Athletic Director Roonie Scovel receives Key to the City of Panama City

Last Friday, Coach Roonie Scovel, the head women’s basketball coach at Gulf Coast State College, was honored for her accomplishments with the Key to the City of Panama City. This event took place at Florida State University’s Panama City campus during the Bay County Chamber of Commerce’s First Friday event. Hundreds of business leaders from around Bay County were in attendance as Coach Scovel was praised for all she has done for not only the school, but for the community as a whole.

First Friday is a monthly event put on by the Bay County Chamber of Commerce. It’s purpose is to provide an avenue for business leaders to network and to learn about the latest trends, advancements, and achievements happening in the County. This event is only open to the Chamber’s membership, which consists of over 1,100 businesses. Bay County Chamber Leaders deemed this event to be the perfect place to honor the head coach as she has made a tremendous impact in the lives of not only her students, but the lives of business leaders in the area as well.

During this event, Greg Brudnicki, Mayor of the City of Panama City, spoke highly of the coach and her accomplishments, stating he does not give out keys to the city very often, but when he does, it is to someone truly deserving who has shown tremendous leadership in the community. Mayor Brudnicki added to his speech, saying that because of Scovel’s work, she has helped to put Gulf Coast State College and  the City of Panama City on the map for people from across the nation to notice. As she received the award from the Mayor, everyone in attendance gave Coach Scovel a standing ovation to thank and congratulate her.

Coach Scovel has been coaching at Gulf Coast State College for 19 years.This season, she led the Lady Commodore to a 34-2 record. Since she began coaching at the school, she has lead her teams to 15 Conference Championships, 11 Regional Championships and 5 National Championships with the most recent being in 2017. Thanks to Coach Scovel’s teaching, the Lady Commodores are now ranked as the number 1 team in the nation for Junior College Women’s Basketball.
Scovel is a graduate from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and a Master’s in Educational Leadership from the University of West Florida. She coached at Laurel Hill High School in the Florida Panhandle, winning a state title in 1995 and finishing as state runner-up in 1996 before coming to Gulf Coast to rekindle the women’s program. She has also been inducted into a countless number of halls of fame, with her most recent being into the All Sports Association Hall of Fame in 2017.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR