Warrior Magazine December 2018

Cox, Chaney join Athletic Hall of Fame

East Central Community College alumni Aubry Cox of Carthage, a for mer Warrior basketball standout, and Kristin Chaney of Little Rock, a former basketball and softball standout and the college’s only two-sport All-Amer ican, were inducted into the college’s Athletic Hall of Fame Thursday, Oct. 4, 2018, during the annual Homecoming festivities. Aubry Cox (’81) When notified of his selection to the Hall of Fame, Cox said, “I am honored to have even been nominated. When Dr. Stewart notified me, I thought he might be calling about an insurance claim. He just floored me when he told me I had been selected for the Athletic Hall of Fame. It is very humbling.” Cox was a standout basketball player at Leake Academy for Coach Larry Therrell and also played football and participated in track. He was a member of three class AA state championship teams and his team won the Overall State Championship and Southeastern Regional in 1976-77. He was named All District and AA All-State three times and overall All-State once. He was selected District MVP as a senior and was selected for the Mississippi Private School Association All-Star game, where he was selected MVP. He finished his career as the leading all-time scorer in Leake Academy history. Cox signed with and played one year at Belhaven College before joining Coach Herman Robinson’s East Central Warriors for the 1980-81 season. He av eraged 20.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game and was selected the team’s Most Valuable Player. In addition, he was selected first team MACJC All-South Division, All Star and was the recipient of the col lege’s Howard K. Sessums Basketball Award. “One of my fondest memories was playing Mississippi Delta in Moorhead just before Thanksgiving. We were tied with 15 seconds to play when I got the ball on the fast break in transition. I dunked it and got fouled. I made the free throw to give us a three-point lead, which was the final margin of victory.” Another highlight of his career was an upset win over Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Perkin ston. “Gulf Coast was the number one

Cox, where he employs eight others and sells all types of insurance. South Group Cox, along with approximately 20 other agencies, joined together in 2013 to form what is now the largest privately-owned insurance agency in Mississippi and one of the 100 largest in the United States. Since his days as a student, Cox has maintained a relationship with the col lege in numerous ways. From a profes sional standpoint, he has been awarded the bid contract for the college’s insur ance for a number of years. Personally, he serves as a member of the Founda tion Board of Directors, has established two Foundation scholarships for Leake County students, which are awarded each year during the annual Scholar ship Awards Reception, is a lifetime member of the Alumni Association, Warrior Club member, and is an annual sponsor of the Alumni Association’s Warrior Golf Classic. When asked why he decided to give back to East Central, Cox said, “East Central was where I needed to be. I resisted coming here at first but get ting back here got my feet back where I needed to be. It was almost like coming home. It was the right place at the right time. I believe 80 percent of students in this district would be better off getting their start here. “When I got to the point in my life where I was able to do some things for others, I decided that if I gave my time and money to East Central, I could help students each year have the same opportunities and benefits I did. So, I made a decision a long time ago that East Central was where I was going to invest and I’ve never regretted that decision.” Cox also is active in his community. He is a member of the Rotary Club, Carthage Main Street Association and serves as president of the Leake County Country Club. He and his wife, Rene, have two sons, Brandon Estes and Jared Estes; a daughter-in-law Aden Estes and one grandson John Hannon Estes. He said, “If all I had done is play ball and never kept in touch, then either I or East Central did something wrong. I believe you’re supposed to make an impact, to leave the world a better place. East Central made my life better and I hope I can have that same affect on others.”

team in the South Division. We played deliberate basketball that night. Coach Robinson had told us before the game we needed to keep the game in the 50s if we wanted to win, and that’s exactly what we did, winning 52-50. I hurt my knee that night, but I managed to stay in the game. I did have to sit out the next game against Holmes, however.” Cox had his highest scoring game against Jones County when he put up 36 points in a losing effort against the Bobcats. “I had hurt my knee a week earlier that caused me to miss one game. This was my first game back and I tweaked it with four minutes to play. I had to leave the game at that point. We were down by a couple points and wound up losing by six or seven points. It would have been nice to stay in the game and, hopefully, get the win.” Cox said his worst mistake was go ing somewhere else right out of high school, but the best decision he ever made was coming back to East Central. “EC was good to me. Coming from a small school, you can come here and already know people and those you don’t know, you’ll know soon.” In addition to playing basketball, Cox participated in other student activities including the Baptist Student Union and served as sports editor for The Tom-Tom student newspaper. As with many alumni, Cox’s favorite teachers included EC legends Dr. Rich ard Etheridge, Mr. Raymond McMullan, and Ms. Lucille Wood, just to name a few. “With Coach Wood, you always knew where you stood. We got along well. I knew if I just listened, I could learn something.” Following East Central, Cox contin ued his athletic career at Delta State University during the 1982 and 1983 seasons, where he was selected to the All Gulf South Conference Academic Team in 1982. He received his bach elor’s and master’s degrees in health, physical education and recreation. Cox began his career in the insur ance business soon after graduation serving as an adjuster for Alfa Insur ance Agency in Jackson in 1984. He later moved to Kosciusko and served as an Alfa Insurance Agent from 1989 to 1996. He then had an opportunity to move back home to Carthage to open his own agency. Today, Cox is owner of SouthGroup

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