A man who not only has changed the face of Etowah but the lives and outlooks of the students here, Keith Ball has been the man in charge for the past 7 years, with over 100 new kids every year. KB sees change every day of his life. From the first day of coming here at Etowah and being hit on the head with a brick to having kids show up at his car door when he gets to school asking if they could sell lollipops, students look up to him not only because he is our principal but also because he is a friend; he is someone we have grown to love and create a relationship with.

“You change when you can, and endure what you don’t,” Ball said.

KB is going through a difficult change right now, in fact. Leaving a school where he has formed so many memories and relationships with kids and staff is more difficult than most think. KB finds himself in a place he thought he would never be. He has always been the boss of someone, but as he takes on a new role, he will find himself responsible for himself not other people. However, KB will be doing what he loves most, talking to people.

“I am going to miss the kids the most,” Ball said.

If KB has one thing to tell us, it would be to take risks. He says so himself that you have to take risks, and get out of your comfort zone. KB is putting on that smile of his and jumping out of his comfort zone that he has been in for the past 7 years. He is teaching us to do the same, as well. He refuses to lose, and he wants that mind set for us. He wants us to succeed at all levels of expectations we have for ourselves. KB has taken the risk to leave Etowah and start a life commuting to work by train instead of a car and not mentoring students to push themselves and get them through high school. Follow KB’s advice; take risks, and refuse to lose.

“Let’s identify the great, and make the good better,” Ball said.