More than seven years of talking and planning came to fruition on Tuesday when Sterlington High School's football field officially became Dell Ashley Football Field -- an honor to recognize more than 22 years of a remarkable career for Ashley as a coach and principal at Sterlington High School.
Talks of such an honor may have started around the time Ashley retired in 2017, but he did not learn about it until last week leading up to Tuesday's School Board Meeting when District G School Board member Greg Manley presented it to the Ouachita Parish School Board. The vote was unanimous.
"It was a surprise," said Ashley, who was in attendance at Tuesday's meeting with his wife Donna, and children Amanda, Joseph and Jacob. "The time you had there, it never felt like work. It is a special place -- just a really good place to work, and I just enjoyed my time there."
After the vote, Ashley was presented with a plaque to commemorate the day. He addressed the room saying one of his best attributes is he "can hire really good people."
It was a group of those good people who put the plans in motion, including three hires he made during his time as principal -- former Sterlington head football coach and Ashley's successor as principal, Jason Thompson, current head football coach Lee Doty and current principal Doll Ann Johnson. Ashley's pastor Ben Hackler of First Baptist Church in Sterlington was also a part of the committee.
"Coach Doty and I have had discussions about this for several years now," said Thompson, who is now the personnel director for the Ouachita Parish School Board. "What an awesome day to see this come to fruition for such a deserving Sterlington icon. I will forever be grateful to Coach Ashley for giving me the opportunity to be a small part of what he began in that school. His leadership and example as a man is something that I have often found myself aspiring to be. Congratulations coach!! Well deserved!"
Ashley came to Sterlington as the head football coach in 1996. He spent 11 years at the helm of the program with a 111-34 overall record, including state championship appearances in 2002 and 2003 and five district championships. In his final five seasons, he posted a 23-1 mark in district play before moving to the assistant principal position in 2006 and taking over as head principal a year later.
"It's a huge award for our community because so many people think so much of Dell," Doty said. "Even the success that we’ve had since Dell left ... you don’t make many moves without consulting Dell. It’s just a big award for our community, a big award for our school. I'm so happy for him and his family and just appreciate everything."
The official ceremony to honor Ashley will take place during Sterlington's season opener on Sept. 6.
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