Adams enters final month as Gaston County AD

GASTONIA - If there's one thing that Butch Adams emphasized most as athletic director of Gaston County Schools, it was athlete safety.

"It's gotten better every year," Adams said. "We have the heat monitors to look after the children, we have the lightning monitors ... and we developed an emergency action plan."

Those are the things that make Adams proud as he reflects on his 10-year stint as county AD, which will soon come to an end. Adams, 64, plans to retire on July 31. A replacement has not been announced.

A Gaston County native, Adams has worked in his home county his entire career, spending 40 years in education through various positions, including teacher, coach, principal and athletic director.

"Any time you've been in it as long as I have, you sit back and think, is it time? And this year, it was time," Adams said.

"It's been a pleasure and I have a lot of reservations about leaving. But at the same time I think it's time to move on."

Adams looks forward to working in the yard, golfing and spending more time with his parents. Adams said there were no other reasons for his departure. In fact, he said he had no complaints from Day 1 of his career.

The 1963 Ashley High School graduate began teaching in 1968 at Lowell. Two years later, he got his coaching start at Holbrook Junior High, coaching football, baseball and junior varsity basketball. After seven years, he went to South Point High, where he was a head track and wrestling coach and assistant coach in football and junior varsity basketball.

While at South Point, Adams stepped into administration as assistant principal, a position he eventually took at East Gaston. Later, he became principal at Mount Holly Junior High, North Gaston High and Warlick School. Adams was twice named Gaston County Schools principal of the year.

After leaving education for a year, Adams returned as an interim vocational counselor at Forestview High, and then accepted his current position in the county office.

Under Adams' oversight, Gaston County Schools purchased heat monitors and lightning detectors for each school, helping coaches determine when it's safe to hold practices and contests. Adams has also worked to make every coach certified in CPR and to put an Automated External Defibrillator in each school.

Adams said his biggest regret was an inability to boost coaches' pay.

"They're just too doggone low," he said. "Compared to other counties, we're below average and I hate we didn't make more progress in that area."

Despite their low pay, the county's middle and high school athletic directors were a privilege to work with, Adams said.

"They're a really cooperative group with each other," Adams said. "They work well together and they have to work well together."

You can reach Phillip Gardner at 704-869-1843.