Throughout the course of the 2008-2009 academic year, we will seek to recognize some of the great names of the past to highlight the heritage of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association in honor of the Association’s 95th anniversary. In this edition we are pleased to recognize Norma Harbin.

The first woman to be inducted into the NCHSAA Hall of Fame was involved in high school athletics as a teacher, coach, athletic director and assistant principal.

Norma Harbin of Winston-Salem coached at the junior high level for several years before going to West Forsyth High in 1968. During her 10 years as a coach there her teams won 14 conference championships and she was a conference Coach of the Year in four different sports, an amazing accomplishment speaking to her versatility.

She became the first woman athletic director at a 4-A school in the state in 1978 and served in that capacity for seven years before moving to an assistant principal’s role. Harbin served as president of the North Carolina Athletic Officials Association, and served terms on both the Boards of Directors of the NCHSAA and the state’s athletic directors’ association. Norma also served for a period of time on the NCHSAA’s Selection Committee for its Hall of Fame.

She has been an active member of Union United Methodist Church and is a member of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County High School Sports Hall of Fame. She joined the NCHSAA Hall of Fame in 1992.