David Meter has been committed to the activities of Great Bend High students for 21 years. Since 2000, he has been the activities/athletic director here at the high school. Without him, many of the things that make school fun would not happen. There would be no sports and clubs. No plays or concerts. All the things that some students look forward to most simply would not exist. In honor of National Principals Month and Mr. Meter’s retirement at the end of this year, this article is an homage to him and all he does for our school.

First things first, how did Mr. Meter get into organizing activities? “My dad was a coach, athletic director, driver education teacher and high school principal. He is the reason I am in education. I have also been active in athletics competing in football, basketball, track, and baseball in high school. I played wide receiver at Fort Hays State and also was a long and triple jumper for the Tigers. I love sports!,” he said. Mr. Meter took what he was good at and he made a career out of it. He had a passion for sports and now he gets to organize and watch young athletes succeed in their craft.

His favorite part of his job is “organizing activity/athletic events and watching students compete. I have always enjoyed working with the variety of people involved with activities/athletics: students, parents, coaches, administration, community, and media.” Being a people person is also a vital part of his job as the activities director. He has to communicate with everyone involved in any one event.

After this year, someone is going to have some pretty big shoes to fill. His advice to the new activities director is to “hire good people, understand the time commitment to doing the job right, do what’s right, plan, organize, focus on details, and celebrate along the way.”

Mr. Meter said, “I will miss all the activities at the high school level and the people who I work with locally and around the State of Kansas.”

Mr. Meter, from all the students at GBHS: we appreciate everything you do for all of our countless activities and us. We are all going to miss you dearly.