The 2011 Hinds Community College Sports Hall of Fame will honor these distinguished former Eagle athletes and coaches with an induction dinner at 5:30 p.m., Sept. 29 in the Troy Arlis Ricks Wellness Complex on the Raymond Campus.
Inductees are Deborah Wiginton Caldwell (basketball and volleyball, 1974), Curtis Kynerd (track and field, 1966-1968), Leon Lett (football, 1986-1988) Thad Talley (football and track and field, 1957-1959) and Larry Weems (football and track and field, 1970-1972).
Deborah Wiginton Caldwell
Basketball & Volleyball, 1974
Deborah Wiginton Caldwell, who competed in basketball and volleyball for the Lady Eagles during the 1973-1974 season, was a multi-sport standout in her lone year on the Raymond Campus.
Caldwell, who came to Hinds from Mendenhall, led Hinds to the school's first women's basketball state championship in March 1974. Her performance on the court helped her gain All-State first team honors. After the 1974 season, she was selected to participate in tryouts for the United States team that competed in the World University Games.
Caldwell was also a standout on the 1973 volleyball team, leading Hinds to the state championship with a team record of 11-3.
Caldwell left Hinds to finish her collegiate career at Mississippi College, where she holds the school records for steals in a single game, highest free-throw percentage for a single season and highest career free-throw percentage. Caldwell, who also played softball and volleyball at MC, was named All-American in 1977 and is in the Mississippi College Sports Hall of Fame.
Caldwell has a bachelor's degree in business administration from Mississippi College and a master's degree in education from Mississippi State University. She has 33 years of experience teaching mathematics in Arizona, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee. She was named a Star Teacher in the Jackson public schools, received an Outstanding Young Woman of America award and was named Who's Who Among America's High School Teachers.
Caldwell currently serves as a math teacher at Independence High School in Tennessee and is an adjunct professor at the University of Memphis. She is married to Michael, and they have two children. The Caldwells, who lives in Franklin, Tenn., are active members of Brentwood Baptist Church.
Curtis Kynerd
Track and Field, 1966-1968
Curtis Kynerd, a former Raymond High School standout, was a track and field distance star in his two years on the Hinds track team.
After finishing second in the state in the mile run as a Hinds freshman, Kynerd was undefeated as a sophomore in every event he ran that year. Kynerd won the 1968 state championship with a time of 4:26.7, which set a state record that was not broken for 12 years.
Kynerd was very involved off the track at Hinds, serving as president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes as a sophomore. He was a member of the Wesley Foundation and Circle K Club. He served as a statistician for the football team and was a manager of the basketball team both years.
After finishing at Hinds, Kynerd competed in track and field at Delta State University where he was given the Sportsmanship Award as a junior and was part of two undefeated teams. He also served as the president of the Baptist Student Union and was a member of both the Omicron Delta Kappa honor society and the M club.
After serving in the U.S. Army from 1970-1973, Kynerd went on to receive a master's degree in educational technology from the University of Southern Mississippi. He became the assistant media center director at Hinds Community College from 1975-1984, director 1984-1995 and was then dean of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning from 1996to 2007. He was named a Hinds Life Star recipient in 2003-2004.
From 2007 to present day, Kynerd has worked as an eLearning specialist at Nissan North America. He has served as president of the Mississippi Association of Media Educators (MAME). He is married to Wanda Kraft Kynerd, and they have a daughter, Emily Kynerd Bond.
Leon Lett
Football, 1986-1988
Leon Lett, a Fairhope, Ala. native, was a gridiron star at many levels as a defensive lineman, but got his collegiate start at Hinds Community College in 1986.
After standout seasons at Hinds, Lett went on to play at Emporia State University in Kansas, where he helped lead the Hornets to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national championship game as a junior. He was named an NAIA Honorable Mention All-American in 1989.
Lett was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1991 National Football League (NFL) draft and embarked on a stellar 10-year career at the highest level. He was a two-time Pro Bowl selection in 1994 and 1998 and was voted MVP of the 1995 NFC title game. Lett won three Super Bowl titles with the Cowboys in 1993, 1994 and 1996.
Lett finished his career in 2001 with the Denver Broncos and had a career line of 22.5 sacks, 229 tackles and seven fumble recoveries. He was named to the list of Top 50 Dallas Cowboys of All-Time in 2009 for his accomplishments on the field.
Lett, who was known as “The Big Cat,” retired after more than a decade in the league and briefly spent time in the residential construction business. He moved on to finish his schooling at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) in 2009, earning a bachelor's degree in university studies with an emphasis in sociology and history.
During his time at UNLV, Lett entered the coaching ranks, serving as a volunteer assistant during the 2009 season. He recently left the University of Louisiana-Monroe, where he was the defensive tackles coach. He is now a defensive line coach for the Dallas Cowboys, and is an ambassador for Rainbow Dreams, a Las Vegas Freedom School.
Lett has a daughter, Leondra.
Thad Talley
Football and Track and Field, 1957-1959
Thad Talley, a Canton native, was a captain of the Hinds football and track and field teams during his time on the Raymond Campus in the late 1950s.
Talley - who competed in the high jump, pole vault, 1/2 mile relay, mile relay and the 440-yard dash while at Hinds - held the Hinds record for the half mile for an extended period of time. He was also a member of the Baptist Student Union, was elected Most Versatile and was selected as a Campus Favorite in the Who's Who.
After his time at Hinds, Talley transferred to Furman University in South Carolina where he was an All-Southern Conference performer for two years and ranked number six in the world in the 880-yard run at one point.
Talley, who graduated from Furman with a bachelor's degree in physical education, went to Brevard College (N.C.) to become head track and field and cross country coach from 1965-1968. After spending the 1969 season as an assistant coach at the University of Tennessee, Talley spent the 1970-1972 seasons as the head track and field coach at Arkansas State University, where he coached a world record holder and a Bronze Olympic medalist in the high hurdles.
Talley was at the University of Kansas from 1973-1976, before moving on to The Citadel in South Carolina, where he served as the head coach from 1976-1980. He then spent the 1980-1981 season as the women's athletic director and assistant track coach at Charleston Southern University.
Talley, who was inducted into the Brevard College Sports Hall of Fame in 2008, spent the next 13 years as a teacher in the Summerville, S.C., school district before retiring in 1996.
Talley and his wife Harriette have two sons, Rob and Clay. The family lives in Summerville, S.C.
Larry Weems
Football and Track and Field, 1970-1972
Jackson native Larry Weems was a football and track and field standout for Hinds in the early 1970s.
Weems moved on to Delta State University in 1973 before transferring to Mississippi State University, where he received a bachelor's degree in health, physical education and recreation in 1974. He received his master's degree in education a year later from MSU.
In 1975, Weems embarked on a highly-successful coaching career that continues. He served as head junior high football coach at Jackson Preparatory School from 1975-1978 before becoming assistant football coach at Meridian High School from 1978-1980 in the first of his four stints with the Wildcats.
Weems was head junior varsity coach at the University of Mississippi from 1980-1982 before returning to Meridian High to serve as the defensive coordinator from 1982-1986, where he played a large part in the Wildcats winning the 1985 5-A state championship.
Weems moved to Biloxi as the head football coach and director of athletics at Biloxi High School from 1987-1990, returning again to Meridian High School from 1990-2000 where he was the defensive coordinator and assistant athletic director, helping the Wildcats claim the 1990 5A state championship.
From 2000-2006, Weems was the head football coach at Pearl High School, leading the Pirates to five consecutive regional championships and state playoff appearances.
After the 2006 season, Weems returned to Meridian, this time in the role of head coach. The highlight of his coaching career came in 2008, when the Wildcats claimed the 5A state championship by defeating South Panola High School in overtime. The Wildcats' win was the first loss for the Tigers in 89 games. Weems helped lead Meridian back in 2010, but dropped the title game to South Panola in the rematch.
Weems is married to Chris and the couple has two sons, Clarke and Ty, and a daughter, Lori Weems Davidson.
