After a three-year hiatus brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Liberty County Athletic Hall of Fame will induct a new class of honorees.
The class will be enshrined at the annual banquet scheduled for April 27 at 7 p.m., with reception beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Liberty County Complex in Midway.
The class of 2023 is: O.C. Baker, Neal Brown, Raekwon McMillan, Sandy Miller and Warnella Wilder. This year’s ceremony also will honor Eddie Smith, who was unable to attend previous induction ceremonies.
Between now and the induction ceremony, the Courier will highlight the members of this year’s class.
Now the athletic director at Liberty County High School, Wilder was a standout athlete at Bradwell Institute.
She played several sports but made her biggest impact in basketball. On the court, Wilder helped lead the Lady Tigers to the Class AAAA state runner-up finish in 1993 as a senior. She averaged 12 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists per game her senior season.
Wilder helped guide the Lady Tigers to two region championships and she was a two-time first-team all-Region 3-AAAA selection. She was also a second-team all-region pick during her career. Wilder played varsity all four years and was a three-year starter in basketball.
She was also a four-year varsity player and three-year starter in softball and lettered for four years in track, where she competed as a freshman in the state high jump and competed at the state meet in shot put and discus her junior and senior years.
Wilder signed a basketball scholarship with Georgia College and State University. She redshirted her freshman season after a knee injury, a torn ACL, and returned to play all four years. She was named team captain as a junior and senior.
After graduating with a degree in exercise science, Wilder served as an assistant coach at Bradwell in basketball and softball and she has been the athletic director at Liberty County High School for the last 16 years.
She also has been a GHSA softball official for five years, a basketball official for 16 years and a baseball official for three years. She was selected to officiate four GHSA state championship basketball games and to officiate in two GACA all-star basketball games.