Elton Hawley is one of the pioneers of sports medicine as it related to North Carolina high schools. A graduate of Midway High School in Dunn and then a ’70 graduate of Appalachian State University, Hawley was one of the first teacher-athletic trainers in the state and received the inaugural North Carolina Athletic Trainer of the Year award in 1984. For 25 years he served as the athletic trainer for the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas, and for over 20 years taught adult athletic training classes at the North Carolina Coaches’ Association clinic in Greensboro. He was named one of “50 Who Made a Difference” by the NCHSAA in the growth and development of high school athletics in the 20th century and has also served on the Association’s sports medicine advisory committee. The North Carolina Athletic Directors Association presented Hawley with its Distinguished Service Award in 2006, and he is a charter member of the N.C. Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame.