Gene Hooks Award Recipient: John Foster
2/5/2020 3:07:00 PM | Football, Les Johns
“His dedication to Wake Forest football has been an inspiration that has brought a lot of us back to the program." - former Demon Deacon Lou Tilley on John Foster
The word captain has a double meaning for the 2020 Gene Hooks Award recipient Johnny Foster.
As president of Skytech, Inc., the authorized dealer of Pilatus and Piper Aircraft in nine states, Foster is an actual pilot who has been known to use his talents to assist Wake Forest Athletics.
On top of his accomplishments in the skies, Foster is also an unofficial 'alumni captain' according to former Demon Deacon football player Lou Tilley.
"He keeps us together and keeps us informed," Tilley said. "His dedication to Wake Forest football has been an inspiration that has brought a lot of us back to the program. We couldn't be happier to see him get recognized by the school for his efforts."
"You can make an argument, at least for the guys who played in the 70s and early 80s, that Johnny was the glue who kept us all together."
Foster was recognized as the Gene Hooks Achievement Award winning during halftime of the Wake Forest basketball game against Clemson on Feb. 1.
The Gene Hooks Achievement Award recognizes a former Wake Forest athlete, manager, coach or administrator who has exhibited traits of integrity, charity, and leadership and who embodies the Pro Humanitate spirit that Dr. Gene Hooks, former Director of Athletics, exhibited over his many decades associated with Wake Forest.
"First of all, I'm shocked," Foster said about winning the award. "There's other people who should be recognized long before they tried to recognize me. I'm not big on being in the spotlight anyway.
"The thing I like to do is represent a bunch of really special football players from the Chuck Mills era. When you put a spotlight on one of us, it's not really fair to the rest of them. All that said, I'm just completely honored. This is not something I ever expected or aspired to. It was completely a shock to me."
Foster ('78) served as student manager for Wake Forest football from 1974-77, and he's been a volunteer manager with the program for the last 10 seasons.
"Football at Wake Forest is different," Foster said. "If you want to see what I believe is the most diversity on the campus, go look at the football team. The academic reputation speaks for itself, and the physical plan of the campus speaks for itself. The reputation in the business industry and medical industry speaks for itself.
"This is 2020. If you're going to find an overachiever at Wake Forest, you're probably going to find it on the football team first. There's going to be a chip on their shoulder and they feel like they have to prove they do belong — whether that's academically at Wake Forest or athletically in the Atlantic Coast Conference. That keeps me coming back every year, because someone on that roster is an overachiever with a chip on their shoulder, and I want to pat them on the back."
Rendered speechless when he got news of the recognition, Foster said he's getting more credit than he deserves.
"I barely know what to say now," he said. "The power of team, a football team, and especially a Wake Forest football team is unique and different in ways that we struggle to explain.
"It's clear that we are a more cohesive group than teams from other programs."
Though Foster was thrilled to have spent the weekend around teammates and coaches, he was equally as happy to be able to see family, most of whom live in Davidson County.
"It was like a family reunion," he said, "We got to eat dinner together Saturday, then go to a basketball game."
Being associated with the football program in recent years has given Foster a chance to experience the incredible run under coach Dave Clawson, as the Deacs have gone to bowl games for four consecutive years for the first time in program history.
"It's proof that these kids do belong in the ACC," Foster said. "They have developed themselves. We almost never have a fair fight on the football field. When you've had the level of success we've had the last four years, almost nobody expects that. We're generally picked far down the food chain each year.
"This is an especially-wonderful cycle, and there is an existing foundation with the physical plan courtesy of Bob McCreary, Mit Shah and Ben Sutton, and the coaching staff — it's a foundation that we've not seen before at the university and the athletic department. So one of the interesting things to me is how far we can go with this? The answer is a long way."
As president of Skytech, Inc., the authorized dealer of Pilatus and Piper Aircraft in nine states, Foster is an actual pilot who has been known to use his talents to assist Wake Forest Athletics.
On top of his accomplishments in the skies, Foster is also an unofficial 'alumni captain' according to former Demon Deacon football player Lou Tilley.
"He keeps us together and keeps us informed," Tilley said. "His dedication to Wake Forest football has been an inspiration that has brought a lot of us back to the program. We couldn't be happier to see him get recognized by the school for his efforts."
"You can make an argument, at least for the guys who played in the 70s and early 80s, that Johnny was the glue who kept us all together."
Foster was recognized as the Gene Hooks Achievement Award winning during halftime of the Wake Forest basketball game against Clemson on Feb. 1.
The Gene Hooks Achievement Award recognizes a former Wake Forest athlete, manager, coach or administrator who has exhibited traits of integrity, charity, and leadership and who embodies the Pro Humanitate spirit that Dr. Gene Hooks, former Director of Athletics, exhibited over his many decades associated with Wake Forest.
"First of all, I'm shocked," Foster said about winning the award. "There's other people who should be recognized long before they tried to recognize me. I'm not big on being in the spotlight anyway.
"The thing I like to do is represent a bunch of really special football players from the Chuck Mills era. When you put a spotlight on one of us, it's not really fair to the rest of them. All that said, I'm just completely honored. This is not something I ever expected or aspired to. It was completely a shock to me."
Foster ('78) served as student manager for Wake Forest football from 1974-77, and he's been a volunteer manager with the program for the last 10 seasons.
"Football at Wake Forest is different," Foster said. "If you want to see what I believe is the most diversity on the campus, go look at the football team. The academic reputation speaks for itself, and the physical plan of the campus speaks for itself. The reputation in the business industry and medical industry speaks for itself.
"This is 2020. If you're going to find an overachiever at Wake Forest, you're probably going to find it on the football team first. There's going to be a chip on their shoulder and they feel like they have to prove they do belong — whether that's academically at Wake Forest or athletically in the Atlantic Coast Conference. That keeps me coming back every year, because someone on that roster is an overachiever with a chip on their shoulder, and I want to pat them on the back."
Rendered speechless when he got news of the recognition, Foster said he's getting more credit than he deserves.
"I barely know what to say now," he said. "The power of team, a football team, and especially a Wake Forest football team is unique and different in ways that we struggle to explain.
"It's clear that we are a more cohesive group than teams from other programs."
Though Foster was thrilled to have spent the weekend around teammates and coaches, he was equally as happy to be able to see family, most of whom live in Davidson County.
"It was like a family reunion," he said, "We got to eat dinner together Saturday, then go to a basketball game."
Being associated with the football program in recent years has given Foster a chance to experience the incredible run under coach Dave Clawson, as the Deacs have gone to bowl games for four consecutive years for the first time in program history.
"It's proof that these kids do belong in the ACC," Foster said. "They have developed themselves. We almost never have a fair fight on the football field. When you've had the level of success we've had the last four years, almost nobody expects that. We're generally picked far down the food chain each year.
"This is an especially-wonderful cycle, and there is an existing foundation with the physical plan courtesy of Bob McCreary, Mit Shah and Ben Sutton, and the coaching staff — it's a foundation that we've not seen before at the university and the athletic department. So one of the interesting things to me is how far we can go with this? The answer is a long way."
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