If things go according to plan, the area should be celebrating the Fourth of July and the hiring of a new Gaffney High football coach.

Acting Superintendent Kim Bagwell said Monday the district hopes to hire a new Gaffney High football coach and athletic director by the end of this month.

Bagwell said her top priority is to find a coach with a complete understanding of the uniqueness of the job.

“I’m not just looking for a big name,” Bagwell said. “I want (the new coach) to have a special heart for Gaffney High football and for our boys. I know that person is out there. And we will work hard to get the best.”

Bagwell said she’s aware of at least eight applicants who she described as serious candidates for the job. One of those candidates, of course, is interim head coach Dan Jones. Former Spartanburg head coach Doc Davis also has expressed an interest in the job, while a coach with ties to Gaffney, former T.L. Hanna coach Scott Parker, has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the job.

On Monday, the district office identified the members of the search committee that, hopefully, will find the best candidate.

The preliminary search committee, made up of three school administrators and two community members, will be responsible for selecting the three finalists. Bagwell said the preliminary search committee will meet this week.

The 4-member final selection committee - as its name suggests - will interview the finalists in advance of Bagwell’s recommendation of a candidate for school board approval.

The members of the preliminary search committee are Associate Superintendent for Administrative Services and Instruction Carlotta Redish, Gaffney High Principal Marlene Davis, Gaffney High Assistant Principal Alan Ruppe, Macedonia Baptist Church’s Dr. Terry Duvall and former Granard High football great Pic Dawkins.

Bagwell joins school board chairman Billy Blackwell, Gaffney High team doctor Dr. Robert Kaemmerlen and Chris Dewberry, a Cherokee County Recreation District board member, as members of the final selection committee.

THE SEARCH

IS ON

Preliminary Search

Committee Carlotta

Redish, Marlene Davis,

Alan Ruppe, Dr. Terry Duvall and Pic Dawkins.

Final Selection

Committee Chris Dewberry, Dr. Robert

Kaemmerlen, Billy Blackwell and Kim

Bagwell.