Mrs. Judy Phillips, from the class of 1960, has played a crucial role in Central High School’s alumni for many years with an ongoing legacy. As the former secretary for Central’s Alumni association, she has always stayed true to her purple pride.

“I have served as secretary until January of this year and have worked on all fundraisers, the scholarship committee, and the Distinguished Sports Hall of Fame event as well as other Distinguished Hall of Fame events. I have attended lots of sporting events such as football, baseball, and basketball games these past few years,” Phillips delineated.

While at Central, Mrs. Phillips also had several other responsibilities. A couple of her positions involved things that Central unfortunately does not participate in anymore.

“I was a part of champion staff, May Day (On May 1 each year, the girls dressed in white dresses and ‘wrapped’ a maypole on the front lawn of the school), a team of ushers (We introduced new students to their teachers, welcomed guests at the school, etc.), a military sponsor, and part of the Merry Macs (There were school sponsored social clubs during my years at Central, and the Merry Macs was one of them),” Mrs. Phillips clarified.

After high school, Mrs. Phillips got married young and started a family. In 1979 she started her career at Blue Cross Blue Shield, where she worked her way from the bottom to the top.

“I was a stay at home mom until 1979 when I started working at Blue Cross Blue Shield. I worked my way up from the mail desk to a management position and retired in 1999. I developed an entire department that spanned from Jackson, Tennessee to Kingsport, Tennessee,” Phillips explained.

Mrs. Phillips eventually went back to work part-time at a local physician’s office, and she has been employed there now for 13 years.

The love and support that Mrs. Phillips has for Central High is undeniable. She has always been there to speak on behalf of Central, and she is still taking pride in how wonderful our school really is. Mrs. Phillips has never stopped believing in Central, and she never will.

“Central excels in so many area like academics, athletics, music, and art. There should be a front page newspaper article every day about the accomplishments of Central students,” Mrs. Phillips declared.

Mrs. Phillips is an all around faithful supporter of Central, and a very involved alumna as well. It is obvious through her continuous involvement at the school that she wants this institution to reach its full potential.

The final detail that Mrs. Phillips wanted to share is the advice that she would give to a Central student today.

“Study hard but participate in extracurricular activities that interest you. Take advantage of all that Central has to offer,” Phillips advised.

The student body, along with the staff, appreciate Mrs. Judy Phillips for all that she has done for our school, and wish her well in the future.