The Brookland-Lakeview Empowerment Center (BLEC) in concert with the Greater Lakeview Alumni Association held a dedication ceremony to commemorate the exceptional and enduring legacy of former Lakeview School head football and basketball coaches who collectively compiled 23 winning seasons and four state championships from 1944 to 1967.
“Nothing other than a state championship was considered successful at Lakeview,” recalls Bennie L. Sutton, who attended Lakeview and now serves as board chairman of BLEC. “This event was held to capture and document history because if you don’t, our history will be lost.”
The Fall of 1944 was the inaugural year for football at the Lakeview School and the first game was played on the field. The school’s earlier head coaches were Leroy Scott who served from 1944 to 1945 and Mr. Garnett Hall who coached from 1946 to 1947.
During the ceremony, the athletic field was dedicated as “Brooks-Fair-Danner Athletic Field” to honor Charles T. Brooks, head coach from 1948 to 1953; Leroy M. Fair (1954- 1960); and Reginald Danner (1961-1963). The Lakeview School was closed and re-purposed as a middle school in the summer of 1968.
The athletic field became the property of Lakeview School during the early 1940’s through the efforts of Reverend Luther B. Golden of West Columbia, S. C. Reverend Golden was one of the early principals of the New Brookland Colored School (circa 1920), which later became the Lakeview School due to its frontal view of a body of water named the “Horseshoe Lake.”
The Lakeview School
gymnasium was also dedicated to honor Harold White, who coached football and basketball at Lakeview from 1964 to 1967. A dedication for the Harold White Human Development Center was initially scheduled in 2019, but the pandemic caused the delay.
“It is appropriate to recognize the outstanding coaches who served Lakeview School with exceptional devotion and dedication,” said Dr. Cindye Richburg Cotton, BLEC executive director. “By naming the athletic field in their honor means their success will never be forgotten and provide a sense of pride to their families.”
BLEC presented plaques to the families of the honored coaches as a posthumous recognition of the devoted and dedicated coaches who helped to “Transition Boys Into Men.”
US Foods sponsored the event by providing light refreshments to the attendees. Each year, US Foods partners with the BLEC to support a program or initiative in obser-
vance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
“We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Brookland-Lakeview Empowerment Center for the opportunity to honor the former head coaches of
Lakeview High School,” said Andre Fortune, US Foods human resources coordinator. “Your generosity in allowing US Foods to participate in this historical event is greatly 1”
