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During a special called meeting Wednesday afternoon, the Stanly County Board of Education approved a proposal to name the home concession stand at Albemarle High School after Susan S. Harwood.

In a letter sent a few weeks ago from Albemarle Booster Club President Jacob Waldrip to Beverly Pennington, SCS’s director of student services, which was shared with The Stanly News and Press, he wrote that Harwood managed the concession stand from 1996 until 2006, working every home game while also managing the volunteers.

“Susan was also responsible for stocking the concession stands for all sports during every academic year from 1996-2006,” Waldrip wrote, noting her husband Jim also supported the efforts by cooking hamburgers next to the concession stand during football games.

Harwood’s dedication to the concession stand involved “numerous trips from Albemarle to Kannapolis and Matthews to purchase supplies from (Sam’s) Club” along with coordinating “with representatives from various soda companies to make sure there were plenty of drinks available for purchase.”

In addition to supporting the football team, Harwood, who died in 2010, also worked basketball and volleyball games.

“The Albemarle Bulldogs Booster Club would like to recognize her efforts and honor her memory by naming the home-side concession stand after her,” Waldrip concluded.

Dr. Steve Seltzer also sent Waldrip an email about wanting to honor Harwood, which Waldrip then relayed to Pennington. In the email, Seltzer noted that “Susan worked extremely hard as a servant of the student-athletes at Albemarle High School!”

During the meeting, Superintendent Dr. Jarrod Dennis told the board that Waldrip and Seltzer both wanted action to be taken so the concession stand would be named before the final home game, which would be Senior Night. The game is scheduled for Oct. 28.

Board chairperson Glenda Gibson said she heard the plan was to create some sort of metal sign that could be placed next to the concession stand. In talking with Seltzer, Dennis said they did not know exactly what the sign would look like.

“I’ve just heard wonderful, wonderful things (about Harwood) and to me, I think it is excellent that they’re wanting to honor her,” Gibson said.

After hearing the details, board member Bill Sorenson made the motion to approve the proposal. It passed by a vote of 4-0.