Georgia High School Association (GHSA) and Georgia Electric Membership Corporation (GEMC) today announce the 37 GHSA-member high schools that will receive the 2008 GEMC Cooperative Spirit Sportsmanship Award honoring exemplary sportsmanship demonstrated during the 2007-08 school year.
“We congratulate these high schools for their outstanding sportsmanship,” said Dr. Ralph Swearngin, GHSA Executive Director. “School-based athletics should be an extension of the classroom in providing lessons that last for the student’s lifetime. Sportsmanship is really nothing more than good citizenship expressed in athletic events, and that is an important life lesson.”
Sponsored by GHSA and Georgia’s EMCs, the Cooperative Spirit Sportsmanship Awards program was introduced in 2006 to honor GHSA-member schools that exhibit outstanding sportsmanship. The awards program is designed to promote sportsmanship by honoring those who do it well, reinforcing GHSA’s philosophy: “Student athletes, coaches, spectators, and all others associated with high school activities programs should adhere to the fundamental values of respect, fairness, honesty and responsibility.”
The program honors student athletes along with fellow students, school staff, parents and game spectators, making the award not only a school but a community honor.
The Cooperative Spirit Sportsmanship Awards are presented annually to GHSA-member high schools in the 40 regions in all five classifications. Region GHSA secretaries select winners based on sportsmanship demonstrated during the year.
Representatives from the EMCs will present sportsmanship trophies to winning high schools within their service territories at presentations during fall athletic events. Winners of the 2008 GEMC Cooperative Spirit Sportsmanship Awards include:
Region Winners
| 1-AAAAA | Houston County High School |
| 3-AAAAA | Savannah Arts High School |
| 4-AAAAA | Hiram High School |
| 5-AAAAA | Murray County High School |
| 6-AAAAA | Sprayberry High School |
| 7-AAAAA | North Forsyth High School |
| 8-AAAAA | Brookwood High School |
| 1-AAAA | Thomas County Central High School |
| 3-AAAA | Wayne County High School |
| 4-AAAA | Dutchtown High School |
| 6-AAAA | Miller Grove High School / The Marist School |
| 7-AAAA | Southeast Whitfield High School |
| 8-AAAA | Heritage High School, Conyers |
| 1-AAA | Worth County High School |
| 2-AAA | Kendrick High School |
| 3-AAA | Burke County High School |
| 4-AAA | Peach County High School |
| 5-AAA | Clarkston High School / Westminster School |
| 6-AAA | Cartersville High School |
| 7-AAA | Gilmer High School / Lumpkin County High School |
| 8-AAA | Apalachee High School |
| 1-AA | Brooks County High School |
| 2-AA | McIntosh County Academy |
| 4-AA | Bleckley County High School |
| 5-AA | Heard County High School |
| 7-AA | Sonoraville High School |
| 8-AA | Morgan County High School |
| 1-A | Calhoun County High School |
| 2-A | Turner County High School |
| 3-A | Emanuel County Institute |
| 4-A | Central High School, Talbotton |
| 6-A | Excel Christian School |
| 7-A | Warren County High School |
| 8-A | Commerce High School |
A voluntary organization composed of more than 400 public and private high schools, the Georgia High School Association strives to promote good sportsmanship and a cooperative spirit among its member schools.
Georgia EMC is a statewide trade organization representing the state’s 42 EMCs, Oglethorpe Power Corp. and Georgia Transmission Corp. Through a statewide network, Georgia’s EMCs provide electricity and related services to four million people, nearly half of Georgia’s population, across 73 percent of the state’s land area. Georgia’s 42 electric membership cooperatives serve more customers than any other state network of EMCs in the nation.
