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Hickman High School to Dedicate Pavilion to Former Coach Arnel Monroe

Football
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KBIA

Hickman High School will dedicate the Coach Arnel “Spanky” Monroe Memorial Pavilion Friday night as a tribute to the former football coach who died unexpectedly of a heart attack one year ago.

The ceremony prior to the game against Rock Bridge will be led by J.D. Coffman, Hickman High School athletics director and assistant principal for athletics and activities. It will begin at 6:30 p.m. near the side of the pavilion between the football and baseball stadiums.


“We thought it was best to do it during an in-town rivalry game,” said Geoff Shackelford, president of the Hickman Touchdown Club, the school’s football-specific booster club.

The wood pavilion has been renovated from an open, roof-only shelter to include two equipment closets for use by the school’s booster club, whose members raised and donated roughly $10,000 to the project. There is still a large, open shelter area with picnic tables.
“They pretty much tore down the existing building and then rebuilt what we have now,” Coffman said. “It was just an open-air facility, and now we’ve added the ability to have a couple of locked closets.”

In addition, a memorial sign will be unveiled during Friday’s ceremony. It will be placed on the side of the pavilion to identify Monroe and his position.

“The Touchdown Club kind of had the idea of trying to find something we could place on campus with Coach Monroe’s name,” Coffman said. “The club was instrumental in purchasing the sign and getting that prepared.”

Members of Monroe’s family are expected to attend and will receive special recognition.

“Coach Monroe’s daughter will be there, and we will also present her a plaque,” Shackelford said.
Monroe was head football coach at Hickman from 2011-2016. He graduated from Hickman in 1985 and began working at the school in 1993. He became involved with the football program in 1995, moving up the ranks to become defensive coordinator before being named head coach. He had an 18-33 overall record, but Coffman said his influence off the field is what is most remembered.

“I hope when future generations come through, that the people that are still working with Hickman athletics will continue to tell the story of Coach Monroe and how instrumental and important he was to our school as a mentor to many young students,” Coffman said.

Supervising editor is Jeanne Abbottabbottjm@missouri.edu, 882-5741.