Hall to honor Bush, Twiggs

The North Augusta Sports Hall of Fame's primary honorees at this year's induction banquet are to be Jim Bush, Sammy Twiggs, Beth McKie Meyer and the entire 1961 North Augusta High School football team.

Bush and Twiggs are honored in this week's Star, as Meyer and the 1961 football squad were in last week's edition.

The annual event is set for Feb. 11 at the Wesley Center (Grace United Methodist Church), beginning at 6 p.m. Tickets are available at the Arts and Heritage Center of North Augusta.

Jim Bush

Jim Bush, a lifelong resident of North Augusta, was a member of the North Augusta High School football team for five years and the basketball team for three years. As a senior football star, he was chosen as the team captain and also selected all-state by The State newspaper and became the first Yellow Jacket ever selected to play in the North-South All-Star game.

He signed a football scholarship to play for Clemson University and the next semester signed another to play at Furman University, where he played offensive line for two seasons. He married the former Lucille Baughman, and their family grew to include four sons and a daughter. Every boy (Jimmy, Charley, Dickie and George) played for North Augusta, and daughter Terri was a captain cheerleader for the Jackets.

Bush worked at the Savannah River Site for 32 years. Upon retirement in 1996, he opened Jim Bush Flower Shop. The business is run by family members Jim, Charley, Jimmy and Terri.

Coaching became a way of life for the Bush family as the patriarch served 14 years as a youth football coach and another six years as a baseball coach.

He and his wife have nine grandchildren, including five who have played high school football and one who is planning to join the squad in 2012.

Sammy Twiggs

Samuel Warren Twiggs IV was born and raised in North Augusta and grew up attending Hammond Hill Elementary, Paul Knox Middle and North Augusta High schools, becoming a three-sport star (football, basketball and baseball) at the high school.

Twiggs, who now lives near Richmond, Va., particularly excelled in football and was recognized as the West Augusta Rotary Club North Augusta Male Athlete of the Year for the 1984-85 season (his senior year).

Making the leap to college football, he first played as a red-shirt tight end for Georgia Southern University, which won the national title that year. The next season, he played as a defensive lineman, and the Eagles bagged the national title gain.

Twiggs played as an offensive tackle in 1986 and 1987, and the Eagles made runs deep into the playoffs. He played as a center in 1989, and the Eagles earned another national championship, and Sammy was selected as the "Army 'Be All You Can Be' Player of the Game" in the title contest.

Upon graduation, he began a sales career in Augusta and also explored golf, en route to becoming the PGA head professional at Greenwood Country Club in 1996.

He is married to the former Claudia Funderburk. They have two daughters, Madison, 15, and Mabrey, 10. Both girls are active sports participants.