Spain Park senior Rayshod Burts named 2023 Finley Award winner for outstanding character

Rayshod Burts, a 17-year-old senior at Spain Park High School, on Wednesday was named the school’s 2023 Finley Award winner for outstanding character.

Each year, the Finley Committee — a group of community members and Hoover school system employees who promote character — chooses one senior from Hoover High School, one senior from Spain Park High and one Hoover City Schools employee to receive the Finley Award.

The committee looks for people who set high standards for themselves, assume responsibilities over those normally expected, exemplify quiet leadership, encourage the best in others, possess an outstanding work ethic, have genuine concern for others, are respected by others and respect others, have a humble manner, are honest in all their dealings and committed to their organizations, are considerate of others and set a positive example for both young people and adults.

Burts was chosen from among 28 Spain Park seniors nominated this year.

Matt Thompson, who coached Burts in both football and wrestling, said he has had the opportunity to watch Burts grow and develop as a player and person over the past six or so years at Berry Middle School and Spain Park High and seen him develop into one of the best at each sport.

Just 1½ weeks ago, Burts won the 285-pound 7A state title in wrestling, and he was a great offensive lineman in football with a tremendous work ethic, Thompson said.

“He just gets in there and goes to work and has all the intangibles — whatever it takes to be a good competitor,” Thompson said. “He’s going to work harder than anybody else, and he doesn’t ever complain.”

Burts also has shown great leadership, always taking people under his wing and being encouraging to others, Thompson said.

“In wrestling, if another teammate loses, he’s going to be one of the ones who goes over there and picks ‘em up,” Thompson said. “He doesn’t ever get mad. He’s always happy. You always see a smile on his face.”

While Burts may not be the student who heads up all the big organizations in school, he’s very respected in the activities in which he is involved, Thompson said.

Burts said it’s a blessing to receive the Finley Award and thanked everyone who has stood by him over the years, from God to his teachers, coaches, mother and other family members. He’s glad so many people have supported him and believed in him, he said.

“It feels awesome,” Burts said. “They believed in me, so I just kept working.”

He wants to become the best man he can be for his children and any other young people for whom he can be a mentor, he said. A few months back, one of his coaches asked him to have a talk with a young boy in the community who was having some struggles, so he did and has been checking in with the boy periodically, he said.

“It feels good to know you can help somebody,” Burts said.

Burts is a member of the Fire Academy at the Riverchase Career Connection Center and hopes to either become a firefighter or do something related to wrestling, he said.

Burts was announced as Spain Park’s winner of the Finley Award during a senior class meeting in the school’s auditorium Wednesday. Spain Park High School Principal Amanda Esslinger congratulated him and the other nominees for this year’s Finley Award and said it’s an amazing feeling to see so many students demonstrating outstanding character.

Chris Robbins, the Hoover school district’s chief academic officer and former principal at Berry Middle School, told this year’s seniors he remembers when they entered Berry as sixth graders in the fall of 2016 and said he is proud to see so many of them excelling in academics, fine arts, academics and service.

But he’s also proud to see the character they have developed, he said.

“I see the way you treat one another. I see the way you serve in the school. I see the way you step into leadership roles at Spain Park High School,” Robbins said. “I see the way that your make right decisions at the right time. I see the way that you stand up for what’s right.”

One definition of character is doing the right things when no one is looking, Robbins said. That’s correct, “but I would add to that that character is also doing the right things when everybody is looking because sometimes those are the most difficult moments to continue to do the right things, even though everybody is looking,” he said.

Robbins reminded the students that excellence in academics, athletics or fine arts is great, but it falls short when it’s done without character, and he applauded this class for showing strong character.

The Finley Committee recognized Hoover High School’s 2023 winner of the Finley Award — K.J. Law — on Friday, Feb. 17, and plans to announce the school system employee winner soon.