EAST BEND — Forbush High School inducted five new members into its hall of fame in a ceremony on Jan. 19 during the Falcons’ basketball games with North Wilkes.
Dylan Andrade, Michelle Baity-Bryant, Debbie Motsinger, Dr. Barbara Todd and Coach Jimmy Warden joined an already prestigious class of hall of famers.
The inductees were selected by a committee, which consisted of teachers, coaches and community members for their commitment to the legacy of Forbush High School.
Committee members were Joe Sikes (coach representative), Rachel Davis (teacher representative), Toni Moxley (athletic booster representative), Matt Pruitt (community representative) and Jon Hoots — a 2020 Hall of Fame inductee.
Below is a list of each of the 2024 inductee’s credentials:
Dylan Andrade
A 2015 Forbush graduate, Andrade was all-conference performer in four different sports, which included being a four-time all-conference performer in outdoor track and field.
He was an all-conference selection in swimming and a two-time all-conference selection in boys soccer. He was also a North Carolina Soccer Coaches Association all-region section.
Andrade was a two-time state qualifier in indoor tack and a four-time state qualifier in outdoor track.
He excelled in outdoor track where he was four-time all-conference selection, three-time conference champion, four-time all-region performer and three-time regional champion.
In 2013, he was named the Mountain Valley 1A/2A Athletic Conference Player of the Year; in 2015, he earned the Forbush Male Falcon of the Year Award.
Andrade, who went to compete in track and field at Western Carolina University, broke school records in the 55-meter hurdles, 300-meter dash, the 200, the 400, the 110-meter high hurdles and 300 hurdles.
During his senior season, Andrade broke the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state record for the 300 hurdles, which still stands.
Andrade went on to be a member of four Southern Conference championship teams while with the Catamounts.
Currently residing in Raleigh, where he’s an assistant project manager, Andrade double-majored in Business Administration and Law & Business Management.
Michelle Baity-Bryant
One of the most accomplished athletes in school history, Bryant was an all-conference performer in volleyball, softball and girl’s basketball, won numerous state championships and was named the Female Falcon of the Year during her prep career.
Bryant’s presence was most felt on the volleyball court as where she was a key part of the back-to-back NCHSAA 2A championships in 1996 and 1997. Those teams combined for 60-straight wins, which included the 1997 campaign were the Lady Falcons did not lose a set the entire season while going 30-0 overall.
Bryant continued her volleyball career at Lenoir-Rhyne College, where she was named the Freshman of the Year and was the school’s only four-time all-conference first team performer and was named a Lutheran College All-American.
During her time with the Lady Bears, Bryant set numerous school records and is currently the only volleyball athlete to have her jersey retired by the school.
Academically, Bryant was also named the to the South Atlantic Conference honor roll all four years. She also served as an assistant coach at L-R for four years; during that time, Bryant helped lead the program to its first SAC championship and a berth in the NCAA Division-II tournament.
Following her playing and coaching career, Bryant was inducted into the SAC Hall of Fame in 2009 and into the Lenoir-Rhyne’s Hall of Fame in 2013.
Debbie Motsinger
An accomplished educator with a distinguished career in English instruction, Motsinger graduated summa cum laude from Pfeiffer College in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts in English.
After beginning her career at Lexington Middle School, the majority of Motsinger’s career was at Forbush, where she taught for 29 years until 2011. Her teaching repertoire included standards, honors and Advanced Placement English. But her primary focus was on the freshmen and senior classes.
Motsinger’s dedication to education earned her numerous awards, including Outstanding Young Educator in 1989, Forbush High Teacher of the Year for the 1999-2000 school year. She was also named the Yadkin County Teacher of the Year the same year.
Additionally, she was twice honored with the yearbook dedication and was an active member of both he National Education Association and the North Carolina English Teacher Association.
“Her dedication to the field of education and her impact on students’ live is truly commendable,” said in a release. “Debbie was a dedicated educator who prioritized treating individuals with kindness and respect.
“She excelled in developing her student’s communication skills, enabling them to explain and analyze literature effectively.”
Motsinger’s teaching went beyond the classroom as she offered unique opportunities for students to enjoy learning through creative activities, such as making Grendels, becoming Chaucer characters, reenacting famous novels and Shakespearean play scenes, staging Medieval and Renaissance festivals, and attending the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival.
Dr. Barbara Todd
A 1969 Forbush graduate who served in various clubs including the National Honor Society president, Dr. Todd’s teaching career began in neighboring Wilkes County after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
While teaching (and pursuing both her masters and doctoral degrees), she began a program for high students interested in early childhood education.
After earning her advanced degrees, Dr. Todd became an assistant principal, and later, a principal in Wilkes County.
Dr. Todd returned to Yadkin County after two decades in Wilkes to become the assistant superintendent for Yadkin County Schools, then superintendent for the school system. She served nine years in that capacity.
During her tenure, she pushed the pay scale for the support staff in the school system, and advocated for the creation of the Starmount and Forbush Middle Schools.
Upon departing as superintendent, Todd worked for Appalachian State University and Gardner-Webb University to develop future school leadership.
In 2021, UNCG named a scholarship in her honor; the award supports an undergraduate student (preference given to B-K licensure students from Wilkes and Yadkin counties) in the following departments: Undergraduate, Human Development and Family Studies.
Coach Jimmy Warden
A legend in the world of softball, Warden dedicated his life to coaching and mentoring young athletes across North Carolina for two decades.
He first stepped to the plate in 1993 as a coach at Yadkinville Elementary, leading the recreation softball team for five seasons.
Since 1997, Warden has offered private pitching lessons to players across multiple counties. In 2000, he became an assistant coach for the Carolina Cardinals travel softball programs.
Two years later, he led the 14-and-under squad all the way to Nationals and the program enjoyed tremendous success over the next decade under Warden’s guidance.
Warden also served as the pitching coach for Forbush’s softball program from 2001-to-2014.
During the early years, which also served as the early seasons of fast pitch softball being sanctioned by the NCHSAA (it was fully incepted in 1997), he was a part of three NCHSAA state 2A championships in 2002, 2003 and 2004.
“For 25 years, Jimmy Warden has given his heart and soul to softball. He represents the spirit of the game — tenacious, generous and dedicated to help every athlete shine,” said in the release. “Warden’s lasting legacy will be the countless players he inspired to dream big and work hard, on and off the field.”
Forbush High School contributed to this story.
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