Erik Hooks has come a long way from his days living in Spring Lake and running the Pine Forest High School basketball team from his point guard position.
Currently serving as the deputy director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Washington, D.C., even Hooks admits he’s made it further than he expected.
“I always had some sense of serving others, growing up in a community that’s right there at Fort Bragg, now Fort Liberty, and Pope Air Force Base,’’ he said, “never really imagining the opportunities that I have been afforded to serve at this level.’’
He was nominated to his current position in 2021 by President Biden.
Hooks took the job after serving as North Carolina’s Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Advisor, positions he retired from the same year he got the new job in Washington.
Hooks graduated from Pine Forest in 1985 and played on the varsity team from 1982 to 1985. When Hooks’ basketball coach at Pine Forest, Chuck Mohn, was inducted into the Fayetteville Sports Club Hall of Fame, he was asked to pick one of his best teams from his days as Trojan coach.
Oddly enough, Mohn picked one of Hooks’ teams from the mid-1980s, a team that won only five games. He said he based the choice on the commitment and character of the players on the team.
“I think that is emblematic of who Coach Mohn is,’’ Hooks said. “He certainly could have chosen a team that had a number of players that went on to college. But it was a team that worked hard every day, that brought the commitment to the court every day and absolutely gave their best based on what they had within their skill set at that time.’’
Hooks was a microcosm of the kind of players Mohn had on that team. Short in stature but long on leadership, his skills made him perfect for the job of point guard — a coach on the floor as he put it — lending himself to calling the plays and putting the players in the best positions to make the Trojan offense work.
“It’s that work ethic he installed,’’ Hooks said of Mohn. “The team was always tenacious, and trying to do their best.’’
Hooks said he’s still using the lessons he learned from his days with Coach Mohn in his role with FEMA.
“Those lessons I learned about commitment, teamwork, time management skills — all of those play a part,’’ he said.
It also taught him the importance of giving back to the community. As an adult he’s coached AAU basketball in Raleigh when he worked with the governor. “I make sure I am constantly making investments in people, whether that’s in the community or within our staff,’’ he said.
He said he’s not interested in creating a following for himself, but in creating other leaders.
That carries over into his work with FEMA, which involves helping people before, during and after disasters, be they natural or man-made.
One of the programs he’s involved with at FEMA brings in young people as interns to recruit and inspire them to work in government or public service.
He added there’s also an outreach to historically Black colleges and universities like Fayetteville State, to bring more people into the work force with the mission of serving others.
His job requires him to perform administrative duties as well as travel to disaster sites. He’s personally witnessed the aftermath of severe storms in Kentucky and tornadoes in Alabama.
One of the biggest disasters he was involved with last year was Hurricane Ian in Florida.
“Thank goodness North Carolina wasn’t hit hard this year, but you can certainly see me on the ground in North Carolina if the need arises,’’ he said.
Hooks said he has no plans for higher appointed or elected office, and hopes to return to his native North Carolina when his work finally ends.
He wants to serve his community on a smaller scale, be it coaching a sports team or working through his church.
When all is said and done, Hooks said the thing he cherishes most is relationships with teammates, support staff and coaches.
“I had some fabulous teachers at Pine Forest that invested in me,’’ he said. “I in turn think about them often when I get an opportunity to invest in others.’’
Earl’s Pearls
- Congratulations to former Cape Fear High School baseball standout Gavin Williams, who recently had his No. 16 jersey retired by the school.
Williams made his major league debut as a pitcher with the Cleveland Guardians last season, going 3-5 with a 3.29 earned run average and 81 strikeouts.
Guardians pitchers and catchers report to Cleveland’s spring training headquarters in Goodyear, Ariz., on Feb. 13-15.
Sports Illustrated recently rated Williams as the No. 4 pitcher in Cleveland’s starting rotation.
- Pine Forest High School football coach Bill Sochovka — who guided the East All-Stars to a 35-7 win over the West in this year’s Dec. 16 East-West game in Greensboro — has another all-star coaching job for next December.
The same day his East team won, officials of the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas announced Sochovka will be an assistant coach for next December’s Shrine Bowl game.
- Pine Forest High School wrestler Samuel Gantt put an early exclamation point on his 2023-24 season for the Trojans.
In the recent WRAL Wrestling Invitational, annually one of the biggest holiday events of the season, Gantt captured the 144-pound weight class.
- I’ll be doing my high school year-end wrap-up the final week of the year, listing the top sports stories for Fayetteville and Cumberland County.
If you’d like to suggest stories from the past year you think should make the list, drop me an email at earlvaughanjr@gmail.com no later than Christmas Day.
Merry Christmas to everyone.
