Chris Slone
The Portsmouth Trojan community mourned the loss of longtime public address announcer Skip Hickman who passed away Thursday.
Hickman was the voice of the Trojans for 38 years but he also devoted his time to serving in other areas of need for Portsmouth.
“He’s been president of the booster’s club. He’s been treasurer of the booster’s club for all these years. He’s handled the finances of the booster’s club since I can remember,” Portsmouth Athletic Director Joe Albrecht said. “He always been involved and never asked for a penny. He’s done everything free.”
A 1961 graduate of Portsmouth High School, Hickman is a member of the Trojan Hall-of-Fame for his years as the Public Address announcer.
“There aren’t many non athletes in our Hall-of-Fame and he is one of them,” Albrecht said. “Skip optimized Portsmouth High School. He never said no to anything.
“He helped out the community as a whole. He just loved being around the community as a whole. There’s no replacing Skip Hickman. He’s an old-school guy. He never had any selfish motivations in his life. He was all about his family. It’s hard. He was just a great guy.”
On a personal level, Albrecht says goodbye to a friend he has known for most of his life.
“He was like a second father to me,” Albrecht said. “His son Greg and I had grown up together. We were the same age. We played ball together. We did school activities together. Skip and my dad Roger were always there for us.”
Reach Chris Slone at 740-353-3101, ext 1930, or on Twitter @crslone.
