Meet the Waltons

Many of us can still hear “G’nite, Mary Ellen, G’nite John-Boy …from the infamous 1970’s TV show “The Waltons.” Well, we have our own Waltons here at the SportsPlex; not John, Olivia and family, but Dave, Gail and family!

Our Waltons have been members of the SportsPlex since we opened our doors in 1996. Dave is “Hockey Dad” as he hauls around hockey players, including a couple of his own, all over the place. Like John Walton, Dave is Pa to several children—eight to be exact. When he is not with his family, Dave is busy at Duke as an Operating Room Nurse.

Gail, like Olivia Walton, is “Mama” to her tribe and does not tolerate any nonsense from her children. Gail also has many KidsPlex After School children as she is a Lead Counselor with the 2nd and 3rd grade group. She is a master of setting up fun and interesting centers (bead jewelry, magnetic cars, dinosaurs, K’NEX) for the children like as well as supporting them with their homework. Like Dave, Gail is also an Operating Room Nurse at Duke and she is a certified Forensics Nurse.

And, now, the rest of the Walton family: Donnell, Rhonda, Shantarus, Jeremy, Laurence, Lauren, Javario and Greg. You will see Shantarus, Jeremy, Laurence and Greg around the SportsPlex almost every day.

Donnell, the oldest Walton “kid”, manages a restaurant and lives in Houston, TX with her three daughters. When Donnell and the girls visit their Walton Mountain family, they always spend time at the Plex.

The Walton “Angel of Mercy” is Rhonda who is always helping out Ma Walton. Rhonda continues her helping role at the Hillcrest Skilled Nursing Facility in Durham. She is often the “taxi cab” driving the unlicensed Waltons to the Plex.

Shantarus, the third oldest Walton child, is a senior at Orange HS and an Assistant Counselor in the KidsPlex Program. Shantarus is enrolled in a work co-op at the SportsPlex as part of the Sports and Entertainment Marketing and Small Business Marketing Programs at OHS.

Jeremy, also a senior at Orange, is a skate guard and plays in the adult hockey league. Jeremy also helps with Learn to Play Hockey classes and he referees hockey games.

Laurence, the tallest Walton at 6’3”, recently became an Assistant Counselor in the KidsPlex Program after being Head CIT (Counselor in Training) until his 16th birthday in July. He can often be seen playing wall ball or basketball with the KidsPlex children. He also helps set up birthday parties on some weekends.

A freshman at Orange, Lauren is actually Laurence’s twin. Lauren enjoys swimming at the Plex.

Javario, a freshman at OHS, loves hanging out with friends. He enjoys skating at the Plex.

Greg, an 8th grader at Stanford, attends the TeenPlex After School Program and is on the Team Pepsi traveling hockey team. This summer Greg participated in the Carolina Hurricanes Instructional Camp in Raleigh and went to Nashville for the USA Select Team. Greg was recently picked to represent Team Pepsi at the Hurricanes season opener.

Yes, sometimes we think the Waltons live at the Plex, although their Walton Mountain is an 18-acre farm in northern Orange County complete with goats, chickens, peacocks and guineas.

The Waltons are certainly special folks here at the SportsPlex and like the TV Waltons they function as a wise team. We appreciate all their help and love having them around the SportsPlex.

G’nite Shantarus, G’nite Laurence…

To meet more faces at the SportsPlex, visit the Faces in the Crowd archives...

“The Waltons are certainly special folks here at the SportsPlex and like the TV Waltons they function as a wise team. We appreciate all their help and love having them around the SportsPlex."