One Feather Staff Report
BRYSON CITY, N.C. – A longtime educator at Swain County High School is being named to the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association (NCADA) Hall of Fame. Neil Blankenship, a first descendant of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, is being inducted into Hall of Fame at the Hotel Ballast in Wilmington, N.C. on March 27.
A longtime educator at Swain County High School is being named to the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association (NCADA) Hall of Fame. Neil Blankenship, a first descendant of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, is being inducted into Hall of Fame at the Hotel Ballast in Wilmington, N.C. on March 27. (Photo courtesy of Swain County Schools)
A 1988 graduate of Swain Co. High School, Blankenship went on to become a nationally-ranked NAIA cross country runner at Mars Hill. Upon completing his education there, he began his career back at Swain Co. in 1993.
He’s served as the athletic director at Swain Co. since 2012 and coached several sports there including women’s basketball and varsity football where he finished his coaching career in 2021 with a 95-40 record that included three Smoky Mountain Conference championships and a 1A state championship runner-up finish.
According to information from NCADA, “Since becoming the AD (athletic director) at Swain, he has served on the N.C. Athletic Directors Association, the Board of Directors for N.C. High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA), the N.C. Coaches Association Board (president in 2021), the N.C. Football Coaches Association Board, and the Southwestern Officials Association Board of Directors. He is a certified athletic administrator (CAA) and a Level 3 coach with NFHS. Neil has been awarded the Gerald McGee Award of Excellence in 2022, the NIAAA State Award of Merit in 2021, the Charlie Adams Distinguished Service Award in Region Eight in 2020, the Region Eight Athletic Director of the Year in 2016, and the NCHSAA Special Person Award in 2015.”
Other inductees for the Class of 2023 include: Michael Gainey, Troy Lindsey, Jay Smith, and Jim Taylor.
