Editorial

Semoball Awards to give nod to Kitchen at show

If you know Terry Kitchen and admire his spirit and dedication to Central High School in Cape Girardeau, Josh Mlot’s recent feature is a must-read.

Mlot eloquently captured Kitchen’s love for sport and for people.

The longtime coach and athletic director will receive the Semoball Awards lifetime achievement award Saturday at the River Campus.

Kitchen wears his love for Central athletics on his sleeve. His energy, loyalty and devotion to the school is palpable.

And the Southeast Missourian organization, which includes semoball.com and the Semoball Awards Show, couldn’t be more excited to honor Kitchen later this month.

Foremost, we are thrilled Kitchen is recovering from his pancreatic cancer and is in good spirits.

As Mlot reported, Kitchen began suffering stomach pains last summer and had his gall bladder removed. The surgery revealed Kitchen had pancreatic cancer. He spent 24 days last July at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, undergoing surgery and losing a lot of weight. But Kitchen got back on his feet and returned to his job at Central. He is quite proud of the fact the only days he missed were for doctor’s appointments.

“I went through the toughest health time of my life last year, but I can honestly say, right now, the cancer doctor I’m seeing is saying, ‘Coach, everything right now is looking fine,’” Kitchen said. “I plan on keep going. I don’t want to let this stop me. I’ve got faith in my God that he’s healing me and I’m gonna make it.”

Kitchen has a long, long history of involvement in sports from a player to a coach. He is a member of the school’s hall of fame. His list of accomplishments is long, but his school spirit is unending.

Thank you, coach Kitchen, for being such a positive influence on generations of athletes, and for continuing to be a role model during the toughest fight of your life.

Family, friends and supporters are encouraged to join “Coach” in celebrating his accomplishments by reserving event tickets at www.semoball.com/awards; use the promo code KITCHEN to receive $25 off a VIP ticket (the discount can be applied to multiple tickets).

We’ll see you there.

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