George Starr By Jordan Lee The outcome of a sporting event usually results in the “thrill of victory” or the “agony of defeat.” For Lee University Director of Sports Information George Starr, defeat is not an option. For more than two decades, Starr has been developing Sports Information at Lee University. He is known on campus and throughout the community as the “Voice of the Flames.” Even before he was named the director of Sports Information, Starr would take time off from his previous news-writing jobs to travel with Lee’s teams and broadcast games. His love for sports and the university finally landed him full-time at Lee eleven years ago. Starr’s passion for sports and students directly feeds his work. Although his job can require him to work late into the night, Starr finds strength in helping young athletes. “I love being able to watch young men and women enter this college and develop skills both mentally and physically and leave our university better people. It is such an interesting process to watch them grow from the sports and college life,” says Starr. A typical day for Starr begins early in the office creating media guides and game day programs. He sells advertisements for sports programs to local businesses. After work in the office, Starr usually broadcasts one of the twelve Lee sports teams via radio and internet. Following each game, Starr sends out press releases and keeps in constant contact with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) for statistic updates. In the off-season, Starr maintains record books and keeps track of stats from the previous season. “This is such a dream job for me,” says Starr. “Sports have been such an important part of my life.” Starr’s enthusiasm for sports began at the age of seven and continued throughout his childhood, as he played baseball, basketball, and football. His athletic ability eventually led him to play baseball for Tennessee Wesleyan College. Since then, Starr has married and had three boys whom he and his wife, Joyce, named after Alabama quarterbacks: Bart, Scott and Joe. “My wife has been so supportive of my commitment to Lee,” says Starr. “Most late nights working she is by my side helping me out.” Starr is a family man. He understands the importance of parents being able to know how their son or daughter is doing in sports. “Even with my kids growing up, I wanted to be at every game and know how they were doing,” Starr comments. “With the families of Lee students spread out across the country and the world, I know it’s hard for some families to get information. I get great satisfaction when I hear comments from parents and relatives who appreciate what I do. That’s why I do it.” The development of Lee sports over the past twenty years has been a “positive influence” says Starr. He has watched athletics at Lee go from “a mediocre sports program, to being able to mix with the top 10 teams in every [NAIA] sport.” He gives credit to Dr. Conn, university president; Larry Carpenter, athletic director; and the coaching staff “who are implementing positive influence into these young athlete’s lives.” It is evident that sports are more than winning or losing to George Starr, and as long as he is here at Lee, we have won.   Posted on - 06/25/07