TIFTON — Supported by the words of an Air Force officer, the Tift County Board of Education saw fit to honor their team of football coaches during their Nov. 14 meeting.

Technical Sergeant James R. Carr of the United States Air Force had nothing but praise to offer Jeff Littleton, Javier Clark, Britt Wilson, Zach Brown, and Shawn Campbell in a letter he wrote to the school system nominating the Blue Devils coaches for Beyond the T Awards, claiming that they had exhibited “exceptional moral character and have consistently prioritized the welfare of their students and players.”

Carr reported that in late August, when his son had been involved in an incident, the five coaches had immediately leapt into action to provide support and assistance to the father and son duo, which Carr viewed as genuine care on their part.

As a further sign of gratitude, he provided letters of appreciation from both Major Derek Dillard, commander of the 23rd Logistics Readiness Squadron at Moody Air Force Base, and Dave Talley, flight chief of Deployment and Distribution at Moody.

Carr asserted that if the members of the Board of Education were interested in hearing further examples of the hard work and dedication their Blue Devils coaches and staff had shown, he would be happy to oblige.

Dana Spurlin, Tift County Schools, chief information officer, reported that each coach would be provided with a copy of Carr’s letter and the attached letters of appreciation, and was proud to be recognizing them for their strong moral character.

She recounted in particular how at the time of Littleton’s hiring, he had stood before the board and his future players expressing his desire to shape those students not only into good athletes, but great men, and felt immensely satisfied that he was continuing to set a good example.