A student and two coaches will have Columbus school facilities named in their honor

The Muscogee County School District unanimously approved requests for facilities to be named in honor of a deceased student and two retired coaches at its monthly meeting Tuesday night.

The black box theater in Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts will be named for Alexis Jayne “Lexy” McRae, who was 15 when she died Feb. 8. She used her four years and four months of battling osteosarcoma to advocate for childhood cancer treatment and research.

The athletics complex at Shaw High School will be named for Charles Flowers, who is one of only six head coaches in Georgia High School Association history to win two state championships in the same school year (football in 2000, baseball in 2001).

The softball field at Shaw will be named for Deborah Cheek “Debbie” Ball, who compiled a 584-232 record in 30 years as the softball head coach at Shaw and in 2006 became the first female athletics director at Shaw and in MCSD history.

Here’s more information about the three honorees:

Lexy McRae

Lexy served as Rally Kid for the Rally Foundation, which raises money for childhood cancer research. Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta honored her with the 2023 Heart of Gold Award for friendship to other children battling cancer.

She helped put national attention on health insurance problem when her family’s Medicaid waiver was denied without explanation, but Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp restored it after she wrote him a letter.

Despite her health struggles, Lexy excelled in dancing, acting, singing and academics.

At Rainey-McCullers, where she was an honor roll student, Lexy had lead roles in shows, was a member of an award-winning cast, won the Rising Phenix Award for strength of character and determination to overcome and achieve, served as Thespians troupe president for middle school theater and was a member of the Reading Bowl team and National Junior Honor Society.

Lexy won multiple regional and national dance awards with Performance Dance Centre, and she danced at Disney World as a Disney Young Performer. She also participated in programs at the Family Theatre and the Springer Theatre Academy.

Rainey-McCullers principal Briant Williams told the MCSD board during Tuesday night’s meeting, “Truly, she has been an example to us all, an absolute superhero of a person, with superheroes for a family in mom and dad and (brother) Peyton.”

Lexy was “not just an example of what it meant to be a scholar but someone who, if tenacity was a person, it would be Alexis McRae,” Williams said. “She made a difference, a huge impact in our community, in our state, at the highest government level and certainly made an impact in our school and our theater program as well.

“This is a way to not just keep her memory with us and alive for generations to come but to also set a standard of expectations and excellence for the students.”

Lexy’s mother, Katy McRae, told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email, “A special part of Alexis will live on in the walls of the theatre and school she loved so much. Her legacy and love for theatre, dance, music, and education will be shared with future students, staff, and community. We know Alexis would be equally shocked and humbled, but most of all she’d be thankful and that is exactly how we feel: thankful.”

Debbie Ball

Ball was among the first group of teachers at Shaw when the school opened in 1978. For the next 30 years, she served Shaw in numerous capacities, including head coach of cheerleading, swimming, wrestling, basketball and softball teams. She also chaired the physical education department (1987-89 and 2006-08) and served as athletics director (2006-08).

Shaw principal Sureya Hendrick wrote in her letter to the MCSD board that Ball was “instrumental in developing the Shaw Raider culture which stressed the core values of hard work, perseverance, integrity, discipline, and good sportsmanship.”

Ball coached Shaw’s fast-pitch softball program to 15 region or runner-up titles, 15 state sectional appearances, 10 state rankings and a second-place finish in the 2000 state tournament. In slow-pitch softball, her teams were state-ranked twice and finished second in the 1986 state tournament.

Off the field, Ball was a leader among coaches around the state. She served as president (2007-08) and vice president (2003-07) of the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association and as a member of the Georgia High School Association executive committee (2008-12).

Ball was inducted into the GACA Hall of Fame (2016) and the Chattahoochee Valley Sports Hall of Fame (2005).

She was the 2011-12 GACA Region 4-A Softball Coach of the Year (when she coached at Brookstone School), the 2004-05 Fellowship of Christian Athletes West Georgia Women’s Coach of the Year and the 2000-01 GACA Class AAAA Softball Coach of the Year.

After retiring, Ball served as a volunteer assistant coach at Glenwood School, helping her son, Dusty Perdue, coach the softball team to four Alabama Independent School Association state championships (2015-17 and 2019).

Hendrick said Ball “epitomizes the spirit of Shaw Raider nation. Through the years, her countless selfless acts have benefited the Shaw High School community and continues through each decade to have a profound impact on our students, the staff, the alumni, the parents and the Raider nation.”

Ball told the Ledger-Enquirer in a text message, “I feel very honored, blessed and thank God for many wonderful memories. Thankful to Shaw High’s Dr. Hendrick and AD Blair Harrison as well as the MCSD School Board for this honor.

“A lot of blood, sweat, and tears was put into that field by me and the Coach Ball (her late husband, Bubba Ball), as well as our athletes, both girls and many times boys and other coaches. I owe it all to athletes who worked as hard as I did, outstanding assistant coaches, great parents who met all of our needs, and an administration and Shaw teachers who supported me, our athletes and Shaw softball 100%.”

Ball called Shaw her home away from home.

“It was fun watching a well-oiled machine run to success all those years,” she said.

Charles Flowers

Flowers coached football and baseball at Georgia high schools for 29 years. He served as a coach and administrator at West Point High School, Shaw, Dougherty and Troup.

In 22 seasons as a head football coach, Flowers’ teams went 172-81 and won eight region titles, one state championship and two state semifinal appearances. He helped 177 players receive college scholarships and eight play in the NFL.

In 28 seasons as a head baseball coach, Flowers’ teams went 429-180 and won one state championship, two state runner-up finishes and two region titles. He helped 80 players receive college scholarships, 14 become Major League Baseball draft selections and four reach the Major Leagues.

Flowers served as Shaw’s athletics director and the first AD in MCSD history. In 2005, Columbus Mayor Bob Poydasheff honored him with a key to the city and a day proclaimed in his honor.

He was inducted into the Chattahoochee Valley Sports Hall of Fame (2017) and the Fort Valley State University Athletic Hall of Fame (2015).

Beyond the field, Flowers is a leader in education. He cofounded Second Chance W.O.R.K.S., a restorative justice mentorship program for students and parents.

Hendrick wrote in her letter to the MCSD board, “His countless selfless acts have and will continue to have a profound impact on the students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni, and the global Raider community.”

Flowers told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email, “It is truly an honor to have the athletic complex named in honor of me. I realize that many teachers, coaches, parents, student-athletes and school administrators and the community all contributed to the many successful years that we are celebrating.

“I can truly say that we epitomized academic and athletic excellence on and off the field. My family and extended family (my former players) all appreciate this prestigious honor.”