Crenshaw County’s Tony Stallworth was named the Associate Executive Director of the Alabama High School Athletic Association last week.

Stallworth has worked in the Crenshaw County School System for over 20 years, and he currently serves as the Director of Career and Technical Education, Assistant Administrator at Luverne High School, Jobs for Alabama Graduates coordinator and Attendance Supervisor for the Board of Education.

Stallworth came into the school system in 1987 as a junior varsity athletics coach at Brantley, and he also served as an assistant under Earl Henderson.

“Earl was an outstanding mentor, and I’m grateful for all the advice he gave me,” Stallworth said. “My mother passed away in 1987, and I was looking for a family. I found one in Brantley. It’s a great town.”

After becoming the head basketball coach at Brantley in 1990, Stallworth worked with the same athletes that had been on his junior varsity teams.

In 1993, he led the Bulldogs to a 32-2 record and their first state championship, which was followed by two more titles in 1994 and 1995.

It wasn’t long before Stallworth became the assistant principal at Brantley under principal Jim Head, and his focus shifted to administration.

“Basketball and administration had to be balanced,” he said. “What was most important was the administration because it affected many more people.”

In 2003, Stallworth got the opportunity to become the principal in Brantley.

“Kathi Wallace allowed me to continue to balance the equation between basketball and administration, but the load was too much and I delegated basketball to Andrew Kilcrease,” Stallworth said.

In 2006, he was promoted to his current position at the Central Office.

“The Crenshaw County System should be commended because it’s been a pathway to working with the state,” he said. “The credit goes to the system.”

Other local school employees who have gone on to work in Montgomery include Alfredia Griffin, Earl Franks, Rhonda Ayers, Craig Pouncey, Chad Carpenter and Kathi Wallace.

Despite moving into administration, Stallworth continued to volunteer with the AHSAA and serving on many committees over the years, and this helped open the door to becoming Associate Executive Director.

“It allowed me to continue to be a part of the game I love,” he said.

“Tony Stallworth has been involve with the AHSAA in a voluntary role for many years through his work on committees and with such projects as All-Star Sports Week,” said AHSAA Executive Director Steve Savarese in a press release. “He has proven to be a very committed educator and has shown a tremendous loyalty to the goals of the AHSAA as an organization through his work with our committees. He is going to be a tremendous addition to the AHSAA family and a great associate executive director.”

Stallworth will coordinate the AHSAA’s Coaches Education program, the school audit program, the Reclassification Committee, Middle School/Junior High professional development and work with all championship events.

Stalloworth said there are a number of people who have been important in his time in Crenshaw County, including Earl Henderson, former Superintendent Sammy Carr, Jim Head, Waylon Bush, former Superintendent Kathi Wallace, current Superintendent Randy Wilkes and former Career Tech director Yvonne Nobles.

“The 22 years I have here are unforgettable,” Stallworth said.