Photo Credit: NAYS
Many years ago, Ken Koonce returned to his hometown of Kinston, N.C., for Christmas, where he received one of the best gifts a recreation professional could ask for—a thank you for a life he impacted through the power of sports.
Walking through a mall one December day, he noticed a tall, well-built young man coming toward him. He learned that the man swam on Ken’s youth team many years before. Ken was stunned by what happened next.
“He proceeded to tell me that it was because of me and the positive things I told him about life, morals, good grades, making something of oneself, and making your parents proud that he went on and graduated high school, went to college and played basketball, was coaching, married, and had two daughters of his own,” Koonce says. “Now he is being a role model.”