Terrell ISD is proud to announce the Class of 2024 Hall of Fame and Honor inductees. The individuals selected for the Hall of Fame are recognized based on their athletic achievements, character, and overall contribution to the Terrell Independent School District. This year's honorees are: Judy Jones, Roderick Kennedy and Darryl Malone.
The Hall of Honor recognizes Terrell High School or Burnett High School alumni who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the arts, athletics, or academic activities that have made a positive impact on the community. This year's honorees are: Dr. Jay L. McCullar, Charles Neroes, Tim Lawson, Tommy Spencer and Ted Lyon.
The Class of 2024 honorees will take part in an induction ceremony on Friday, October 25. Read on below to learn more about each Hall of Fame and Hall of Honor honoree.
HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Judy Kennedy Jones Judy Jones graduated from Terrell High School in 1979 where she was a four-year member of the Terrell High School volleyball, basketball and track team. Jones’ passion however was basketball. During her sophomore, junior and senior year, she was the leading girl’s basketball scorer with an average of 20 points per game. During her junior year she posted the highest scoring game of her career with 42 points. Jones was named 1st Team All-District her sophomore, junior and senior year.
After high school, Jones entered the workforce and worked at Terrell State Hospital for ten years. She then went to work for Terrell ISD in 1992 and has been a loyal employee since. Jones initially began at Terrell High School working with Project Hope and also served as a bus driver. Later she served as a special needs classroom aide for ten years. Jones continues to drive a bus for the school district to this day. She has been a Terrell resident for 63 years and has been married to her husband Roger Jones since 1986. Jones has four children - Kenoy, Rodrick, Brandon and Summer.
Roderick Kennedy Roderick Kennedy graduated from Terrell High School in 1999 where he was a four-year varsity basketball starter. As a sophomore, Kennedy was named 2nd Team All-District and received the Tiger Heart award. During his junior year, Kennedy averaged 18 points and nine assists per game and led the region in assists. That year he was named the District’s Most Valuable Player, was awarded 2nd Team All-Region honors and was named Most Valuable Player at three different tournaments. Kennedy was also part of the team that set the school record for most wins (26) and the record still stands to this day. As a senior, Kennedy was named to the pre-season Blue Chip All-American Third Team and averaged 17 points and 7 assists per game. Once again he was named 1st Team All-District and was named Most Valuable Player. He was also voted Mr. THS, Most Athletic, and Class Favorite.
After graduation, Kennedy played four seasons at Austin College and was a two-time All-Conference player. Kennedy is the proud father of five children, Montae, DaJuan, Kynnedi, Kaleb and Alaila.
Darryl Malone Darryl Malone graduated from Terrell High School in 1982 where he was a four-year member of the football and track team. An exceptional athlete, Malone was a district, regional and state champion track star. As a sophomore, Malone was a member of the 4x100M relay regional championship team. Additionally, he was a member of the 4x400M relay state championship team and the Tigers were named the overall Division 3A State Champs that year. During his junior year, Malone was a starting free safety on the varsity football team and led the team in tackles. He was named 2nd Team All-District and was the recipient of the Bernard Derrick Memorial Award. During track season, he earned the title of District Champion in the 400M and the 4x400M relay. As a senior, Malone earned 2nd Team All–District and 1st Team All-Area honors as a safety for the football team. As a member of the track team that season, he was the 400M district champion and was a member of the 4x100M and 4x400M relay team that claimed the district championship. At the regional meet, Malone took third place in the 400M and the 4x100M and 4x400M relay. The team also earned a second place finish overall at regionals.
For the past 35 years, Malone has worked as a truck driver driving for multiple industries and driving vehicles of all types. Malone has been married to his wife Bridget for 31 years and has five children - Raythell, Amber, Darryl Davel, Darryl Shawn and Briana and is the proud Paw Paw of ten grandchildren.
HALL OF HONOR INDUCTEES
Tim Lawson Tim Lawson graduated from Terrell High School in 1987. During his high school career, he was a four-year member of the golf team and was named to the All-District team his senior year and was a two-time All American. After graduation, Lawson attended Cameron University where he studied marketing and education and graduated in 1992 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Physical Education and played four years of Collegiate Golf.
After leaving college, Lawson started junior golfer programs at both Gleneagles Country Club and Walnut Creek Country Club and helped 100’s of junior golfers fall in love with the sport. Later he moved to Creekview Golf Course - now known as Rusted Rail - and worked to help junior golfers across Kaufman County fall in love with the game. In 2002, Lawson briefly shared a record low in the Guiness Book of Records when he shot a 58 at Creekview. Lawson currently serves as the Golf Pro at Pinnacle Golf Club in Mabank where he has coached over 23 players that have played college golf and he continues to offer lessons and work with students of all ages to improve their golf game. He is a member of the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) of America and mentors young PGA members to manage golf facilities and grow the game of golf. In 2021 he was a Bill Strausbaugh Award recipient which is an award bestowed by the PGA for his efforts to mentor young PGA members. Lawson and his wife Karla have been married for 13 years and have four children.
Dr. Jay L. McCullar Dr. Jay L. McCullar graduated from Terrell High School in 2002. During high school, Dr. McCullar was both an athlete and a scholar. As a three-year varsity letter winner in Track & Field, Dr. McCullar was a Regional Qualifier in 2001 in the 4x100M relay and a two-time recipient of the Tiger Heart Award. Dr. McCullar was also a two-year varsity letter winner in Basketball, where his team became Bi-District and Area champions during the 2001-2002 season. He also earned two varsity letters in the Tiger Marching Band. Academically, he was a member of the National Honor Society, Student Council, Culture and Key Clubs, was ranked in the top 25% of his class, and was the recipient of the Marechal Niel Club Scholarship, Kiwanis Club Scholarship, and the J.T. Hill and L.S. Smith Scholarship.
After graduation, Dr. McCullar attended Texas State University and graduated in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. While there he was a Track and Field athlete and was a member of the 2004 Indoor and Outdoor Sun Belt Conference championship teams. Dr. McCullar then pursued a Master of Liberal Arts and Humanities degree at St. Edwards’ University and graduated in 2012 with honors. In 2013 he began working on his Doctoral degree at Grand Canyon University and graduated in 2019 with honors with a degree in Educational Leadership.
Dr. McCullar has dedicated himself to serving the community and has served as a board member for Austin State Hospital’s Volunteer Service Council, Mainspring Schools, LatinX Austin, Austin Justice Coalition, and proudly led the Greater-Austin Area My Brother’s Keeper Scholars Initiative from 2018-2022. He also served as a college professor and as an education consultant for the Texas Education Agency, the Texas Learning Agenda, KIPP Public Schools, and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
Dr. McCullar currently serves as a Program Officer at the Trellis Foundation, which helps to support educational non-profits and institutions of higher education across the state of Texas to increase postsecondary attainment rates for low-income students and students of color. In 2023, he created “Louise’s Kids” in honor of his late grandmother, Mary Louise Brumsey-King, which helps to provide school supplies for students in the Austin area and at W.H. Burnett Early Childhood Center in Terrell, Texas. Dr. McCullar is married to his beautiful wife Yolanda and is the proud father of one son, Joshua.
Charles Neroes Charles Neroes attended Terrell High School in the early seventies and is a longtime Terrell Tiger fan. For more than 30 years, Mr. Neroes served as the custodian at Terrell’s Memorial Stadium getting the field, stands and locker room ready for Friday Night Lights. A loyal Tiger fan, Neroes quickly became a staple on the Terrell Tiger sidelines during football season. His love of the Tigers did not stop during football season as he attended numerous other Terrell Tiger sporting events. Anytime the doors were open, Mr. Neroes was there to proudly cheer on his beloved Terrell Tigers. During his tenure as custodian, Mr. Neroes served thousands of students, staff members and Tiger fans and is a beloved member of the Terrell community.
Tommy Spencer Tommy Spencer graduated from Burnett High School in 1964, where he was a four-year member of the football, basketball, baseball and track team; and, was a letterman in 1962, 1963 and 1964. During his senior year he served as co-captain of the football team, along with Terrell's Hall of Fame member Oliver Spencer, and he was a proud member of the Burnett High School Choral Club.
After graduation, Spencer joined the United States Air Force and served from 1964-1969 and fought in the Vietnam War. After completing his service, Mr. Spencer returned to Terrell and served as a United States Postal worker for 33 years in Dallas, TX. Mr. Spencer believed in a life of service and was a longtime city councilman and community leader. He served for over thirty years on the Terrell City Council, was responsible for implementing numerous street renovations, countless other city improvement projects and the creation of the City of Terrell’s youth and adult training programs. He was actively serving as a councilman when he died on June 9, 2017. The City of Terrell’s Professional Development Room is named in his honor.
A strong believer in helping the city’s youth, Spencer was a founding member of the Terrell Youth Association, coached girl’s softball, boy’s T-ball and Pee Wee football. He served as a band and Tigerette parent volunteer and worked the concession stands for many years. He was a member of the Parent Teacher Organization and served as a parent representative on the Terrell ISD Site-Based Decision Making Committee for almost ten years. Mr. Spencer was also an active member of the New Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church here in Terrell, for 45 years where he served as a trustee, deacon, youth director, finance committee member, bus driver and custodian. He has been the recipient of numerous honors including the E.P. Shaw Community Service Award in 2014, the Martin Luther King Award in 2022 and was placed on the Wall of Honor Mural in 2023.
Mr. Spencer was married to his wife Carolyn for 53 years and was the proud father of three children, two special nieces and numerous other children who considered him a father figure. Accepting this honor on his behalf is his wife - Carolyn Spencer, children - XanberlynSpencer McNutt, Sharraine Williams, Terrence Spencer Sr, and grandchildren - Adrian Williams, Kourtnee, Terrence Jr, Kaden and Mason Spencer.
Ted Lyon Ted Lyon graduated from Terrell High School in 1966 and while working as a police officer, put himself through college at East Texas State University and earned a political science degree. He then attended Southern Methodist University School of Law where he graduated with his Juris Doctorate Degree in 1975.
For more than 48 years, Mr. Lyon has represented clients in complex litigation and has been a part of more than 150 jury trials. He has obtained verdicts ranked in the top ten in the nation on three occasions, including a settlement for $173.3 million for current and former Dallas police officers and firefighters in their decades old class-action lawsuits against the City of Dallas. In 1999, Mr. Lyon and his firm won a judgment of $373 Million for a single wrongful death case. It was the single largest verdict in Texas and the fifth largest verdict in the United States.
He has appeared on numerous national and local media outlets, including Good Morning America, 60 Minutes II, NBC Dateline, Texas Lawyer, Dallas Observer, The National Law Journal, D Magazine and Texas Monthly.
From 1979 to 1993, he served the people of Texas as a member of the Texas House of Representatives (1979 - 1983) and a member of the Texas Senate (1983 - 1993). Texas A&M Commerce recently announced that they were naming the Texas A&M Gamebird Research Center in Ted and Donna Lyon’s honor.
He has received numerous legislative awards and in 2019 he was named a Legal Legend by the Dallas Trial Lawyers Association. Ted has been married to his Terrell high school sweetheart, Donna, for fifty-six years. They have two children, Ted Lyon III and Payton Lyon and three grandchildren.