Three distinguished Cooper High School alumni joined the school's Hall of Fame during an induction ceremony Friday, Sept. 18.
The new inductees are Sherri Daye Scott (Class of 1995), Angela Smith Ganter (Class of 1983), and Jay Taylor Moore (Class of 1978). With their induction, the Hall of Fame will include 100 members since its founding in 1993.
Sherri Daye Scott, Class of 1995
Sherri Daye Scott is an award-winning writer, producer, cultural strategist, and marketing executive. She launched her career as an associate editor at D Magazine, Dallas's premier city magazine, before building a resume that includes bylines in The Washington Post, Essence, Women's Health, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, as well as a role as editor-in-chief of QSR Magazine, the leading trade publication for quick-service restaurant executives. She is also the founder of Everybody Eats Media, and executive-producer of Big Facts, Small Acts, a nationally recognized public health campaign named Ad Age Campaign of the Year (Pro Bono, Gold, 2021), a Fast Company World Changing Idea, and a Shorty Social Good Awards Gold honoree. Under that banner, she also researched and contributed to Unreformed, a Peabody-nominated investigative podcast; led the Atlanta Beltline's FIFA World Cup 2026 Community Engagement strategy; and curates and contributes to Sketchbook, the visual arts newsletter for Rough Draft Atlanta.
Angela Smith Ganter, Class of 1983
Angela Smith Ganter’s life has seen many challenges. In 2010 she underwent multiple surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation during an eight-year battle with breast cancer. Her comeback to world class rodeo is one of the most rewarding accomplishments of her career. In 2018 she won six PRCA rodeos, qualified for the Canadian Finals Rodeo, and won the Grass Roots Finals. She qualified for the Canadian Finals Rodeo again in 2019, winning a round, and in 2021 qualified for the Calgary Stampede, where she won a go-round while competing alongside my daughter, Jackie. Along the way she earned World Championships in the APHA, AQHA, and WPRA and was inducted into the Texas Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2022. In 2025, her story was featured in the docudrama Outriding the Devil, which chronicles her battle with breast cancer and return to rodeo.
Jay Taylor Moore, Class of 1978
Jay Taylor Moore has authored Abilene History in Plain Sight, Abilene Daily, Abilene: A to Z, Hendrick: A Century of Healing Ministry, Legacy and Legacy: The Dodge Jones Story, and co-authored Abilene Stories. He has produced a documentary film series titled, History in Plain Sight, focusing on Abilene history. Jay was named as one of 12 Outstanding Texas Teachers by Humanities Texas in 2013. He was selected more than once as the class's favorite teacher. He has been recognized by the Texas Veterans of Foreign War, the American Association of State and Local History and by the Taylor County Historical Commission with the Maxine Perini Award. Hardin-Simmons University awarded him an honorary doctorate degree in 2019. Since 2020, he has been the director of the Stone Owl Institute, a program designed to teach area high school students about this nation’s founders, their thoughts and how they shaped our founding documents.