The Statler Brothers introduced the world to the song, “The Class of ’57”. The chorus simply says that The Class of ’57 had their dreams. Well The Class of ’83 had her dreams too. Dreams about the careers we would pursue, the families we would build, and the difference we would make. Our teachers taught us that we could make a difference by simply being ourselves, working hard, and thinking about others first. I must say it would be nice if every bought into this dream too, but nevertheless The Class of ’83 has made a difference. That year the Maroon and White Bobcats of Bell County High School selected Jackie Oslonian and Robert Burnett as the Most Athletic in our Senior Superlatives. Our children grow up looking like us for the most part, acting like us more than we will admit and we pray achieve more than we did. Peyton Hisel, Jackie’s daughter, and Andrew Burnett, Robert’s son have both made their parents proud and have moved the dreams of the Class of ’83 to the next level.
Jackie Oslonian was without a doubt a great student athlete and when I asked her what she felt knowing her daughter signed to play in the Ohio Valley Conference at Jacksonville State in Oxford, Alabama she said, “I feel blessed and thankful on many different levels. My daughter has the opportunity to play at the next level, and she earned it”. Peyton is finishing her senior year of high school at Tates Creek in Lexington, Ky. Her statement and thoughts about playing at the next level are quite simple. “Competition is all about getting better and this is a challenge I welcome.” She was recruited by Eastern Kentucky University, and the University of Tennessee-Martin just to give you a glimpse of who was interested in her talent, skills, and determination. With a NCAA Division I full scholarship to join the Gamecocks Women’s basketball program at JSU Peyton will make a difference from the classroom floor as she seek an academic career in the area of nursing and or sports medicine.
Andrew Burnett has defied all the odds as a Brentwood Tennessee High School Senior.
He signed to play NCAA Division I Lacrosse at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. “You could be the best player in Lacrosse in the State of Tennessee and no would care”, Robert Burnett shared with me when I spoke with him about his son’s accomplishment. “There are 60 Division I teams in the Nation and only 10-12 kids per team and my son sought out his dream and he did it”. Andrew is what is known as a Faceoff specialist. His winning percentage at this position is 59.8% winning 255 out of 376 faceoffs. For those not familiar with Lacrosse, Andrew plays in a position that requires hard nose, totally aggressive and a mental toughness to get the ball in a one on one battle. Andrew does this with exception skills and technique. Getting the ball puts your team on offense and this is the position you want to be to score first and win your game. When asked about his thoughts of signing to play Lacrosse at the Division I Level Andrew said, “This is hard to explain because all the odds were against me reaching my dream. I took one skill set, winning at faceoff and it turned into my opportunity”.
Parents who watch their children succeed at their dreams are parents who are also blessed to remember their own goals. They become parents who now watch their dreams (their children) with even greater wonder than their own hopes when they were elected to the highest honors we could give back in our day. Peyton and Andrew you should know that there are many members of the Class of ’83 who applaud your success and who applaud your ever basket, great defense and faceoff win and score that you each achieve. Your grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and yes, even your grandparents friends and folks you may never meet celebrate your success too. One of the great traits of mountain folks is that we get excited when folks show us a picture or tell us a story of your success. On behalf of the Class of ’83, please allow this columnist to say congratulations and that you have more fans than you know from here in the mountains of Southeastern Kentucky.
Until then
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