Bobby Batson

Bobby James Batson, a long-time publicist in collegiate sports and the motorsports industry, lost his three-year courageous battle with cancer Wednesday at his Concord, N.C., home. He was 66.

A beloved son, husband, brother, father and grandfather, Batson is survived by his mother, Eunice Fowler Hill of Taylors, S.C.; wife, Janie Hutchins Batson; sister and brother-in-law, Pat and Bill Edwards of Greenville, S.C.; sister, Joan Bunch of Bristow, Va.; son and daughter-in-law, Brad and Marilyn Batson of Greenville, S.C.; stepson, Johnny McCoy of Monroe, N.C.; stepson and daughter-in-law, Mike and Okson McCoy of Charlotte, N.C.; and four grandchildren, Mark, Justin and Stephen Batson, and Matthew McCoy; and several nieces and nephews, as well as great nieces and nephews.

A Greenville, S.C., native, Batson was preceded in death by his father, James C. Batson; and a son, Brent Batson.

A public memorial service will be held to celebrate Batson's life 11 a.m. Saturday at First Presbyterian Church in Concord, N.C. Officiating will be Rev. Leslie Piper and retired pastor Ken Craig. The family will receive friends following the service in the church's Davis Hall.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Hospice and Palliative Care of Cabarrus County, 5003 Hospice Lane, Kannapolis, NC 28081.

A congenial man who embraced everyone who shared his passion for sports and the outdoors, Batson was best known for his public relations work in NASCAR. However, his love for sports writing began shortly after his graduation from Greenville High School in 1958, and his attendance at North Greenville Junior College and Furman University.

Before moving into public relations, Batson worked as a sports writer for the Greenville (S.C.) News and the Columbia (S.C.) State in the early 1960s. His sportswriting career was interrupted briefly with a three-year stint in the Army National Guard, where he earned the Exceptional Service Medal during the "Berlin Crisis."

Batson's first venture into public relations came at Furman University, where he served as the school's sports information director. In 1969, he was named Wake Forest University's sports information director. During his tenure at the Winston-Salem, N.C., college he was recognized with two national awards for is public relations work.

After a brief stint with the now-defunct Virginia Squires of the American Basketball Association, the outgoing and popular Batson began his motorsports career in 1974, when he was named public relations director for Charlotte Motor Speedway. He remained at the 1.5-mile track now known as Lowe's Motor Speedway for two years before accepting a similar position at Atlanta International Raceway in 1976. During his 5 ½ years as vice president of communications at Atlanta, Batson became known as the veteran motorsports promotions and marketing expert.

In 1981, he joined the Warner Hodgdon/National Engineering Race Team, where he worked until January 1983, when he joined General Cigar and Tobacco Co. [now Swisher International] as promotions manager of special events. His duties included overseeing the company's sponsorships of David and Larry Pearson and the late Rob Moroso in NASCAR's Winston Cup and Busch Series, as well as the Ultimate Outdoor Trails Hunting and Fishing event with Wayne Pearson.

In the late 1980s, when the company dissolved its special events program, Batson was named national accounts manager. The new position switched his focus to hunting, fishing and farmer-of-the-year programs. He was named National Account Manager of the Year five times between 1996 and 2002, and created the Swisher Sweets/Subelt Expo Southeastern Farmer-of-the-Year program. He retired from the company in April 2003, but not from writing. After his retirement and even during his gallant battle with cancer, Batson wrote a golf column for the Cabarrus Neighbors section of The Charlotte Observer.

Batson is a man who will not only be missed by his family, but by all of those people whose lives he touched, either as a mentor or a friend.

The family wishes to thank all of the personnel in the Oncology Department at Carolinas Medical Center, Northeast Medical Center, and Hospice for the special care given to Batson during his three-year battle with cancer.

Condolences may be left at wilkinsonfuneralhome.com.