welcomed the crowd of 58 members and guests. He said our original speaker, Jim Nagy, Executive Director of the Senior Bowl, was unable to attend as he would be hand-delivering a 2024 Senior Bowl invitation to a SEC Quarterback. George said a former speaker, Kevin Scarbinsky, graciously accepted a last-minute invite and would be here shortly from Birmingham.
New members and guests were introduced and welcomed.
The Prolific Pigskin Prognosticator contest, or Office Football Pool, only has 4 weeks left and it’s getting tight at the top. Week 9 saw Kevin Corcoran, the Voice of the GSHS Dolphins, have an almost perfect week with 13 of 14 possible points. Week 10 saw There Went the Irish and your Editor, Battleship60, hit the 10 mark. Fletchakl or Ken Fletcher is still in control!
Gulf Shores Athletic Director Paul Wilson gave the Gulf Shores High School Dolphins report. Football is now 10-0. Dolphins are ranked #1 in 5A. They will be hosting the first round of the AHSAA Playoffs this Friday against Beauregard, a decent football team. Volleyball lost in the State tourney and Swimming qualified 15 for State!! Cross Country was second in the Sectionals. Both Boys and Girls Basketball has started. GO, DOLPHINS!!
The 2023 GCAC Golf Tournament was hugely successful. With revenues of approximately $27,585 and expenses of $11,850, the net $17,000 plus will be used for this year’s scholarships for our Male and Female Scholar/Athletes. 88 players, including the GSHS Golf Team, participated. David Lee thanked the Committee, Fred Dickinson, who always works tirelessly, Taylor Means, David Harper, and himself, plus several others. Major sponsors included our Presenting Sponsor, Kitty’s Kafe, Beverage Cart Sponsor, Ferrell Family Dental, Golf Cart Sponsor, The Sloop Restaurant, and Maids of Mischief as the Silent Auction Sponsor. Hole sponsors, Tee sponsors, and Gift Sponsors all contributed greatly and were recognized with placards on each table.
Team Reports and the Crying Towel were again handled with deft precision by Dec McClellan, who made a fan out of our Guest Speaker, who claimed Dec was a hard act to follow. After much lamenting and griping from the assembled crowd, this week’s Crying Towel was awarded to LSU as the “Bayou Bengals get trampled by Jalen Millreaux” 42-28.”
Our returning speaker was Kevin Scarbinsky, who has had a 40 plus year career in sports reporting, podcasts, etc. for, first the Birmingham News, then AL.com, and others. He currently has a podcast and a newsletter, all available for $5 per month. Always entertaining, Kevin took in many of the changes from 2016, when he was last here, to the present day. For instance, Auburn’ current Head Coach in 2023 was the Head Coach of Ole Miss in 2016. Coach Saban’s OC in 2016 is now the Head Coach at Ole Miss. Very cool to hear from whence the SEC and other have evolved. He delighted the crowd with great stories of Saban, Kirby, Hugh, Gus, and more. He needs to come back more often.
The $107 50-50 prize was awarded to Tom Sweatt, the Club’s resident Vanderbilt fan.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:45pm.
