From a season-ending injury as a high school basketball player in the 1990s to being named Alabama Association of Secondary School Principals 2023-2024 High School Principal of the Year, Dr. Gregory D. Moore Jr. has always been a leader and an encourager. Former Faulkner Coach Jim Sanderson recruited Moore out of high school to play basketball for the Faulkner Eagles and had this to say about him, “Greg Moore was going to be a Pied Piper from day one! He was the kind of student-athlete that others wanted to associate with and follow, whether a teammate or classmate. Greg always made you feel good about yourself and the situation. He was a person that you could count on each and every day. He is a special person.”
Evidence of Sanderson’s quote is the fact that while at Faulkner from 1995-1999 Moore was not only a student athlete but also the Homecoming King, SGA President, a member of Epsilon social club, recipient of the 1999 English Academic Award and was consistently on the Honor Roll/Dean’s List. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English and graduated in May 1999 and earned his doctorate degree from Samford University in 2021. As an alum, he was invited back to campus and honored as the College of Arts & Sciences’ English, Humanities, Music and Great Books’ 2022 Distinguished Alumnus.
In true “educator fashion,” Greg shared his story in his own words.
“I was recruited by Coach Jim Sanderson and Coach Greg Eubanks from Leeds High School in 1995. They both attended a few of my high school basketball games, and eventually, I was offered a basketball scholarship. It was a tremendous blessing after suffering a season-ending injury my senior year of high school. I will always remember being told that my leadership potential was impressive and just as important as my ability to play basketball.
“I have tremendous memories of playing basketball at Faulkner. My freshman year was awesome. I had tremendous mentors like Tito Baker, Brian Parker, Maxient Lavodrama, and Casey Farris. I learned a lot as a freshman about the mental toughness and discipline that it took to be a college basketball player. It took a difficult sophomore year for me to mature as a collegiate athlete and learn what it took to not only be a better basketball player but also a better young man. My junior and senior seasons were memorable with awesome teammates along the way and finishing with winning seasons. Winning the Conference Tournament Championship was one of the greatest nights at Faulkner. We celebrated all the way home from Americus, Georgia and were met at Tine Davis Gym by members of our Faulkner family. Finishing my career playing in the National Tournament was awesome as well. I wasn’t a stat stuffer, but I tried to be a leader and an encourager for my teammates. They were tremendous ball players, and I was blessed to share the court with them.
“As a coach, I wanted to implement the things I learned as a player in high school and while I was at Faulkner. I coached seven years of high school basketball. It was an enjoyable experience, and we were able to achieve some success. I really enjoyed coaching but felt like my ability to have an impact was limited to a team and a classroom. I taught English for seven years as well and I loved every minute of it. We worked just as hard in the classroom as we did on the basketball court.
“After seven years as a teacher and a coach, I moved into administration. I was an assistant principal at Pinson Valley High School for eight years and two years as an assistant principal at Chalkville Elementary School. Those ten years helped mold me as an administrator and helped me grow as an educator.
“I became the principal at Springville Elementary School in 2017. The years at Chalkville Elementary really helped prepare me for my first principal experience. I have several fond memories of my time at Springville Elementary. As a school, we got after it. The same drive and intensity I displayed as a player and a coach was carried over to how I served as a principal. The love and support I received was unbelievable. I transferred to Springville High School in 2020. It was a difficult transition because the great things established at Springville Elementary were hard to leave, but being at Springville High School has proven to be just as remarkable. I have continued to serve in the same community and continued to impact the same students from elementary to high school. I have already created fond memories, and I’m excited to continue to create more.”
