[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 130 (Thursday, July 27, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E735-E736]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 IN MEMORY OF COACH ALVIS JOHNSON, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ANDY BARR

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 27, 2023

  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a special 
man, Coach Alvis Johnson, Jr. of Harrodsburg, Kentucky.
  Coach Johnson, born in 1947, grew up in rural Christian County, 
Kentucky as the son of a sharecropper. He attended Western Kentucky 
University, where he played football and earned a master's degree in 
secondary education. He and his wife Rosetta moved to Harrodsburg in 
1973 where he taught history, served as athletics director, and coached 
football as well as boys' and girls' track and field. He served there 
until 1997, where he was well-respected in the classroom and on the 
athletics fields. He led the boys track and field team to 4 state 
championships; the girls track and field to one state championship, and 
the football team to 3 state runner-up titles. Coach Johnson was a 
mentor and role model to his students, his fellow teachers, and his 
athletes. The football and track and field stadium is named in his 
honor. Johnson had over 50 athletes that went on to compete at the 
Division 1 level, including his sons, Dennis and Derrick who are now 
football coaches at Woodford County High School. Coach Johnson went on 
to serve for 8 years as an assistant athletics director at the 
University of Kentucky.
  Coach Johnson served on the KHSAA Board of Control and led as 
president in 1991. He was elected to the National Federation of High 
School Athletics' board of directors in 1992 and became that board's 
president in 1994, the first African American to do so. He served on 
the Kentucky Board of Education from 2019-2022. Johnson was inducted 
into the Kentucky Track and Cross-Country Coaches Association Hall of 
Fame and the Kentucky High School Athletic Association's Dawahare's/
KHSAA Hall of Fame. He was named the state high school track coach of 
the year 8 times and, in 1977, was named the Kellogg Corporation 
National Track Coach of the Year. He was twice named the state football 
coach of the year. Johnson also received the Disney's American Teacher 
Award in 1996.
  Coach Johnson was a member and longtime deacon at Centennial Baptist 
Church. He was active in the United Way and many other community 
groups. Coach Johnson had a positive impact on thousands of lives over 
his career as a teacher and coach. He showed genuine care and concern 
for people and his legacy lives on. This legendary man who was a mentor 
to many passed away on July 15, 2023.
  I am humbled to honor the memory of Coach Alvis Johnson, Jr. before 
the United States Congress.

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