October 27, 2023
Rutherford County Schools
Smyrna High School Principal Dr. Sherri Southerland has been named the recipient of the A.F. Bridges Principal of the Year Award for Athletic District 4 for the 2022-2023 school year by the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association, the state’s governing body for high school sports.
Southerland was named the Smyrna High principal in 2018 but has been at the school since 2005.
Named in honor of TSSAA’s first secretary, the A.F. Bridges Awards “recognize people who are setting the right example, doing the right things and setting the standard for high school athletics in Tennessee,” according to an email to Southerland announcing the award.
Bridges served in his role from 1946 until his retirement in 1972, according to the TSSAA website.
“Under his leadership, athletics in the state of Tennessee reached a level of excellence and competence that earned the respect of all people,” the website stated. “Mr. Bridges was a person of high principles who displayed firmness and fairness, as well as the high ideals of ethics and integrity as he and many other school people established the foundations of TSSAA.”
Stewarts Creek Middle Assistant Principal Keith Young is one of 10 people to be honored by TSSAA for distinguished service.
A Smyrna native and Smyrna High grad, Young has served as the SCMS athletic director for 12 years. He previously coached basketball and football at the school.
"I was recommended by my peers for this. It's nice to know my peers see what we're doing here," Young said.
He has coached at the middle and high school levels and was a key figure in helping the Tennessee Middle Schools Athletic Association create a basketball tournament, which were held at Stewarts Creek Middle and High as well as Rockvale Middle and High schools earlier this year."I have a unique relationship with students. I'm not just their assistant principal but I'm also their coach. I get to see them in a different light, and they see me differently, too," Young said.
Winners from Middle Tennessee will be recognized during a ceremony on Nov. 9 at Ensworth High School.