By LANCE FLEMING
Abilene ISD Communications

Jim Garfield isn’t the kind of person to put himself out in front of a group or look for attention.

But the spotlight found him earlier this spring when Abilene ISD’s Executive Director of Athletics was voted the Texas High School Athletic Directors Association Region 2 Athletic Administrator of the Year. He joins Abilene ISD Assistant Athletic Director Del Van Cox as a winner of the award. Cox, retiring this summer after 32 years in education and coaching (28 in Abilene), was selected as the winner in 2022.

Garfield is joined on this year’s list by seven other athletic directors around Texas: Brad Thiessen from Amarillo ISD (Region 1), Leslie Slovak from Richardson ISD (Region 3), David Cervantes from El Paso ISD (Region 4), Andre Walker from Houston ISD (Region 5), Janice Williamson from Bryan ISD (Region 6), Ron Adame from Sharyland ISD (Region 7), and Melanie Hinson from Southwest ISD (Region 8).

“To be included in this group of eight is a big honor,” Garfield said. “I look up to each of those other seven men and women as a leader, and to be put in a category with them is humbling.

“I have so much respect for their authenticity and the way they do their jobs,” he said. “Each of them is authentic about what the job is really about. Our job is about serving our kids and coaches, and they all make that happen. When you’re around them, there’s always something you can take from them.”

Garfield is in his second full year as the director of athletics in Abilene ISD, having been hired on March 8, 2022, after spending five years as the assistant director of athletics for Lubbock ISD. AISD Athletics has enjoyed great success under his leadership, and some of that can be attributed to a mindset he brought to Abilene.

He uses two hashtags on almost every social media post he makes: the first is #OTOF, which stands for “One Town, One Family,” and the other is #FAAB, which stands for “Family Ain’t Always Blood.” While perhaps not grammatically correct, the second hashtag is based on the belief that to have success, the entire district must be pulling in the same direction.

“In the world of athletics, you’ve got your blood family, and you’ve got your coaching family,” said Garfield, who was also selected to the THSADA Board of Directors as the Region 2 representative. “When you have strong relationships on a coaching staff or team or within an athletic department, the more success you enjoy. I believe you ride for the brand not only on your campus but also for the school district.

“I said when I started here that the ‘A’ at Abilene High and the Cougar head at Cooper mean something when they roll into another city or other teams come here to compete,” he said. “What it means to me is that our opponents will get the best effort in Texas because the brand – the whole thing – in the Abilene ISD is solid.”