RISON - Connie Keese and Jeff Wilson have been added to the executive board of the Rison High School Sports Hall of Fame, director Brian Phillips has announced.Keese and Wilson will join John Phillips, Scotty Holderfield, Stan Sadler and Willie Bea Brandon on the executive board. Brian Phillips said the executing board is responsible for creating a list of finalists from among the Hall of Fame nominations submitted by members of the Rison Booster Club. Those nominations can include individual athletes, teams, coaches and/or contributors worthy of induction into the Rison Sports Hall of Fame.Members of the Rison Booster Club then vote on the nominees included on the list of finalists selected by the executive board. The winners are inducted into the Hall of Fame during the annual spring banquet.“The board spends a lot of time comparing statistics on each potential nominee to select ones that not only were great athletes but who also are community minded and are still deeply rooted in Rison’s tremendous history,” Brian Phillips said.The Rison Sports Hall of Fame has inducted two classes so far with the third class to be inducted in the spring 2027.Here is some background on the two newest executive board members: Connie KeeseConnie Dixon Keese is a 1985 graduate of Rison High School.She played basketball for the Lady Wildcats earning All-District and All-County honors in both junior high and high school as well as Letter “R” awards all three years. She also ran track in junior high earning Letter “R” awards each year.She and her husband, Stephen Keese, are the parents of Cole Keese, another Rison alum who played football and baseball for the Wildcats in junior high and high school. Cole and his wife, Laynie, another Rison graduate, have continued the family’s strong connection to the community.Connie has devoted the past 20 years of her professional career to...
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