This is a series of articles we call "People You Should Know". Each week throughout the season we will hopefully spotlight a few of the many individuals around the great state of Alabama who work tirelessly behind the scenes to made high school sports great in our state.

Today we are getting to know a close friend of AHSFHS.org who has been around here for many years helping out with some of the things we do. Meet Cody Walker.

Although we've never actually met in person I feel like Cody is an essential part of what we do here at AHSFHS.org. He is just one of the many people who work behind the scenes to keep everything updated especially in other sports beside football.

1.       Cody I believe you live in the Arab area in north Alabama right? Where did you attend high school and did you play any sports?

First off, thank you for thinking of me for this project. Yes I'm from Arab and graduated from there, and for anyone who doesn't know its about thirty minutes south of Huntsville. I just had my twenty year reunion a few weeks ago and can't believe it's already been that long. I played Soccer in high school, and growing up I played baseball, and basketball too. I would have played baseball in high school but because I had to choose just one because soccer and baseball are both spring sports, I chose soccer.

2.       You are part of the broadcast team for the Brewer Patriots on WRAD 107.1 and 1380 AM each week during the season. How long have you doing this and how did you get started?

Growing up I had always enjoyed listening to any Arab football game I couldn't go to on the radio. I would tune in to Michael St John on 92.7 every friday and then watch the replay on our local community channel Horizon on cable the next morning recorded by Mike Hardin. Fast forward to 2021 and 92.7 had bought the station in Priceville/ Decatur and were advertising for the broadcast crew for their new team that would be covering the Austin Black Bears. I jumped at the chance and called to see if they would give me a shot.

I talked with Adam Ward and he told me they didn't have any openings on the Austin crew but they did need a sideline reporter for the Brewer crew on WRAB. I didn't even know they covered Brewer so I said yes. A few mock games later and we are where we are today. I'm not like most sideline guys in that I interject kind of whenever. My play by play partner Josh Drawbaugh says I'm more of a second color guy than a sideline but with our color partner Coach Ken Plunket we make it work.

3.       I also think you do a coaches show each Friday morning during the season. Tell us about that show and what you guys do with it.

Yes. The Coaches Breakfast is from 6am to 9am every Friday morning of the football season from the Huddle House in Arab. I am in my second full year on the show. Michael St John and Ronnie Shumate have been doing the show for over 25 years. Adam Ward is the host and this year we've added Josh Drawbaugh full time to the show.

We have live interviews with the coaches we cover from Arab and Brewer as well as Brindlee Mouintain, Fyffe and Priceville. Along with the opposing coaches those teams will be facing that week. In addition to the coaches interviews we break down games from our coverage area that spans 8 counties in the northeast corner of the state.

4.       How did you get started with AHSFHS.org sometime about a dozen years ago or more?

Has it been that long? Wow, time has flown. I had been aware of the site and had gone down many of the rabbit holes that anyone that has explored the site can attest that they have done. At first I was a little intimidated to join or participate in the forums, but it was the helmets that got me started in the forums.

I already liked the helmets on the site and originally I wanted to see if they could be updated because they had been the same since the beginning of the site and new schools had been added and others had different ones than what they had in 2006. St John Paul II was the first attempt I made once you had given me the green light to take over doing the helmets. I found a template on another forum that I don't think exists anymore and a lot of trial and error later you said I could send you what I got.

5.        You volunteered to take over the helmet project at a time when I was almost ready to forgo making the helmets due to the fact I am not good with Photoshop and it took too much time. Since that time you have created hundreds of helmets for us. I think they add a lot to the website and I know they are the envy of most every other media outlet in the state. You have already updated over 50 helmets this year with new versions. How can coaches or fans get a helmet updated on AHSFHS?

I completely rely on what people send you or post in the forums to know when helmets change. Nowadays some teams have shells so that they can have many different designs in one season. There is only so much that I can find on my own with newspaper photos and social media. There is just too much to cover and a lot of teams just don't get covered. So anyone can send a picture of a helmet they see to you or post in the forums or myself directly at codywalker82@gmail.com. Logos are greatly appreciated as it makes my job much easier.

6.       Cody also does a lot of work assisting us with some of the other sports when it comes to coaching changes and season records for schools in his area especially for basketball. Are you a big basketball fan?

Like I said earlier I played basketball growing up and watched NBA games when I could. But it wasn't my favorite. I didn't really keep up with it for a long time until recently and I've gotten back into watching games. Now I call Arab boys and girls basketball with another local legend Archie Anderson on the radio for WRAB Radio in the winter after football season.

I post so much about basketball in the forums mainly because basketball is second to football in the amount of coverage and reporting that goes on. I really try and find as much as i can on all sports especially the spring sports but the reporting on records is spotty at best and nonexistent at worst. Hopefully that changes in the future.

7.       You are active in the forums at AHSFHS.org and have been a member since 2013 with over 1,300 posts. How can other fans join and participate?

The forums are the lifeblood of the site to me. It's an amazing community that really enjoys high school sports. All anyone has to do is click Join at the top of the Forums page and fill out some basic information and you're all set. Jump in and join the conversation. Anyone who enjoys talking about high school sports is welcome in the community.

You can listen to Cody and the gang at FUN Radio here.   https://www.funradioplayer.com/

Thanks so much Cody Walker for everything you do the make AHSFHS.org the go to place for high school sports in Alabama. We will be looking forward to more new helmets and new information from you in the days to come.