STEPHAN JACKSON RECEIVES TOMMY BELL AWARD
Forty years after his passing in 1986, the Rotary Club of Lexington still honors the memory of one its most beloved and well-known members.
The 40th Annual Tommy Bell Award for Lexington’s Outstanding Student-Athlete was presented on May 14 to Jackson Stephan from Henry Clay High School. The award is presented by the Rotary Club of Lexington in memory of Tommy Bell (father of current Rotarian Bruce Bell) who was a legendary NFL referee, Lexingtonian, and a past member of the Rotary Club of Lexington. Although he is the sixteenth student-athlete from Henry Clay – the same high school where Tommy starred in football – to capture this honor, Jackson is the first basketball player recognized. He played three years of varsity basketball and, during his senior year averaged twenty-one points and eleven rebounds per game. He was a two-time member of both the All-City and All-Regional Teams, in addition to being named to the All-State and Academic All-State teams. Jackson will continue his academic and athletic career at the United States Air Force Academy playing for the USAFA Falcons. After graduation, he will become a commissioned officer in the United States Air Force.
In accepting his award, Jackson thanked the Fayette County principals and coaches, his coach—Coach Brown—and teachers at Henry Clay, along with his teammates, parents and grandparents. He said that athletics taught him to work hard, stay humble, trust people around him, and to strive for integrity and consistency.