One of the most important factors in success is adaptability, and the fourth Chattanooga State Athletic Hall of Fame “celebration” Friday night at the Walden Club was a tribute to that.
As guest speaker Wade Houston noted before Dr. Kim O’Kelley-Wingate, Alicia Ransom Woolwine and Drew Bowlin were honored as new inductees, “A hall of fame doesn’t always go to the people who are the most talented.”
He emphasized that “they have a chance to go because of talent,” but they need other qualities such as effort and character as well.
The three inductees clearly had exceptional talent, but they made spectacular transitions through a willingness to learn and to work hard to make adjustments.
O’Kelley-Wingate went from slowpitch softball success as a middle infielder at Ringgold High School to NJCAA All-America designation in 1995 as a fastpitch catcher at Chattanooga State — and then to an NCAA Division II national championship team at Kennesaw State. She played the summers before and after her 12th-grade year with the Frost Falcons fastpitch organization, with 10-time high school state champion Clifford Kirk as her coach, and then got a chance from Chattanooga State’s first softball coach, Frank Reed.