FOUNDERS

The HAECO Invitational trophy is named the Founders Cup. The trophy, presented to the men’s and women’s champions each year, is named in honor of the seven Greensboro Sports Council members who were most responsible for founding this Greensboro holiday high school tradition. To the founders of the tournament created as the Little 4 Invitational in 1976, thank you.

JIM BETTS

Jim Betts, a faithful and ardent supporter of sports in our area, is a past president of the Greensboro Sports Council and a past chairman of the 1977 tournament. Betts is also a past chairman of the Greater Greensboro Open, now the Wyndham Championship, and a life member of the Greensboro Jaycees, which honored him with the Roy Cary Award. He is a former co-chairman of both the Southern Conference Soccer Championship and the ACC Golf Championship. He served as a director and vice chairman of the Central YMCA and is a past chairman and current member of the Bryan Park Golf Commission.

Many other organizations in Greensboro have had the benefit of his leadership including the Natural Science Center, Greensboro Board of Education, Gateway Education Center, Greensboro Country Club, Shepherd Center of Greensboro and West Market Street Untied Methodist Church where was Lay Leader. He is vice chairman of the board of directors of N.C. Grange Mutual Insurance Company.

Betts attended N.C. State where he is a member of the Varsity Wolfpack Club and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He owned E.K. Williams Company of North Carolina for 36 years before a successful switch to financial services. He is retired from Merrill Lynch.

LEM COX

Over a 40-year career in education, Lem Cox has demonstrated his deep commitment to youth and sports. He holds degrees from East Carolina University and Vanderbilt University and worked as a teacher and coach in the public schools of both Virginia and North Carolina. Cox is probably best known to Greensboro residents as the long-time City Athletic Director in the Greensboro City Schools until 1993. For the past 14 years, Cox has served as the Director of the Internship Program at Greensboro College.

The Greensboro Sports Council is just one of his many community involvements. Cox is also a member and Elder of the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant.

BRADLEY E. FAIRCLOTH

Bradley E. Faircloth passed away on August 25, 2012. He spent a lifetime ensuring athletic success and fairness on the athletic field. He was involved in football officiating for over 45 years and was appointed Assistant Commissioner and Supervisor of Football Officials for the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1983. He received the Collegiate Commissioners Football Officials Award of Merit and was inducted into the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. A longtime ACC official, Faircloth officiated more than 200 games in his career including seven major bowl games, the North Carolina-South Carolina Shrine Bowl, the North Carolina East-West All-Star games and the NAIA Championship.

He traveled extensively in Europe conducting officiating clinics for the U.S. Air Force. In 1991, he assisted in the establishment of a scholarship program in the Triad area for high school football players who distinguished themselves academically, athletically and in the community.  In the past 16 years, more than 200 students have been awarded scholarships. Faircloth was honored when his name was added to that of former Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner Gene Corrigan in establishing the Gene Corrigan/Bradley Faircloth Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

Faircloth is a past president of the Greensboro Sports Council and a past chairman of the GGO, now the Wyndham Championship. The City of Greensboro selected him as an outstanding civic leader; he received the Service to Youth Award and the Distinguished Service Award from the Salvation Army.

STANLEY FRANK

Stanley Frank, a keen supporter of the tournament, passed away on January 2, 2006. He was a former chairman of the Greensboro Sports Council who worked tirelessly in a number of community endeavors. Frank came to Greensboro in 1936 to rescue a faltering business, Carolina By-Products, which he eventually purchased and became its president, chairman and Chief Executive Officer before retiring.

Frank was president of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the United Community Services (now United Way), honorary chairman of the Greater Greensboro Open, the first chairman of the Guilford County Zoning Committee and a trustee of Guilford College, where he established the Frank Scholarship. He served as a director and chairman of the development committee of the N.C. Symphony, director of Boy Scouts of America, director and past chairman of the First Union National Bank board of directors, member of the American Business Club, director of First Mortgage Insurance and a member of the Wake Forest Board of Visitors. Frank was perhaps best known as chairman of the Greensboro-High Point Airport Authority, a precursor to the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority. He served on the board longer than any of its other members and became Chairman in 1972. He also served as Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Aeronautics Council.

Frank received the chamber's Distinguished Citizen Award, a brotherhood citation from the National Conference of Christians and Jews and an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Wake Forest University in 1981. He was honored for his civic leadership by the Interclub Council, a coalition of Greensboro's civic clubs, in 1984.

DOUG GALYON

Doug Galyon, the former chairman of the North Carolina Board of Transportation, passed away on April 7, 2019.  Galyon served on the North Carolina Board of Transportation for 17 years, including nine as chairman.  He was the 1975 Greensboro Sports Council president, the 1996 HAECO Invitational honorary chairman and the 1988 Wyndham Championship honorary chairman.  He served on the Greensboro City Council, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners and the Greensboro Coliseum Commission.  He was vice-chairman for economic development for Greensboro Area Chamber of Commerce. His memberships, in addition to the Greensboro Sports Council, included the Greensboro Rotary Club, the N.C. Textile Manufacturers Association board of directors, United Arts Council board of directors and the planning division for the United Way of Greater Greensboro. 

Galyon also served on the UNC-Greensboro Excellence Foundation Board, the Board of Visitors at Greensboro College and Guilford College and the Greensboro Rotary Club. He was a life member of the Greensboro Jaycees, the Duke University Iron Dukes and the recipient of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce’s Distinguished Citizen Award.  Galyon attended Duke University and was a 1953 graduate of Guilford College. He served in the United States Marine Corp from 1954-’56 and retired from Guilford Mills after a successful career in the textile industry. The State of North Carolina awarded Galyon its highest honor, The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, in 2000.  Four years later, the City of Greensboro honored Galyon for his service to the community by dedicating the city's newly-renovated transportation center The J. Douglas Galyon Depot.

FRED I. JOSEPH

Fred I. Joseph was a vital supporter of athletics in our community. After joining the Greensboro Sports Council in 1960, Joseph served as its president as well as both chairman and later honorary chairman of the HAECO Invitational. He passed away January 13, 2022. 

Joseph was a graduate of North Carolina State University and served on both the alumni board and the athletic council of N.C. State. Locally, he was chairman of the Guilford County Wolfpack Club for 20 years. He was an active supporter of sports at Page High School serving as a volunteer football coach and president of the Booster Club. Joseph founded the Booster Club at Greensboro College, which honored him with the Joseph Athletic Award now presented annually to the outstanding male and female athletes at the college. He served as a Trustee of Louisburg College for 20 years.

Joseph enjoyed a successful career with Shenandoah Life Insurance Company and was recognized as a member of the Million Dollar Round Table numerous times. He was also a past president of the Greensboro Association of Life Underwriters.

E. KEMP REECE

E. Kemp Reece passed away on July 6, 2012. He was an outstanding supporter of athletics and the community. Reece has been a member of the Greensboro Sports Council for more than 40 years and served as Treasurer and President of the Sports Council. He is now an Emeritus Director. Kemp’s other community activities are extensive. He is active in his Kiwanis Club where he served as President and Lieutenant Governor of the Carolinas District. He served on the board of directors for the Greensboro Symphony and chaired the Endowment Committee. Reece is a past trustee of Greensboro College and former president of the board of associates at Meredith College.

Reece has degrees from Wake Forest University and the University of Chicago Investment Banking School. He has worked in all aspects of the securities and investment field as a broker, branch office manager and financial consultant.