By Bart Moss for the FCT

Three coaching vacancies were filled at last week’s Franklin County Board of Education meeting.

Sonya Marks will be taking over the Red Bay girls basketball job vacated by the retiring Donnie Roberts. Tanna Benford will be the new girls basketball coach at Tharptown High School, replacing Mark Tracy. Shannon Benford will cover boys basketball duties at Tharptown, replacing Jonathan Odom.

Marks, a Rogersville native and Lauderdale County High School graduate, has been out of coaching for four years but boasts an impressive resume. She coached at Clements High School from 2006-2010, where she accumulated a 95-25 record. She was named the 2A Coach of the Year for the 2009-10, season when her team won a school record 34 games and was crowned 2A state champions.

“I have basketball in my blood, and I was ready to get back in the gym,” said Marks on her return to the game. “I know Red Bay has a long tradition of success … I have very high expectations of myself and my teams, and I hope to continue to build on what Red Bay already has accomplished.”

Marks also spent two years at West Limestone and two years at Brooks High School before arriving at Clements. She played college basketball at Calhoun Community College and David Lipscomb.

“I’m here for y’all. I’m here for us to work together and have a good team,” Marks told her Tiger squad in their first meeting Friday.

“We’re excited to have her come into our system,” shared Superintendent Greg Hamilton. Hamilton said Marks will either teach math or physical education for Red Bay.

Tanna Benford has coached junior high basketball at Tharptown for four years. She has also been the varsity softball and volleyball coach at Tharptown. She will now take over the varsity girls basketball program. Benford, a 2006 graduate of Phil Campbell High School, played at Northwest-Shoals Community College and at the University of North Alabama. She held the record for most points in a career (2201) in girls basketball in Franklin County up until this year, a record broken by Red Bay’s Allie Kennedy. She was a 2A All-State basketball player for two years for the Bobcats.

“It’s been a dream of mine for years to coach a varsity basketball team,” said Benford. “I am blessed and grateful to have this opportunity and intend to make the most of it.

“Coaching every one of these girls at least two years at the junior high level, I’ve been able to build a personal relationship with each of them. I’m excited to continue as their varsity coach,” she added. “They know what I expect from them day in and day out, which is hard work, discipline, high character, integrity and commitment to a team, which are attributes that will help them lead to success later in life.”

Shannon Benford served as an assistant basketball coach at Tharptown for two years. He is also the school’s head varsity baseball coach.

Benford, a 2007 graduate of Phil Campbell High School, began his coaching career at Cullman High School where he was an assistant baseball coach on a team that went to the state championship game. He was hired at West Limestone High School as the middle school boys basketball coach, where his team made it to the Limestone County Tournament championship for two years. Benford has coached the B-Varsity basketball team at Tharptown for two years, reaching the county championship game twice and winning it once.

“We have had some great teams in the past here at Tharptown,” said Benford. “Coach Odom did a great job building this program, and I feel like I have some big shoes to fill.

“I am excited for the opportunity that the school and the community has given me, and I look forward to getting started.”

Also at Tuesday’s board meeting, the resignation of Vina football coach Luke Childers was accepted. Vina will begin a search for a new football coach immediately.