Renee Kelly was born in Augusta. Her competitive edge was noticeable at an early age despite pronounced physical disabilities.  The first four years of her life were difficult due to malformed feet and a heart murmur. She wore corrective shoes and spent much of her time seeking help for her heart problems. 

 

Her internal fortitude defied all odds. She graduated from Richmond Academy in 1983. She played an important role while celebrating the Academy's 200th birthday. She was honored as the star basketball player and led the Musketeers to an undefeated season going into the State Championship playoffs. The Lady Musketeers were defeated in the final championship game, finishing the season with a 27-1 record.

 

She began shaping her career as a prolific player after receiving a four-year scholarship to the University of Missouri-Columbia. While there, she was the Big Eight Conference Player of the Year twice, Big Eight Conference Female Athlete of the Year, and an Academic All-Big Eight selection. She dominated the center position on the team from 1984-1987 and received All American honors in 1987 when she was a finalist for the prestigious Naismith Award. She is one of only two women basketball stars to have her jersey retired.

 

After graduating from the University of Missouri, she played for the International Professional Basketball team. She played in Italy and Brazil and took advantage of traveling to other countries. She played professional basketball for five years. In 1991, she was featured on the cover of USA today.

 

After giving up her basketball career, she said, "Basketball has been very good for me, but sometimes you have to change gears in life, and I think it's time to do that". She returned to the University of Missouri and remained the Job Training supervisor for two years.

 

In 1994, she returned to Augusta and was a Procurement Contact Specialist-Instructor for five years. That same year, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the University of Missouri.

 

In 2000, she was hired as a Marketing teacher at Westside High School in Augusta, and while at Westside she was named Teacher of the Year. She remained at Westside until 2007. Her next job was a "sentimental journey" back to her old alma mater -- ARC. She served as assistant principal at the Academy where she began her career as a basketball star.

 

Renee received a Master’s degree from Troy State in 2003 and her Specialist Education Leadership degree in 2007 at Cambridge College.  In 2012, she was hired as principal of Richmond County Technical Career Magnet School.

 

Her professional memberships include the National Association of Female Executives, National Association of Education, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Georgia Parents Association, and Technology Associates of Georgia.

 

Renee was recently honored at the Women's SEC Tournament. She was part of the 2014 Class of Women's Legends, which showcases one former player from each program who starred for their team.

 

Renee has come a long way since that little girl with corrective shoes and a heart murmur. After all her other accomplishments, she considers her two daughters the most important.