Georgeanna Bodine Ford, Class of 1947, has been inducted into the Franklin College Athletic Hall of Fame as a coach.
During a time when high school girls’ basketball was a half-court game, Ford arrived at Covington Community High School Corporation. A recent graduate of Franklin College, Ford was hired as the girls’ physical education teacher in 1949. Girls’ sports were virtually non-existent at CHS then.
While serving many years as a sponsor of the Girls Athletic Association, she strived to develop equal athletic opportunities for female athletes. Her staunch support of girls’ sports endeared her to impressionable young ladies as a positive role model.
She organized CHS’s first state-sponsored volleyball team and assumed the role of its varsity coach in 1972. The inaugural season served to be the beginning of the Georgeanna Ford era of Trojan volleyball.
Her style of coaching not only instilled knowledge of the game in the minds of her players, but also a love of the sport. As a result of her hard work and tireless dedication, she successfully developed discipline, sportsmanship and a desire for excellence among her athletes.
Ford’s reign as CHS volleyball coach would last 14 years until she retired from teaching in January of 1987. Her overall record was 207-85. Upon the beginning of volleyball competition in the Wabash River Conference in 1976, Ford’s teams dominated the WRC, earning five conference championships in 11 years with a .820 winning percentage.
Playing against Seeger, Attica and Fountain Central high schools, Ford guided her teams to seven Bi-County tournament championships in 11 years. The Lady Trojans also earned three open class IHSAA sectional titles during her tenure.
Ford resides in Covington. She was married to FC alumnus Donald E. Ford ’48, who passed away in 2005. Ford has a daughter, Cheryl, and a son, Bruce.
Jim Plummer, Class of 1961, has been inducted into the Franklin College Athletic Hall of Fame as a coach.
Plummer lettered three years in football and two years in track and field at FC. He was certain he wanted to teach and coach after graduating.
His coaching career spanned 44 years – seven years as an assistant football coach and 37 years as a head football coach. Plummer also was a head coach in high school wrestling and track and field.
He was the head football coach and head wrestling coach at Hamilton Heights High School for two years and athletic director for one. He guided his football team to two conference championships and his wrestling program to one league title.
Plummer then went on to become the head football coach at Western High School in Howard County for 35 years. He amassed a coaching record of 220-135 with four undefeated regular seasons and 15 conference championships. His teams made the Indiana High School Athletic Association state playoffs under the point system and cluster system before the present tournament format was adopted.
In 2010, Plummer ranked 22nd on the Indiana Football Coaches Association’s list of all-time coaching wins with a total record of 234-141.
In 1975 and 1985, Plummer was selected to coach in the North-South All-Star Football Game. He was defensive coordinator on two victorious North teams that did not allow a touchdown. Plummer was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 2007 and inducted into the Howard County Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010.
In addition, Plummer officiated in wrestling for 25 years and worked two state championship finals. In 2000, he was inducted into the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Plummer resides in Spring Hill, Fla. with his wife, Marilyn, and has a son, Jay, and daughter, Paige.
Micheal Gibbs, Class of 1989, has been inducted into the Franklin College Athletic Hall of Fame as a player.
He arrived on the FC campus in 1985 from Pike High School in Indianapolis, where he played for longtime basketball coach and 1995 Franklin College Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Ed Siegel ’54.
In his senior year, Gibbs was voted the Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference’s Most Valuable Player after helping the Grizzlies capture the league basketball championship in the first season which it was contested. He also was named to the NAIA All-District 21 team, playing for Coach Kerry Prather.
Gibbs, who wore No. 24, posted then single-season records in field goal percentage (.600), free throws made (177) and steals (65). A team captain that year, he was named Franklin’s MVP and “Clutch” Award recipient for the Grizzlies, who posted an 8-2 conference record and a 21-7 overall mark, and reached the second round of the NAIA District 21 tournament.
The four-year letter winner is presently Franklin’s 14th all-time leader in points with 1,395 (ranked eighth at the end of his FC career). He’s also ranked 19th in all-time rebounds with 504 (14th at the end of his career).
After graduating from Franklin with his degree in sociology, Gibbs was a counselor for at-risk youth, supervising and working with individuals with disabilities for seven years.
He then enrolled at Indiana University to attain a teacher’s license in special education and has been teaching in Indianapolis Public Schools for the past 16 years. Gibbs has been the recipient of several IPS awards, including the “Above and Beyond the Call of Duty Award.”
Gibbs resides in Indianapolis with his wife, Shanette, and daughter, Micah.
