As longtime head coach at Hoover’s W.A. Berry High School, the late Bob Finley taught his students as much about integrity and character as he did about football. Now, awards in his name encourage the values he embraced and taught.

Each year, The Finley Awards celebrate character education by honoring one senior from each high school and one Hoover City Schools employee as examples of outstanding character. With Coach Finley, it did not matter whether people were stars or standouts.

All students – whether athletes or non-athletes - were important to him. He taught hundreds of young people about integrity, generosity, compassion and perseverance, not only in what he said, but in how he lived. Many of those young people are now well beyond high school - and they are still reaping the incredible benefits of Bob Finley’s character.