By Bonita Wilborn
Hundreds of people came out on Saturday, March 10th to the Meet and Greet event hosted by Dish Network and the City of Rainsville for Jeremy Pruitt, a local citizen that has gone on to accomplish a lot in his lifetime.
The possibility of such an event was first mentioned among the members of the City Council, who discussed it with the mayor and then gave the go-ahead for a committee consisting of: Councilman Derek Rosson, Councilman Ricky Byrum, Anthony “Antwan” Smith, Sandy Goff, and Jimmy Willingham to plan the event and use the Bevill Center.
The Meet and Greet began with a meal and the opportunity for folks from Rainsville and the surrounding area, who watched Jeremy grow up, to say hello, extend congratulations, and let Jeremy know “Hey, we’re proud of you”. When it was time for the presentation portion of the event, Emcee Jerry Clifton began by calling everyone to order. He announced the following speakers in order; former Plainview Head Basketball Coach Terry Mitchell, former Plainview Head Football Coach Don Cunningham, former Rainsville Mayor Roy Sanderson, current Rainsville Mayor Rodger Lingerfelt who welcomed everyone and presented Jeremy with the Key to the City, followed by Representative Nathaniel Ledbetter, Senator Steve Livingston, former Plainview Head Football Coach (also Jeremy’s father) Dale Pruitt, and then finally Jeremy Pruitt himself.
Mayor Lingerfelt commented, “From a personal standpoint, I watched Jeremy playing sports as he was growing up then playing on TV, and it was fairly obvious that he was a leader. From the City’s standpoint, I think this was a great opportunity to recognize someone who had grown up in Rainsville, went to school here, and his parents and grandparents are from here. Jeremy had great accomplishments as an athlete playing at Plainview then going on to college and playing football at Middle Tennessee State University and then the University of Alabama. He’s also had great accomplishments in his coaching career at Plainview, then on to Fort Payne, Hoover, Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, back to Alabama, and now on to being the Head Football Coach at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. It’s a great accomplishment for someone to be able to be from the City of Rainsville and now be in an elite coaching program like the SEC. It’s great to have someone from your town like that and it’s great to know him and know all of his family, and to have grown up with them. It’s a good thing.”