By Nathan Prewett, For the Tribune
PINSON – Alabama Crimson Tide cornerback and Pinson Valley High School graduate Ga’Quincy “Kool-Aid” McKinstry was honored by the city council with a proclamation and was given the key to the city during a meeting on Thursday, March 7.
The proclamation was read aloud by Councilwoman Clinteshia Irvin, which outlined McKinstry’s achievements. He was a playmaker for the PVHS Indians, helping to lead them to the Alabama 6A State Championship in 2020.
As a senior he was named Alabama Mr. Football and USA Today Defensive Player of the Year. He was rated as a five-star recruit when he signed on to Alabama. Since 2021 he has been named the Southeastern Conference (SEC) All-Freshman Team, AP and Coaches Fist Team All SEC (Defense), AP First Team All American and the AP and Coaches First Team All SEC.
“Like these guys said I put in a lot of work for this community,” McKinstry said. “Very blessed to be a part of this community. I want to continue to see this city grow. Go Indians.”
The date of March 8, 2024 was proclaimed “Kool-Aid McKinstry Day”.
“This is overwhelming,” said PVHS Principal Michael Turner. “I mean, words can’t even begin to describe what this means for our community and to honor Quincy this way.”
Preceding the proclamation was the introduction of newly hired Pinson Valley High School head football coach James Thompson. He was hired in February, replacing the previous coach, Gentrell Eatman.
“It is my mission to, you know, impact the lives of these young men in a positive and try to win football games in the process of doing that,” Thompson said. “We all know that football is just a small portion of what life is like and so we tend to, you know, get that message out to those young men.”
He mentioned that he and his wife, Jessica, have two children and expressed his excitement at getting started with the football program.
Afterwards the council heard from Charles Yeager from Turkey Creek Park Nature Preserve, who introduced Brandon Grisafi as the preserve’s new site manager.
“I’ve got some remarkably large shoes to fill but I’m hoping to come in and maintain what we’ve
been able to do and expand upon it,” he said.
Ruffner Mountain Director Carlee Sanford then spoke and announced that Pro-Temp Robbie Roberts will be joining a commission as a representative from Pinson focusing on raising money for green spaces in the county.
“It is really exciting to be in a place to – have more of a countywide, regional focus on how we maintain and provide access for our green space in our county,” she said. “So this is decades in the making and we’re in the middle of implementation right now.”
In other business the council:
- Approved a slightly modified version of its garbage renewal contract,
- Agreed to loan the house on Powell Avenue to Thompson through June,
- Approved $30,000 to replace the lights at the Pinson Sports Complex,
- Approved $4,000 to buy a new screen for the upcoming movie showings, and
- Reminded the public of the Shred-it event on March 16 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Pinson City Council meets on the first and third Thursdays of every month at City Hall on 4410 Main Street. Live-streamed meetings can be seen on the city’s Facebook page.
Nathan Prewett can be reached at nthomasp6@gmail.com.