For 23 years, Armorel's Charlie Brown has been educating youth in the classroom, on the basketball court and on the baseball diamond.
"23 years," Brown says reflectively. "That's a long time."
A 1978 graduate of Armorel High School, Brown currently holds the titles of Dean of Students, head basketball and baseball coach and most recently Athletic Director for his alma mater.
"I've held the official title of Athletic Director for about a year now," Brown says with a hint of sarcasm.
He's sarcastic because he's been doing the duties of an athletic director for almost all of his 23 years.
"At small schools you have to wear many different hats to get all of the work done," Brown said. "That's the way it is with everybody here. You have to help each other out. That's what makes this place so unique. You have all of the teachers and staff working together."
Like so many educators, Brown's biggest influences growing up started at home with his family and with his own teachers and coaches.
"We were taught at an early age the importance of hard work and our Christian faith," he said. "Those are the things that I base my education on. I also had great high school coaches in Jim Ellis and Cleo Massey. They had a great influence on my life. They cared for us but they demanded stuff out of us also."
Growing up, Brown says he considered his dreams of coaching at the college level. He got a taste of it coaching with longtime basketball coach Bill Tyer, at what was then, Mississippi County Community College while he was completing his masters degree at Arkansas State University for two years in the early 80s.
"I think the world of coach Tyer," says Brown. "He really taught me the x's and o's of the game of basketball."
While at MCCC, Brown made recruiting visits to Memphis and sometimes had a special partner ride along with him.
"My wife, Karen, used to come with me on my recruiting visits to Memphis. That was how we dated. So, she knew what she was getting into before she married me," Brown says with a smile.
Ultimately it came down to family when Brown made the decision to stay close to home at the high school level.
"I wanted to see my kids grow up," he said. "I had always thought about moving on to the college level and being a part of a college program, but I knew it would have me away from home a lot. I don't regret it one bit."
Brown returned to Armorel after two years at MCCC and has been there ever since.
As for watching his kids grow up?
Brown has gotten a chance to see his kids grow up in a way that most people never experience as he's gotten to coach and teach is two sons, Justin and Christopher, and watch his daughter, Katelyn, develop into a fine student athlete as well.
"Some of my greatest joys and some of my biggest frustrations have come from coaching my kids," he said. "I probably tended to be a little more demanding on them which probably was frustrating to them but when you have success with your children, there is nothing like it."
Brown has taken a parental approach to all of the kids that he teaches and coaches.
"To be honest, I think of all of them as my kids during the time that I have with them," he said. "I'm probably very demanding but I'm also very protective the kids that I coach."
One of many unique qualities about Brown is his ability to motivate during complacent moments. Watching Brown coach while his team is ahead by 30 points is no different then watching him coach when the game is tied or when they are behind by 30 points.
"The two most dangerous things in sports can be success, when you're ahead by a lot, and failure, when you're behind by a lot," Brown said. "Both can produce complacency. Those two things I feel I always have to guard against. Don't get too low when things are going bad. Don't get two high when things are going good."
Brown understands that his form of "tough love" with his players can seem harsh now but he knows that it will pay off for them when they are not under his watch and care.
"You wish you could just baby them and let them know that everything will be all right but that's just not the way life is," he said. " There will be ups and downs. Kids need to learn what it's like to fail sometimes so they know how to get back on their feet just as much as they need to experience success."
To Brown, one of the most satisfying moments in an educators life is when former students come back to thank them for what they've done for them.
"You're not in this job for the money," he said. "You're in this to help kids develop into all that they can be. Whether it's going on to college or just going to work.
"You love to watch them develop. Just when you think you've lost them, they surprise you and show you they were listening."
One of the biggest testaments to Brown's years as an educator came from a letter he received from a former student who had just finished his basic training in the Air Force.
"He wrote me a letter and it said, 'Coach, thanks for all you've done. I just made it through basic," Brown said. "This drill sergeant was a piece of cake. Thanks.'"
Coach Brown has probably heard hundreds of compliments similar to that letter, and he'll probably receive hundreds more before his career is over with.