Distinguished Alumni In Physical Education

Distinguished Alumni  2004

Margaret Anne Dickert

Anne Dickert earned a bachelor of science degree in physical Education from Winthrop College in 1960.  She began her coaching and teaching career at Butler High School in Augusta, Georgia in 1961, moving to North Augusta High School in South Carolina the following year.  While at North Augusta High School, she established herself as one of the best coaches in the state. Like many young women during the 1960s, Anne coached everything from basketball to gymnastics.  She continued her coaching and teaching career at Columbia High School from 1969-1982.  In 1982 she moved to St. Andrews Middle School to teach health and work in administration.  She ended her teaching and administrative career at Crayton Middle School in 1992.

 Ms. Dickert earned a master of science degree in physical education and recreation in 1962 from Florida State University.  She completed an education administration master’s degree in 1983 and a Ph.D. in education administration in 1988 from USC.  The Batesburg native has spent a lifetime in service to the discipline of physical education.  She has served on the South Carolina Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation and Dance Executive Board for 14 consecutive years and she is a lifetime member of the AAHPERD.

 Anne Dickert has advocated for girls and women in sport for more than forty years.  She was on the founding committee of the Coaches Association of Women’s Sports (CAWS), served on the Board of Directors of the National Girls and Women in Sport Association, and served on the committee which published rule guides for women.  NAGWS acknowledged her dedication and contributions by naming her the first South Carolina Pathfinder for Girls and Women in Sport in 1991. She was also a nationally rated official in volleyball and basketball and served on the Board of Directors of ABO.

 Anne Dickert has not slowed down in her retirement.  She participates in the Master Gardener Program, serves as an education specialist at Riverbanks Botanical Garden, and edits and publishes a gardening newsletter.  And, if you need a quilt – she has completed three and is working on number four!  Ms. Dickert has spent a lifetime advocating for physical education and girls and women in sport and it is with great pleasure that we, the current staff and faculty, welcome Margaret Anne Dickert as a member of the class of 2004 Distinguished Alumni.

 Jan Carole Watson

Jan Watson graduated from Winthrop College in 1964 and took her first teaching job in Newport News, Va.  In 1966 she enrolled in the masters of arts program at Appalachian State University completing the degree in 1967.  Boone, N.C. and Appalachian State would be her home for the next 32 years.  While coaching and teaching at ASU, Jan completed her Ed.D. degree at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1980.

 Dr. Watson was a pioneer in women’s athletics.  She was a founding member of the North Carolina Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women and the Deep South Field Hockey Association.  A successful field hockey coach at ASU, Jan provided leadership to the U.S. Field Hockey Association holding several offices and acting as site director for the U.S. Olympic Development Camp.  Thousands of young women were influenced by her leadership and coaching on her teams, at camps, at clinics, and in classrooms.  Her service to AIAW included North Carolina State President, chair of the Ethics and Eligibility Committee, and membership on the national Budget Committee.  In 1984, Dr. Watson received the Fanny Homer Memorial Award from the Deep South Field Hockey Association in recognition of her contributions to women’s sports and the USFHA honored her in 1993.  Governor James Martin honored her in 1987 for her contributions to women in sport.

 Jan Watson’s professionalism and dedication are exemplified by her teaching career at ASU.  She provided leadership and guidance in the professional preparation program and in recognition of her contributions ASU named her the Outstanding Teacher in 1998.  She was active in the Southern Association of Physical Education for College Women, Southern District of AAHPERD, and North Carolina AAHPERD.  She received an ASU Presidential Citation in 1989 and an Honor Award from NCAHPERD in 1985. 

As noted on her retirement – “Jan C. Watson has truly been a professional in the teaching and coaching fields, and her energy, wisdom, and dedication have left their mark on these professions.  Words alone can not adequately describe her unselfish service to Appalachian and its students.”    Dr. Watson’s unselfish service to generations of young women seeking sporting opportunities had a national impact.  She was indeed a pioneer, breaking barriers in the sporting world.  It is with great pleasure that we, the current staff and faculty, welcome Jan Carole Watson as a member of the class of 2004 Distinguished Alumni.

 Maxine “Mickey” Davis

Mickey Davis graduated from Winthrop College in 1964, where she was known as an outstanding basketball player. This Ware Shoals native starred on her high school team and while at Winthrop she held the state scoring record for basketball. After her graduation she moved to Atlanta, Ga. for a high school teaching position at Southwest High School.  She joined the Southwest faculty in the first year of integration for the Atlanta public schools.  Her immediate task was to lead the first black student through his first semester at Southwest.  She served as the liaison between this young man and his fellow students during this challenging transition.  After Atlanta she moved to Orlando, Fla. and Boone High School as teacher/coach.  In 1969 she moved to Cerritos High School in sunny California. While in California she completed her masters of science degree at Whittier College.

In 1979 Mickey began her college teaching and coaching career at the Golden West Community College. While at Golden West, she won four state softball championships and 35 of her student-athletes moved on to Division I programs on full athletic scholarships.  In 1984 she joined the Los Angeles Olympic Committee as Youth Services Program Director and was inducted into the ASA National Softball Hall of Fame.  She continued to work in the United States Olympic movement including serving as local sports coordinator for 1991 Olympic Festival were she recruited and trained over 200 volunteers.  In 1994 she was the site director for 1994 level I and level II Olympic Trials and USA Softball Peak Camp, where trials were held to select the first U.S. Women’s Olympic Softball Team.  She continued to work with the Olympic team and threw out the first pitch at the 1996 Olympic Softball game, USA vs. Japan.  She has served as a softball clinician throughout the world, been recognized for her leadership in women’s athletics, and was named Women’s Athletic Director the Year in 1996 by the California Community College Association.

Ms. Davis is dean and athletic director at Long Beach City College.  She continues to advocate for women in athletics through her speaking engagements and service to numerous professional organizations.  It is with great pleasure that we, the current staff and faculty, welcome Maxine “Mickey” Davis as a member of the class of 2004 Distinguished Alumni.

 Lucia Earlene Jones

Lucia E. Jones is a professor emeritus from the University of Tennessee at Martin.  She graduated from Winthrop College in 1969 with a bachelor of science in physical education.  While at Winthrop she was the vice-president of the Women’s Recreation Association and Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities. Immediately following her graduation this Lake City native entered the master of science program at UT-Martin, where she completed her degree in 1970.  She spent the next 33 years at Martin as a teacher and a coach. 

In her 33 years at UT-Martin, Lucia Jones coached her volleyball team to two state championships and five Tennessee College Women’s Sport Federation Small College Championships.  In addition, her badminton teams won six state or small college championships.  UT-Martin acknowledged her coaching success by inducting her into their athletic hall of fame in 1993. She pioneered women’s sports in Tennessee through her involvement with the Region II AIAW, where she served on the executive board from 1977-1980 and her service on the executive board of the Tennessee College Women’s Sport Federation.

As successful as she was coaching, she was even more successful in the classroom.  She has been named to Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers eight times!  In 2003 she was given the Outstanding Educators Award by UT-Martin.  The UTM National Alumni Association named her the Outstanding Teacher in 1992 and she received the Glenn S. Gallien Education Faculty Award in 2003.  Students and colleagues established a scholarship on her retirement in 2003 in recognition of her exceptional teaching career.  She has made numerous presentations at state and national conferences, facilitated over 70 workshops, and served on too many committees to list including NCATE Standards committees. 

Lucia E. Jones is obviously a “gifted” teacher, who touched the lives of thousands of UT-Martin students.  She gave her students a teaching model to emulate – a model which placed students first, a model which demonstrated commitment to the discipline each day, a model which set high standards but tempered her teaching with love.  It is with great pleasure that we, the current staff and faculty, welcome Lucia E. Jones as a member of the class of 2004 Distinguished Alumni.