WS Chronicle

By Art Blevins and Timothy Ramsey

It’s been almost two years since coach Art Blevins retired from Hanes Hosiery Recreation Center and the City of Winston-Salem Recreation Department after 38 years of dedicated service.

Time flies by, but it hasn’t slowed Blevins down from taking care of his kids, parents and local sponsors who still help Blevins say, “You can take Art Blevins out of Hanes Hosiery, but you can’t take Hanes Hosiery out of Art Blevins.”

Blevins still keeps in touch with many of his kids and parents from Hanes Hosiery and his former staff such as Jeremiah Hawks and Patrice Johnson, both of whom left the Hosiery and the recreation department soon after Blevins retired. Hawks and Johnson still help Blevins with his program by picking up and taking kids home.

According to Blevins, his sponsors and local businesses who have helped him for years now call the program Coach Art’s Kids.

“It is exactly what I did while I was working,” said Blevins with a smile. “I love providing for kids, taking 25-50 kids and parents to every Wake Forest home football game, most of the Wake Forest home basketball games, some high school games, and providing for several families at Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

Blevins said he will always miss “The Hosiery,” but his programs are a way he is still in contact with many of the kids and parents he was close to. While staying busy with his kids on weekends, he still takes care of his mother, Ann Ferris, throughout the week. He also spends time with his wife Ruth Ann during the evenings and weekends, when there are no ball games.

“I get to see my daughter Kayla, who was recently married in December to Bobby Stewart,” said Blevins. “Both graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where Kayla now works for the university and her husband is in dental school.” Blevins smiles when he tells people his daughter married a dentist, because he said, “so now I will have a little pull.”

Blevins said some of the highlights this past year for Coach Art’s Kids, besides going to almost every Wake Forest basketball and football game, was going to the “Meet the Deacs” program in December at Hanes Mall where the kids had the opportunity to meet Wake Forest coaches Danny Manning, Randolph Childress and all of the Wake Forest players.

The kids and parents of Coach Art’s Kids also had the opportunity to meet sports legends like Kenny “The Jet” Smith, Jay Bilas, Charlie Davis, Antwan Jamison, Josh Howard, Justin Gray and Taron Downey, just to name a few.

Blevins said he is blessed to have such wonderful friends, sponsors and “Old Hosiery” families who have stuck with him and have kept in touch almost on a weekly basis.

Blevins plans to work with his kids for as long as he can, he said.  “God always has a plan for us and I’ve had many offers to work, but right now I am just going to enjoy my retirement with no set schedule, take care of my family and still take care of my kids whenever I can,” he said.

“With God, all things are possible and I may want to come back in the future and run some more basketball leagues for the kids and adults,” he continued. “Like the shirt co-workers and parents designed for me a couple of years ago said, legends don’t retire, they reinvent. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”