Extra Effort: Where Are They Now? Brian and Jenna Harris
Posted July 2, 2020 10:57 p.m. EDT
Updated July 2, 2020 11:15 p.m. EDT
"An electric, charged up, championship atmosphere. That's the only way to describe the excitement at Fike High School in Wilson," said Tom Suiter back in the winter of 1984.
Fast forward 29 years.
"At Clayton High School, everyone says Jenna Harris is just good at everything," Suiter said in the fall of 2013.
Another Harris received a visit from Tom Suiter. Well, technically both daughter and father did that day.
"After Tom had been over with Jenna and they had done the presentation, I'd gotten a call from my wife and she said she was getting ready to bring Tom over to the office," said Brian Harris, a former Tom Suiter Extra Effort Award Winner, with a laugh. "I said, 'well that's wonderful, any particular reason?'" She said, 'Well, he twisted his ankle and he needs to make sure it's not anything serious.'"
Brian Harris' basketball days paved the way for 12 years in the United States Army before he opened up his own medical practice in Clayton, where he's served the community since 2003.
Jenna Harris may not be treading the exact footsteps.
"When I was younger I said I wanted to be just like my dad, but I fell in love with the field of dentistry, and I've had both of their support ever since," Jenna Harris said with a smile. She, like her father, is a former Tom Suiter Extra Effort Award winner.
But she's halfway home to a dental degree at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. She's also cut from the same cloth of character and conviction.
"I'm definitely proud to share the Tom Suiter Extra Effort Award with my dad, but I think I'll be more proud if in 30 years I can look back on my career and realize that I've had the same positive effect on my patients as I know he has had on his," Jenna said.
"As much as I enjoyed 1984 and that time with all of my teammates and all of my coaches, it's still nothing like seeing one of your children receive an award like that," Brian said.
That's why from that day in 1984, and that one in 2013, we're proud to call Brian and Jenna Harris winners of the Tom Suiter Extra Effort Award.
