Roy Thanks Family, Support

Tommy Roy must have told his family he wouldn’t see them for two weeks, unless they helped him run a pair of postseason tourneys.

They did. The Roys were seemingly everywhere during the districts and regionals at Tiger Arena as the Prairie Grove athletic director was joined by his wife, Christa, and daughter, Mia, in “working ‘round the clock” to ensure everything went as perfectly as planned.

It culminated with a record-crowd, estimated at more than 1,500, showing up on Saturday night, when the Lady Tigers put the finishing touches on winning the 4A North Regional championship.

“The girls put the bow on it,” Roy said. “And the crowd coming out like they did, it was a great way to end it.”

Dr. Allen Williams, Superintendent of Schools, was by Roy’s side throughout the event — even when they were on opposite ends of Tiger Arena. The two were in sync while keeping everything on script.

“Best boss I’ve ever had,” Roy said.

Roy listed people to thank for the hospitality room, and their hospitality in general in stepping up to make sure the event shined as brightly as the new arena.

“Tracy Laird, Donna Sorters and Shelley Williams, those three really helped with everything, and helped with everything all year,” Roy said.

Craig Battles and Don Ledford cooked up the most popular dinner during regionals.

“Those two guys did all the ribs, barbecue chicken and Boston butts,” Roy said.

All of the “behind- thescenes IT stuff and everything else” was handled by Heath Whitely, Miles Eubanks and the East Lab team.

Martin Lorentz and the band boosters ran the concession stand and sweetened the final night by offering birthday cake to workers staying late to help wrap up the tournament.

“We would like to thank the whole Prairie Grove community for its support and helping out the last two weeks of tournaments,” Roy said. “We couldn’t have done it without everyone coming together to help out.”