Ronnie Schreiber

Ronnie Schreiber

PRESIDENT OBA-ME

"That's not Moultrie," Schreiber said recently from his home in Wilmington, N.C. "That's not the people in Colquitt County that I know."

And he knew â€" and still knows â€" plenty of them.

Schreiber spent the first 58 years of his life in Colquitt County, played football, basketball and golf for Moultrie High and then spent the next 40 years as one of the community's most visible boosters.

And next week, he will join some of his former teammates and coaches in the Colquitt County Sports Hall of Fame.

Schreiber will be one of the 17 people honored at the annual banquet to be held on Thursday, Oct. 6, at the Colquitt County High cafeteria.

Schreiber said he will be unable to join the other 16 inductees or their representatives in being introduced before the Colquitt County-Houston County football game the following night because of a previous commitment.And it was difficult decision for him not be able to spend another day in Moultrie and attend a football game.

He didn't miss many from the days he first started playing sports on the teams coached by Dr. R.C. Gresham until he closed Schreiber's â€" the store his family operated in Moultrie for 69 years â€" in 1998.

In fact, Schreiber was as likely to attend a girls basketball game as a football game and lent his support across the spectrum of Colquitt County athletics.
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"During the three decades that I labored both for and against Colquitt County athletic teams, Ronnie was the consummate fan/booster/supporter/enthusiast for the Packers," Hughes wrote in a letter endorsing Schreiber for the Hall of Fame.
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"I would suggest that the inclusion of Ronnie Schreiber will symbolically provide an example of the ingredient for success that all athletes, athletic teams and athletic programs must have if they are to achieve their potential â€" the fan.

"Long before our programs became ‘year-round,' Ronnie was a ‘year-round' enthusiast for whom every sport was important and there were no off-seasons."

Current Colquitt County High golf coach Donald Dale was the school's girls basketball coach for a number of years and found Schreiber to be "a bigger supporter than most of the parents."
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"Ronnie was a giver," Dale said.
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Playing football for Gresham and basketball at the Moultrie YMCA for J.H. Kenney, Schreiber was well-prepared for joining the Moultrie High athletic programs.
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"Tom was my mentor," Schreiber said.
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Schreiber also became the Packers kicker and in 1955, his senior season, he converted on 15-of-17 extra point attempts, considered a school record at the time.
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Schreiber considered attempting to become a kicker at the next level, but at that time, kickers also were position players.
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While at Moultrie High, Schreiber also was on the basketball team, a result, he says, of his coaches trying to keep a rein on his weight.

As a 199-pound guard, he entered a game against Jordan High on Feb. 12, 1955, when teammate Jerry Zeigler fouled out with three minutes remaining.

With the game tied and just three seconds remaining, Packers center Ray Glow tipped a jump ball to Schreiber whose jumper went through the net to give the Packers a 49-47 victory.
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Schreiber also played golf, a sport he continues to enjoy today.

After graduating from the University of Georgia in 1961, Schreiber returned to Moultrie and when his parents died within three months of each other in 1962, he took over the family business.

From then until he retired and moved to North Carolina in 1998, he remained an ardent supporter of athletics in Colquitt County.

In 1994, the year the Colquitt County High football team went 15-0 and won the only state championship in Packers history, Schreiber was president of the Packer Booster Club.
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Schreiber and wife Arlene have lived in Wilmington since 1998, but he continues to have an abiding affection for his hometown.

Before giving a toast at a reception following his son's wedding, Schreiber said two of the things he is most proud of is his family name and that he is from Moultrie.

"I miss Moultrie a great deal," he said.