Star Staff Reports
Annual Ricky Fayne Classic Tribute was held at Brighton High School Saturday with seven teams invited by Brighton Cardinal Head Coach Stan Gatlin and his team.
The host Cardinals closed out the day hosting Tipton Christian. The first contest of the day was a one-point thriller between the Ripley Tigers and Millington Trojans with the Tigers on the winning side.
The MHEA Eagles took on the Liberty Tech Crusaders and the Munford Cougars faced the challenge of the Fayette-Ware Wildcats.
There throughout the day was the guest of honor and the namesake Ricky Fayne.
Gatlin’s wife Demeka took a moment to recognize Fayne and read about his legacy in athletics and education in Tipton County.
“I would like to Welcome you to the annual Ricky Fayne classic and thank you for joining us in honoring and showing appreciation to Mr. Ricky Fayne, Sr. Please allow me to share a few things about our honoree.
Mr. Fayne, Sr. was born and raised in Brighton, Tenn., where he also attended Brighton High School and was named Mr. BHS. As a student at Brighton High School, he played basketball, earning All-District, All-Region and Honorable Mention All-State honors in 1971-72. He then went on to attend Memphis State University where he played ball in the 1974 Final Four with Larry Finch. He received his BBA in 1976, his Bachelor of Science in Education in 1981, his Masters in Education in 1987, and 45 hours above a Masters in 1990. The best decision he could have made in his life was to marry the most beautiful woman in his world, Ms. Kentha Fayne, whom he has been married to for 40 years. Together they have two amazing children, Vickie and Ricky Fayne, Jr.
In addition to his immediate family, he’s also a member of Mt. Tipton CME Church.
Between all of this time, one of the most important things he has done was become a member of the best fraternity to exist, THE Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. Some of his other accomplishments throughout his career included him being a principal, and an administrator at the board. He also served as the Director of Operations. In this capacity, he was in charge of a plethora of responsibilities and all classified staff including furniture, maintenance, transportation, construction, food service, discipline, principal’s, and athletics, as well as holding the title of Chief Negotiator for the negotiating team.
Today he is retired and enjoying life. Mr. Fayne, Sr. is certainly a pillar of the community and is well known to all. With that being said, please stand to your feet and give a warm welcome and loud handclaps of appreciation to Mr. Ricky Fayne, Sr. Thank you for your service.”
