Central High School football players know Talisha Akins as the Football Mom. She is actually, the President of the Central High Football Booster Club.

Akins has been a member of the booster club for 4 years, 3 of which she has been president. During his sophomore year, her oldest son joined the football team and she joined the club as a way to give back. After the previous president left, she filled in the role and was voted into the presidency the following year.

She stated that the title of president personally meant nothing, and she does what she can to make the players successful in football and school.  Akins could not choose a favorite moment, every moment full of joy and laughter is a new memory. Her least favorite event was the passing of Gary McNutt in December 2022 as he was a great man who loved central football.

As the main point of contact for the booster club, Akins does various things. She works with the coaches to provide for the team, works on team fundraisers, works in organizing and serving pre game meals and halftime snacks, and also works getting field sign sponsors from the community. It’s a time-consuming vocation. Akins says pre-game meals take around ninety minutes to set up, Friday concessions take a couple of hours (given they have so few volunteers), and Half time snacks can take anywhere from ten minutes to an hour.

Concessions start on Monday when they take inventory and order what they will need for the rest of the week. For the club, football season makes their job never ending. On home games, they leave Friday clean-up till Saturday. Preparation for the Connie Hay event starts in June following the May tournament.

When asked what her thoughts on this year’s team was, she said they were new and lacked confidence in themselves, but that they have a lot of heart, pushing back even when behind, when many others would quit.

Akins does not get paid for doing this, sourcing gratitude as payment. When asked if she enjoyed this role she said she did, other parents in the club this year have made things easier, and enjoyable. All of the parents this year have the same goal, “To provide the team with best opportunities to succeed on and off the field.”