Greg Hale’s family was in attendance for the first Greg Hale Memorial meet on Feb. 17. Hale started the powerlifting program at Bradford over 30 years ago.
Photo by Drew Terhall | The Daily Advocate
By Drew Terhall
Dailyadvocate.com
BRADFORD — The Bradford home powerlifting meets will have a new meaning behind it for years to come. At the meet on Feb. 17, athletic director Chloe Thompson, along with coaches Erica Schulze, Kyle Parker and Ryan Hudelson, announced the meet will now be named in honor of Greg Hale.
Thompson said Hale started the powerlifting program at Bradford 30+ years ago. Hale passed away last year and the school wanted to do something to remember his contributions to the community.
“Being able to dedicate the meet to him was something extremely important to myself and all of the coaches as well as the administration here in the building,” Thompson said.
Thompson said they called his wife, Cindy, to make sure she could be a part of the dedication. Hale’s family attended the meet, the first one named in Hale’s honor.
“I felt like the minimum thing we could do is dedicate the meet to him. That’s just a small part of what he’s done,” Schulze said. “All of his family is here today. All of his kids and his wife is here today to celebrate the first memorial meet with us.”
The meet was a time to remember who Hale was as a coach and as a person. The boys and girls powerlifting teams feature quite a bit of younger kids this year. Most of them didn’t have the chance to really get to know Hale.
Schulze said everyone on the team has an idea of who Hale was just through hearing about him.
“I wish they could have known who Hale was and his coaching style. I think through talking about him, they all kind of get the hint that he was a down to Earth guy and very hard on you. He only wanted the best,” Schulze said.
They also have been able to learn what Hale has meant to the community. Schulze said everyone is thankful for everything he did. Naming the meet the Greg Hale Memorial was a no-brainer way to honor him.
“Greg means so much to this community. Obviously, his loss last year was a tough one. We wanted to make sure that we were able to do this in honor of him,” Thompson said.
The name is a reminder of why everyone is at Bradford competing in meet. None of it would have been possible without Hale.
Hale is dearly missed by everyone at Bradford. He will always be a big part of each powerlifting meet moving forward.
“Everybody misses him. It was very obvious at our push/pull meet. He’s got the best seat in the house right now,” Schulze said.
