Dedications, celebrations, and visitations:
The A. J. Huffman Memorial Athletic Center
Dedicated in loving memory of A. J. “Butch” Huffman ’67 by his friends and classmates.
The Johnson Field House
Dedicated in honor of George H. Johnson ’54.
The Robinson Natatorium
Dedicated in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Roby Robinson ’58.
The R. M. “Bull” Yankee Wrestling Room
Dedicated in honor and memory of Mr. R.M. “Bull” Yankee, who served Darlington as teacher, headmaster, and president from 1925-1971, and in loving memory of Mr. and Mrs. William A. Mitchell, Sr. ’25 by Mr. and Mrs. William A. Mitchell, Jr. ’58.
The Glenn Varsity Locker Room (Boys)
Dedicated in honor of Mr. Jack F. Glenn, Sr., Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Glenn ’60, Mr. and Mrs. J. Lewis Glenn ’64, Mr. and Mrs. P. Alston Glenn ’57, Mrs. Caroline Glenn Millican ’91, and in memory of Mr. John Glenn ’83.
The Yancey Hospitality Suite
Dedicated in honor of Joanne G. and Delos H. Yancey, Jr., Cynthia Y. ’75 and Michael E. Lester, Molly M. and Delos H. Yancey III ’77.
The Yancey Family Patio
Dedicated with affection to Grady Satterfield Lester ’04, Hope Elizabeth Lester ’06, Delos Harley Yancey IV ’07, Jack Fisher Yancey ’10, Mary Morgan Yancey ’12, Anderson Earl Boone, Cameron Yancey Boone by Joanne and Delos H. Yancey, Jr.
The E. L. Wright & Betty Wright Ledbetter Concourse
Dedicated in honor and memory of Dr. E. L. Wright, who served Darlington as teacher, headmaster, and president from 1920-1974, and with affection to Betty Wright Ledbetter by Mr. Robert H. Ledbetter, Sr. ’53, Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Ledbetter, Jr. ’84, Mr. E. Wright Ledbetter ’85, and Mr. David D. Ledbetter ’88.
The Blount Underpass
Dedicated in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel R. Blount ’65.
The Grizzard/Owens Aerobics Room
Dedicated in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Vernon D. Grizzard, Sr., Mr. and Mrs. Vernon D. Grizzard, Jr. ’71, Mr. and Mrs. Robert U. Grizzard ’73, Ms. Bonnie Grizzard ’77, and Mr. and Mrs. James A. Owens ’79.
The Healey Natatorium Observation Gallery
Dedicated in honor of Julie and Quill O. Healey ‘56.
The Daniel Track
Dedicated in memory of Robert H. Daniel, Jr. ’57 by Mrs. R. Hugh Daniel, Sr., Mr. and Mrs. William C. Daniel ’59, and the Daniel Foundation of Alabama.
The Worth S. Moser Training Room
Dedicated in honor and memory of Mr. Worth S. Moser, who served Darlington as teacher, coach, and headmaster from 1945-1984 by Mr. and Mrs. David M. Lacy ’49.
The Foley Varsity Locker Room (Girls)
Dedicated in honor of Ms. Sally Foley Hughston ’94 by Mrs. Frank D. Foley, Jr.
The Erwin Family Entrance Terrace & Atrium
Dedicated in honor of Paul and Marcy Erwin, Spencer J. Erwin ’97, Henry J. Erwin ’01, and Meggie Beth Erwin ’03.
The Zartic Concourse Lounge
Dedicated in honor of Mr. James E. Mauer, Ms. Tamara L. Mauer ’80, Mr. and Mrs. Christopher W. Mauer ’84, Mr. Jeffrey J. Mauer ’85 and Dr. Mary Margaret Mauer.
The Dudley Family Locker Room
Dedicated in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Jimmie G. Dudley, Jr., John P. and Deena C. Dudley, and Rome Tool & Die Company.
The Barron Family Locker Room (Girls)
Dedicated with affection to Ms. Mary Sue Barron ’04, Ms. Rebekah Anne Montgomery ’05, Ms. Mary Elizabeth Montgomery ’08, Ms. Emily Alexandra Barron ’09, and Ms. Hannah Lee Montgomery ’10 by Mr. and Mrs. W. Frank Barron, Jr. ’48.
The Donn Team Meeting Room
Dedicated in loving memory of Mr. James Donn, Jr. and in honor of Mary Anna Donn Fowler by Mr. and Mrs. Samuel A. Ely.
The Betts Locker Room (Boys)
Dedicated in memory of Oscar L. Betts ’19 by Mr. and Mrs. Oscar L. Betts III ’49.
The SunTrust Bank Ticket House
Dedicated in honor of SunTrust Bank of Northwest Georgia.
The Booster Club Concession Area
Dedicated in honor of the Darlington Athletic Booster Club.
The Sharp Office of Athletic Director
Dedicated in honor of Coach Jerry P. Sharp by Dr. and Mrs. J. Daniel Hanks, Jr. ’61, T’62 and Mr. J. Daniel Hanks III ’99.
The Wallis Display Area
Dedicated in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Timothy R. Wallis ‘69
The Finnell Display Area
Dedicated in honor of Kirtley A. Finnell ’03 by Mr. and Mrs. Robert K. Finnell III
The Corwin Coaches Office
Dedicated in honor of Mr. and Mrs. John T. Corwin and Ms. Stephanie M. Corwin ’03.
The Patton Officials Locker Room
Dedicated in loving memory of Mr. M. A. Nevin Patton, Jr. ‘35 by Mrs. M. A. Nevin Patton, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. M. A. Nevin Patton, III ’61, Mr. and Mrs. Haywood O. Patton ’65, Mr. and Mrs. S. Stephen Patton, Sr. and Family.
Three Tennis Courts
Dedicated in honor of Dr. and Mrs. John F. Sisley III ’69, T’71, Mr. John F. Sisley IV ’96, and in loving memory of Ms. Newcomb Morgan Sisley ’01.

A. J. Huffman '67 Memorial Athletic Center Spaces Huffman dedication, Parents Weekend


An array of campus activities brought nearly 500 parents, alumni, and other special guests to campus, the weekend of September 28. The combination of the dedication of the A. J. Huffman ’67 Memorial Athletic Center, Homecoming activities including a pre-game barbecue and post-game dance, and Parents Weekend activities kept the School hopping.

Nearly 1,500 guests, including Board of Trustees members, parents, alumni, faculty and staff, students in grades 4-12, and other special guests attended the Huffman Center Dedication in the Center’s performance gym, Friday morning. During the event, head prefects (student leaders) from each of the six Houses gave special recognition to Huffman Athletic Center donors. Also addressing the audience, Larry C. Williams ’67, Board of Trustees member reflected on A. J. (Butch) Huffman and the naming gift from the Class of 1967. “To the lucky students here today who have the privilege of enjoying this fantastic new addition to the Darlington campus, I want to stress the importance of the bonds, the friendships, the special relationships forged during your time together here at Darlington School,” Williams said. “These are friendships for life, they are special, and you should work hard to make them and keep them for the rest of your life. It is that special friendship that the members of the Class of ’67 felt for Butch Huffman and for each other that allowed us to pull together and help create this fabulous new facility in Butch’s memory.”[The complete text of Williams’ reflections follows this article.]

David Hicks, School president, followed Williams with dedicatory remarks, saying, “Every time we enter this building, we need to remember that Butch Huffman was loved at Darlington by his classmates and teachers for who he was, a marvelous individual with many God-given talents, with enthusiasm for life, and with great affection for his friends. So loved that he still inspires them to this day, many years after his death.”

“But Butch, let us remember, is not unique,” Hicks said. “He is sitting among us this morning. He is every Darlington student, just as Mr. J. J. Darlington is every Darlington teacher. This building reminds us that it is the people in this place, not its buildings, that make it so special and that make our joy here possible.” [The complete text of Hicks’ dedicatory remarks follow at the end of this article.]

Bob Berry ’64, Board of Trustees member, made a surprise announcement that the performance gym will now be known as the Van Es Arena, in honor of the School’s Middle School principal and boys varsity basketball head coach, Jim Van Es, by Trustee John W. Thatcher ’44. The honor recognizes Van Es’ roles serving Darlington since 1968 including teacher, coach, mentor, and Middle School principal (since 1977).

Coinciding with the dedication was the beginning of Parents Weekend which moved into full swing following the dedication with parent/teacher conferences throughout the afternoon and again on Saturday morning. Parents were also invited to attend the Homecoming Barbecue, which preceded the football game against Model (Darlington won, 38-14). Attendance at the barbecue totaled 500, the largest gathering of alumni, parents, and faculty and staff in memory.

Brother and sister Houses competed in production of the best spirit banner, with all three banners presented during halftime. Gibbons and Zimmer Houses’ banner was chosen as the best in the competition.

A new event was made possible this year, thanks to the new Huffman Athletic Center. Homecoming Dance was held immediately following the game in the Center’s Johnson Field House. About 200 alumni, parents, and students “cut a rug” to the beat of music provided by a disc jockey.

Continuing Parents Weekend activities included a goal-setting forum presented by Director of Personal Counseling Jill Pate and students and a showcase of presentations by faculty on Saturday morning.

Resident parents were invited to House parties on Saturday evening held in the homes of Rome parents, giving them an opportunity to hear what is happening in their children’s Houses and to get to know each other. About 150 parents, faculty and staff participated in this new event. The parties were hosted by: Gibbons House day parents Jack and Shields Harris, Griffeth House day parents Rob and Frances Edwards, Milford House day parents Sherry and Gene Davidson, Steadman House day parents Laura and Ken Davis, Zimmer House day parents CeCe and Tim Wallis, and Barnes House day parents Susan and Bob Hortman.

Weekend activities concluded with a campus church service and brunch on Sunday.


Reflections about A. J. Huffman by Larry C. Williams ’67
Thank you, David and all the head prefects for your kind words and introduction, but the real recognition should go to my fellow athletic center team members and the Class of ’67 for making this day and this ceremony possible.

Is this not exciting? What a “red letter” day in the history of Darlington School to be able to honor the memory of my great friend and classmate, Arnie Joseph Huffman, Jr. and finally dedicate this fabulous new athletic facility!

In addition to those individuals previously recognized, I’d also like to recognize Bob Zelle and David Lacy as my personal fund-raising mentors and whose ideas and support inspired many of us throughout this long process.

At this time, I’d like to ask the members of the Thornwood and Darlington classes of 1967 that are here with us today to stand (Villa Hizer, you need to stand up, too!) so that we may recognize them for their tremendous contribution and for creating this naming opportunity to honor the memory of our classmate, Arnie Joseph Huffman, Jr.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you and please be seated.

In 1963, 38 years ago, Arnie Joseph Huffman, Jr. came to Darlington School from Fayette, Alabama, to enter the freshman class as a boarding student. As was the custom at the time, he had the privilege of attending summer school before his freshman year to “prove” that he could handle the workload at Darlington.

What we all soon learned was that A. J. was probably a genius in math and chemistry, that he was a compelling writer and a complete sports junkie, especially when it came to Ole Miss and SEC football.

Arnie Joseph Huffman was a personality, both in class and on the campus. He had many names and nicknames: A. J., Ajax, Arnie Joe, and of course, Butch.

Arnie Joe was our class curmudgeon, possessing a dry wit and a quick tongue that occasionally exasperated our teachers but always delighted the rest of us. A. J. and I actually got to know each other in Study Hall on Saturday mornings working off demerits earned the previous week for behavior deemed inappropriate by our teachers and supervisors.

I only wish that Mr. Moser and Mr. Dorminey could be here today to witness this ceremony honoring Butch Huffman. I’ll never forget the time when early in the school year we were in AP Math class together with Mr. Dorminey. Mr. Dorminey asked Butch where his textbook was and Butch calmly responded, “I don’t need a book to make an ‘A’ in your class, SIR,” with a totally sincere and respectful look on Butch’s face. I still think we all saw real smoke rising from Mr. Dorminey’s ears. So you see, Butch had a knack for stimulating an almost instant increase in Dorminey’s and Moser’s blood pressure and delighted in it. I think that it’s fair to say that Darlington teachers respected Butch, even if they didn’t full appreciate his confident attitude at times.

On the sports front, A. J. was a good all-around athlete, playing on both the basketball and golf teams although usually not as a starter. Butch and I kept the bench warm for the starters on our basketball team and had a great time together. But Butch was a sports enthusiast and aficionado; he probably realized his greatest pleasure in quarterbacking the dorm touch football team that included Wilkie Colyer, Bill Tate, and Bill Holmes. They could routinely defeat the opposing team comprised of members of the varsity football team.

A. J. graduated from Darlington with Honors, a member of the Cum Laude Society, and then graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in aeronautical engineering in May 1971. Following a get-together back in Rome on Thursday, Sept. 2, 1971 (I think it was the occasion of the wedding for Darlington classmates Rick Barrs and Donna Haynes) Butch was tragically killed in an automobile accident. All of us in the Class of ’67 still feel this loss—the loss of what Butch could have been—and what he could have done for our society.

To the lucky students here today who have the privilege of enjoying this fantastic new addition to the Darlington campus, I want to stress the importance of the bonds, the friendships, the special relationships forged during your time together here at Darlington School. These are friendships for life, they are special, and you should work hard to make them and keep them for the rest of your lives. It is that special friendship that the members of the Class of ’67 felt for Butch Huffman and for each that allowed us to pull together and help create this fabulous new facility in Butch’s memory.

A. J. would be pleased about today, that 30 years later he played a major role in bringing this great new athletic center to Darlington School and that he will forever be remembered for his time with us on earth here at Darlington School. I must say, in all fairness, that I think that Ajax is probably looking down on us right now, laughing at the irony of this occasion, that in spite of all the study halls and the demerits, he provided the inspiration for all of us to come together to make this idea, this dream, this Huffman Memorial Athletic Center a reality at the School he loved so much.

So, thank you, Butch, A. J., Ajax, Arnie Joe for the memories. We’ll never forget you.

And now, I’m very proud and pleased to introduce Butch’s sister, Jackie Huffman McIntyre. Jackie, please stand.

With her today are her husband, Jim, their daughter, Ashley, their son, Joseph, and their close friend, Lydia Siegel.

Thank you so much, Jackie, again to you and your family for being here today to celebrate this long-awaited, historic occasion for Darlington School.

Many of you are familiar with the great psychologist, philosopher, writer, and religious thinker, Abraham Maslow. Maslow once said that we were put on this earth to do four things: LIVE, LOVE, LEARN, and LEAVE A LEGACY.

Through the efforts of many of you here today, Butch Huffman has left his legacy here in this great facility, the Huffman Memorial Athletic Center. But he has done more than that; he has left a challenge to each of us, to the students, faculty, parents, friends, and alumni of Darlington School, to leave his or her own legacy for the lives of the people around us, and maybe right here at Darlington School.

Let’s all stand for a moment of silence in memory of Arnie Joseph “Butch” Huffman.

Mr. Hicks, let’s dedicate this baby!


President David V. Hicks’ Dedicatory Remarks
We all know that buildings have their uses. In the case of the Huffman Center, these uses are extensive, multifarious, and pretty self-evident. But great buildings, as this one is, also have their meanings. We would do well on this occasion to remind ourselves of what the Huffman Center means.

Larry and Jackie have already provided some important clues to the meaning of this building. It honors in particular the beloved memory of one extraordinary graduate, extraordinary not for what he did or for the amazing accomplishments of a long life, as is often the case, but extraordinary for who he was as a young man at Darlington.

Every time we enter this building, we need to remember that Butch Huffman was loved at Darlington by his classmates and teachers for who he was, a marvelous individual with many God-given talents, with enthusiasm for life, and with great affection for his friends. So loved that he still inspires them to this day, many years after his death.

But Butch, let us remember, is not unique. He is sitting among us this morning. He is every Darlington student, just as Mr. J. J. Darlington is every Darlington teacher. This building reminds us that it is the people in this place, not its buildings, that make it so special and that make our joy here possible. What a wonderful responsibility this places on each of us, knowing that it is within our power to fill the lives of those around us with joy.

This building also symbolizes what we can accomplish by working together and by believing in the gifts each person brings to a task, especially when everyone shares a common vision. Think of the talents, the skills, and the gifts that went into the envisioning, funding, designing, manufacturing, and furnishing of this building. It takes this sort of teamwork to accomplish great things, as every team that competes in this building will learn through both its wins and its losses. Indeed, the importance of the teamwork lesson is much greater than either winning or losing.

This building also acknowledges that the strength of America lies in her free institutions. Those of us who have grown up in America can hardly begin to appreciate what an unusual accomplishment, historically speaking, a building like this is. In most other times and places, such buildings, if they exist at all, are the work of governments or of potentates. They are built, often for less than altruistic reasons, with resources taken from the people. This is a building that shows what we the American people, apart from the apparatus and compulsion of government, are free to accomplish on our own. And in it, we hope to teach what we, apart from the apparatus and compulsion of government, are free to teach. Let this building always remind us of what a blessing this is!

For me, of course, this building also calls to mind the ancient origin in Greece of what today we call schools. Some remnants of this tradition are still evident in countries like Germany, where the high school is called a gymnasium. This building ought to remind us that school is about the development of the body as well as the mind. Or to be more precise, it is a place where the entire community gathers, as it did in 5th Century Athens, and where both mind and body are valued.

Think about it. It is through the body that everything comes to the attention of the mind. If our body is not fit and well, if our five senses are not vivid and sharp, our minds have less to feed on, or even worse, they become corrupted by attitudes and anxieties growing out of our physical limitations and infirmities.

When we were planning how to use the beautiful display areas in the Huffman Center, I only half jokingly suggested we put books in them. I wanted us to remember that the mind is not the same thing as a brain. It is not a mere physical object, yet it inhabits our entire physical realm, including the body. It is what we play and compete with, as well as what we reflect and create with. It is as much in the hands of the pianist and in the foot of the soccer player as it is in the argument of a lawyer, in the novel of a writer, and in the prayers of a preacher.

Finally, this building symbolizes our faith in the future, our faith in our children, and our faith in a loving God who will not disappoint or abandon us. It is a beautiful and permanent reminder to all who use this building, now and in the future, that everything we have we owe to someone else. Surely, it was this knowledge that inspired Mr. And Mrs. John Paul Cooper to found Darlington School. Likewise, those whose gifts made this building possible surely gave out of the sense that they had been given much. The A. J. Huffman Memorial Athletic Center stands as a permanent reminder of the love and generosity of all those who make our joy in this place possible.

This is a great building, full of many uses, full of many meanings. Let’s be mindful of its meaning as we use it, now and in the years to come. And may God bless all those families who through their gifts have made our joy in this beautiful place possible.