[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 9228]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                A TRIBUTE TO ALTON G. ``TUNNEY'' BROOKS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE McINTYRE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 18, 2012

  Mr. McINTYRE Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Alton G. 
``Tunney'' Brooks, a long-serving coach and athletic director at 
Lumberton High School, my own alma mater. Coach Brooks was an 
irreplaceable mentor for many students in our community, a devoted 
family man, and a dear friend. Coach Brooks passed away on the morning 
of May 4, 2012, after a three-year battle with lung cancer, and he will 
be deeply missed.
  Driven by a strong love for his community and a deep investment in 
its youth, Coach Brooks coached numerous sports during his lifetime and 
served as the Lumberton High School Athletic Director. In this 
capacity, Coach Brooks was a valuable leader and role model, who pushed 
young athletes to achieve things they never thought possible and worked 
to shape their senses of integrity, character, discipline, and 
teamwork.
  This dedication is evident through his many recognitions, as he was 
named to the N.C. Athletic Directors and N.C. High School Athletic 
Association's Halls of Fame. His legacy will also be remembered through 
the Lumberton High School football stadium, named in his honor, and 
through an endowment scholarship at UNC-Pembroke. Coach Brooks also 
received honors as a superior athlete himself--at Charles Coon High 
School, where he received all-state honors and won state championships, 
at Wake Forest University where he was team captain of the baseball and 
basketball teams, and on the national level in 1951, when he helped the 
U.S. win silver at the first-ever Pan American Games in Argentina as 
the catcher for the U.S. baseball team.
  I knew Coach Brooks personally, not only as the father of my good 
friend, Richie Brooks, with whom I grew up with in Lumberton, and with 
whom I served on the Student Council at LHS, but also through his being 
the first Manager of Woodside Pool, which he and my father spent 
countless hours developing through Recreation Facilities, Inc. As 
President of the Student Body at LHS and as Manager of the Lumberton 
Pirates baseball team when I was in high school, I knew first-hand of 
Coach Brooks' leadership as our school's well-respected and dynamic 
athletic director.
  As a Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Youth 
Sports, I have a deep, personal respect for Coach Brooks' dedication to 
this cause. Over several decades, he has taught hundreds of youth in 
the Lumberton area valuable lessons and skills that have made a 
meaningful and lasting impact on their lives, and our community will 
always remain grateful.
  Mr. Speaker, may we never forget the goodness, humility, and 
character that defined the life of Alton ``Tunney'' Brooks. May God 
continue to bless his three children, Debbie, Richie and John, all of 
his loved ones, the work he did, and the greatness that he inspired 
within all who knew him.

                          ____________________