New digs for the C.C.H.S. ‘hardware’

“It sure does feel good to be back in here,” were the words Kevin Dailey spoke recently as he toured the halls of his old school, Clinton County High School.

Dailey was enjoying a leisurely stroll down memory lane with his two young sons, Mason and Jackson. Most of the tour was spent telling stories to the boys about some of his high school experiences.

At one point as the trio neared the lobby area in front of the gymnasium, Dailey looked up and spotted the large collage photo of his fellow graduates from the Class of 1989.

“Look here, guys, that’s my class and I’m right there,” Dailey told Mason, pointing his finger toward the photo of his cap and gown image that was on the right side of the group of graduates from nearly a quarter-century ago.

With school now out of session for the summer break, and only an instructional camp being held inside the gymnasium for up and coming Clinton County Volley Dawg players, the Dailey family practically had the entire building to themselves, making the experience an even more enjoyable one.

“Wow, this place is still in great shape – I love this gym,” Dailey said as he and his two sons made their way through the gym doors and onto the playing surface.

The tour of his old school was being given by C.C.H.S. Principal Sheldon Harlan as well as Athletic Director Mike Beard.

But Dailey’s main objective wasn’t just to enjoy a trip down memory lane – far from it.

The 1989 graduate was checking in on the installation of a new custom-built trophy display case that now sits in the lobby area of the Lindle Castle Gymnasium.

“I wanted to do something to give back to the school that means so much to me,” Dailey explained recently as to why the 24 foot long cabinet was being put into place.

Dailey had the cabinet unit built by a custom cabinet maker he was familiar with who had done several other jobs for the company he owns in Atlanta, North American Bioproducts Corp., a firm that specializes in the production of fermentation products and technology to the fuel ethanol industry.

After commissioning Samuel Oprea of Kitchen and Bath Design Group to complete the trophy cabinet a few weeks ago, the company constructed the six individual units in Atlanta, then transported them to Albany for the final installation in the C.C.H.S. gym lobby.

Constructed from maple wood with a dark cherry stain, the new trophy cases include glass fronts, movable glass shelving, and fluorescent lighting in each cabinet.

Before leaving, Dailey thanked Beard for allowing him to roam the halls and reminisce about his high school days in the late 1980s.

“Oh, you don’t have any idea how much we thank you for what you’re doing here,” Beard said, pointing to the new trophy display cabinets being installed.

Beard explained that while many of the school’s trophies from all of it’s sports activities are displayed in several different cases in the lobby, the addition of this new case will allow him to not only display several of the trophies that are in storage, but will also allow a total reorganization of the school trophy collection.

The location of the new case is such that it will be the first thing opposing teams see when they enter the gymnasium for basketball and volleyball games.

Dailey moved to Clinton County in the early 1980s when his parents, Garry and Bonnie Lattimer, left their Ohio home to purchase Wisdom Dock on Dale Hollow Lake, along with their business partner at the time, Paul Boggs, and his wife, Judy.

Dailey, like most boys growing up in southern Kentucky, learned to love the game of basketball. Eventually, he decided to turn his basketball uniform in for the duties of becoming a team equipment manager, working alongside the players and taking care of the duties as were spelled out by then head-coach Allen Feldhaus, Jr.

It was a position that Dailey worked at with pride, continuing to cherish his involvement with the Bulldog team during both his junior and senior years at Clinton County High School.

Dailey was also his class Treasurer and after graduating from Clinton County in 1989, he continued his education at the University of Kentucky where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Economics.

Dailey began his professional career with the Nicholasville, Kentucky firm, Alltech Biotechnology, working for a while in England before returning to the United States to establish a sales position in Minneapolis that eventually led to the inception of Alltech’s Alcohol Division, specializing in the marketing of fermentation products.

Dailey founded his NABC company in 2002, and continues to serve as it’s President and CEO.

It was at the University of Kentucky where Dailey met his future wife, Mollie. The couple now live in Atlanta, Georgia with their three sons, Jackson, Mason and their youngest, Anderson.

While Dailey and his family have spent most of the past 20 years calling many areas of the world “home” – it was actually Clinton County that has always held the strongest meaning in Dailey’s heart.

A few years ago, the family managed to acquire the home he had grown up in just above the Wisdom Dock facility on Hwy. 553, remodeling it into a weekend and vacation headquarters for their time spent here and while vacationing on Dale Hollow Lake.

Always managing to keep up with the successes – and failures of the C.C.H.S. athletic programs through the Clinton County News, internet information and by email and telephone conversations with friends still living in Clinton County, Dailey has always been a strong supporter of his old high school.

An earlier donation to the school came in the form of a sizable check from his company when he learned of the addition of football to the lineup of athletic programs at C.C.H.S. several years ago.

“It was football that I always wanted to be able to play,” Dailey said recently, noting that the sport wasn’t available in the late 1980s when he attended Clinton County High School.

Dailey said during his visit recently that he didn’t really want to be given a lot of credit for the most recent contribution, noting that the new cabinet, in his opinion, was minor in relation to what others have done for him and the other students who have walked the halls of the school.

“It is a small contribution compared to that of our teachers, coaches and volunteers,” Dailey said. “I am happy to be a part of our high school’s rich tradition.”

Above, Clinton County High School Athletic Director Mike Beard, left, Kevin Dailey and two of his three sons, Jackson and Mason, watch as a new set of trophy cabinets were installed recently in the lobby of the Clinton County High School gymnasium. Dailey, a 1989 graduate of C.C.H.S., donated the new trophy display cases. Below left, Dailey watches as Beard points out the 1960 Bulldog Regional Championship trophy to Jackson while Mason looks on from the background. In the photo below right, with sons Jackson and Mason looking on, Kevin Dailey points out his photo in the Class of 1989 collage that hangs in the C.C.H.S. gymnasium lobby.