Jay Burns

Kyla- 6
Rielly- 4

Served in the Army for 21 years, Infantry to start, Aviation later. Retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in early 2000 and went to work for Booz Allen Hamilton, a consulting firm, in Atlanta. I live in Fayetteville, GA, a suburb of Atlanta's south side, only 1 hour and 20 minutes to Columbus where my parents and one of my sisters live. Life is good, I'm healthy, my family is close, and still have friends that I am in contact with from Baker High.

BHS to me is all about Football, Golf, and really good friends. I had a slew of friends that were Benning Brats and another set who were the Oakland Park/ Benning Hills crowd. I was able make really good friends from all of them, and that was due to the mixing pot that was Baker High. Football as a sophmore was being # 5 on the depth chart, and only 5'3" and 120 pounds and getting annilhated by the 1st string defense as part of the "blood backs" running the opponent's offense. This is where I learned to run really fast and avoid getting seriously injured. Junior year was going undefeated on the "B" team and getting some garbage time late in games, until Gary Brown got hurt and I was pressed into starting a couple games at the end of the season. Senior year was starting and losing some real heartbreakers of games, but really enjoying the comraderie that goes with playing a team sport. Our team was as integrated as a team could be, and we all got along well, despite the incidents going on around us at school.

Golf was a one year deal, played my senior year after football was over. No more spring practice cleared the way. But I was ready for the task, having spent summers and weekends playing with the cast of characters that strollled the fairways of the FBOOM (Ft. Benning Officer's Open Mess) Golf Course. There were General's, other senior officers, dependents, local pro's, other Baker High team member's and a slew of memories. Playing in medium stakes money games and playing for soft drinks was the norm. At Baker we had a formidable team, winning the region, where I placed 2nd, then competing in the state tournament where I think we underachieved to finish 4th as a team.