Courtesy: Georgia Aquatic Hall of Fame
The Georgia Aquatic Hall of Fame will induct the 2019 class of honorees on Saturday, August 24th at the Atlanta Athletic Club. The induction banquet is open to the public. Reservations may be made at www.GAHOF.org.
The 2019 class includes:
Jeff Vance (Swimming)
Jeff swam for Atlanta’s Dynamo Swim Club and Dunwoody High School, where he was a four-time All-American. He continued his swimming career at Southern Methodist University where he won six Southwestern Conference individual titles in three different events (200 Butterfly, 200 Individual Medley, 400 Individual Medley). He was a two-time Southwestern Conference Swimmer of the Year and a 10-time NCAA All-American. In 1992, Jeff was NCAA champion in the 400 Individual Medley, setting a Southern Methodist University school record that stood for 25 years.
Coach Jon Howell (Swimming)
Jon is the Head Men’s and Women’s Swimming Coach at Emory University in Atlanta, a position he has held since 1998. Jon has coached 52 individual and 44 relay Division III national champions. His athletes earned 1,173 All American certificates. In 2019, Emory’s women team won their 10th consecutive NCAA Division III national championship and the men’s team had their 20th consecutive top-5 finish. Jon has been named the Division III Coach of the Year for women six times and for men one time, winning both awards in 2017. In 2015 the College Swim Coaches Association of America awarded Jon the National College and Scholastic Swimming Trophy. Jon is a 1990 graduate of Kenyon College where he was an 11-time national champion and a member of four national championship teams.
Kathy McKee (Swimming)
Kathy is one of the leading age group coaches in the country, having developed hundreds of swimmers who have gone on to compete at the Junior and Senior national levels. Beginning in 1977, Kathy coached for 17 years at Dynamo Swim Club, where she helped develop Olympians, national champions, and American record holders, including Eric Wunderlich, Carlton Bruner, and Mary Ellen Blanchard. In 1989, when Dynamo won the National Women’s Championship, every swimmer on that team had Kathy as their age group coach. On four different occasions Kathy was named the Georgia Age Group Coach of the Year. Kathy continued her stellar coaching career from 1994 to 2012 at SwimMac in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was named to the coaching staff of the 2007 National Junior Team. From 2013 to 2019, Kathy served as coach of the at North Carolina Aquatic Club in Chapel Hill, where she was named 2014 North Carolina Coach of the Year.
Jane Austin Harding Moss (Posthumous Inductee – Diving)
“Miss Janie” was the leading lady of Georgia diving for over three decades. With her husband, Robert “Moose” Moss, she cofounded Moss Farms Diving in Moultrie, Georgia, and served as its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. The Moss Farms Diving Tigers dominated amateur diving in Georgia and beyond, winning 26 Junior Olympic National Championships, 9 Senior National Championships, and 8 International Championships. Miss Janie was the epitome of a volunteer, handling every organizational task and contributing her time, her talents, awards, and equipment to ensure Georgia’s succeeded on every level. For over 30 years, she served as State Registration Chairman for Georgia Diving and was the direct link between Georgia Diving and United States Diving.
Clayton Moss (Diving)
Clayton Moss is the grandson of “Moose” and “Miss Janie” Moss and continued the Moss family tradition of diving excellence. Diving for the Moss Farms Diving Tigers, he was a member of the United States Junior National Team from 1993 to 1999 and a member of the United States Senior National team from 2001 to 2004. Diving for Colquitt County High School, Clayton won the Georgia High School Association State Championship in 1998 and 1999. At the University of Kentucky, he was a four-time Southeastern Conference Champion and a three-time SEC Diver of the Year. Clayton was an 11-time NCAA All-American and NCAA National Diver of the Year in 2003.
About the Georgia Aquatic Hall of Fame
The Georgia Aquatic Hall of Fame preserves the history of Aquatics in Georgia and celebrates Georgians who have excelled in aquatic sports. More information about the Georgia Aquatic Hall of Fame and its mission can be found at http://gahof.org/. The Georgia Aquatic Hall of Fame is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
