When the Lenoir City High School Sports Hall of Fame elected this year to induct Ron Tilley, his off the field contributions to LCHS athletics were a major factor.

The 1956 graduate played basketball and baseball at the school, and he also served as sports writer for The Panther Press and school annual, The L'Cean.

He continued writing in college, working as sports writer, columnist and editor for The Orange and Blue, the Carson Newman newspaper.

While serving as assistant sports information director as Carson Newman, Tilley organized "Lenoir City Nite" at the Carson Newman-Chattanooga basketball game, which featured Lenoir City players Harry Sparks, Gil Luttrell, Howard Luttrell and Billy Padgett.

Tilley sponsored the LCHS cheerleaders from 1994-1996, funded fence signs for the baseball and football fields from 1995-200, sponsored the LCHS Holiday Invitational Basketball Tournament in the late 1990s, sponsored the LCHS golf team in the early 2000s, helped fund the purchase of a piano for the high school chorus in 2002 and, in 2005, built the building for the LCHS Football Booster Club where LCHS merchandise is sold.

In addition to helping out the Lenoir City athletic department, Tilley has donated time and money in the community as well.

He helped reorganize the Boys & Girls Club of Loudon County, serving as president of the board for two years, initiating the sale of purchase of the currently Boys & Girls Club facility from Central United Methodist Church.

Tilley will be officially inducted into the hall 6 p.m. Saturday at Lenoir City High School. He is one of six to be inducted into the hall's 2012 class.