Profession: Nurse

High School: Calhoun High School

Sharon Adamson was born in Rome, Georgia but grew up in Calhoun. At an early age her mother would warn her not to mess up her hair or put her football helmet on until after church on Sunday. Although there weren’t many sports for tomboys at the time, Sharon would play tackle football daily with the ‘Pisgah Way Boys’, and even had her own football pads and equipment. Young Sharon also excelled at swimming and remembers fondly as lifeguard Harold Summerville would encourage her to do flips from the diving boards. As a 13-year-old she won the state 50 meter championship in breast stroke and that success made her really excited to participate in competitive events.

Two of Sharon’s role models, fellow Hall of Fame Inductees Diane Crocker and Freda Hunt, were well known players when she was in high school and Sharon strived to be like these two athletes. Sharon says being a base runner on third base when Hunt and Crocker came to bat was a frightening experience since both “loved to scorch the ball down the third base line”. Also, she says “you haven’t experienced pain until you have been hit with a 90 mile-an-hour egg thrown by Crocker during the Calhoun High C-Club initiation”.

In high school, Sharon Adamson was a three year MVP and ‘Best Offensive Player’ award winner for the Calhoun Yellow Jackets’ basketball team. She was also an accomplished tennis player and a state champion swimmer. She was named ‘Outstanding Female Athlete’ in 1974. She also is very proud of the fact that she was a drummer in the “Pride of Georgia Northland” CHS Band.

She was also an excellent student at Calhoun High School and placed 1st in the Region Literary – typing competition.

Adamson-Bass was awarded a basketball scholarship to Berry College, She was a two year All-State player and an AIAW two time All-American. Adamson-Bass was an integral part of Berry’s national championship team and was voted by her teammates as the Most Valuable Player that year. She averaged over 20 points per game and 15 assists per game. During her career at Berry the teams won a National Championship in 1976 and finished 3rd in 1977 and 1978. She is proud to say that despite not having a three point line in women’s basketball her team averaged over 84 points a game

Sharon credits fellow Hall of Fame Inductee Billy Bearden with improving her basketball game in college. There was no “play like a girl” mentality accepted by Coach Bearden. Bobbie and Billy Bearden were loyal fans of the Lady Vikings. Sharon’s teammates at Berry College would frequently visit Calhoun to work with Billy on improving their own skills and and many of Sharon’s teammates credited Billy with defining their skills that resulted in more success for that Berry College team.

‘Coach’ Adamson was interim head basketball coach at Florida State University, assistant basketball coach at UGA and the head women’s basketball coach at the University of Central Florida in 1980-81. She was appointed to the Region III Eithics and Eligibility Committee for the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women.

Throughout her coaching endeavors Sharon’s future husband, Eddie Bass, moved her about 13 times in a short period of time. However, Eddie told her he wasn’t going to move her things but one more time and it had to be back to Tallahassee. Once back in Tallahassee, Sharon began a teaching and coaching job at Maclay School, a private K-12 college preparatory school which boasted a very successful sports program. Sharon coached all the girls’ sports – volleyball, basketball, and softball. Volleyball became a new love for Sharon. The girls at Maclay loved volleyball and as a result her teams experienced much success – advancing to the state final four twice, state championship game once, and several Sectional final appearances. For her success in volleyball, Sharon was named Florida Volleyball Class A Coach of the Year in 1986. Many of her players continued their athletic careers at the college level. This experience at Maclay and the girls and families that she grew to love will always be very special to Sharon. In fact, her volleyball team was a part of Sharon and Eddie’s wedding. She can safely say they probably are responsible for most of her grey hair as well.

Sharon obtained her nursing degree at Florida State University where she graduated Cum Laude. She also received the FSU School of Nursing Academic Leadership Award and Outstanding Senior Award. After graduation she worked on the open heart surgical team at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. She also earned a Master’s degree in Athletic Administration from FSU.

In 1997, she and Eddie made the decision to move to Calhoun to help with the care of her parents who were aging and experiencing health issues. She is now completing her 17th year at Gordon Hospital. ‘Nurse’ Adamson-Bass is currently the Nurse Manager of Surgical Services and has been rewarded for her hard work at Gordon by being presented the “Heart of Nursing” award in 2011 as well as an “Extra Mile Award” recipient.

Sharon is the daughter of the late Lois and Burdette Adamson. She has a brother Terry Adamson and a brother who is deceased, Bill Adamson. She has two nieces Kate and Liz and three nephews Terry Morgan, Kelly, and Bill Jr. Sharon has been married to her husband Eddie for 27 years. Eddie also was an accomplished athlete and was inducted into both the Fairhope High School (Fairhope, Alabama) and Escambia High School (Pensacola, FL) Halls of Fame. Sharon says his biggest accolade was being the faculty advisor to the FSU cheerleaders which gave them the opportunity to travel with the FSU team. They share fond memories of traveling to Notre Dame, Ohio State, and to many bowl games together cheering on the Seminoles.

Sharon loves to spend time outdoors and enjoys traveling to new places, playing golf, swimming, and spending time with Eddie and their dogs. Currently they have 3 whippets; Tia, Sydney, and Lexi who allow Sharon and Eddie to share their home.