Petersburg High School in Petersburg, Virginia is all about legacies. Among the school’s many alumni are 12-time NBA All-Star Moses Malone, Grammy-nominated R&B artist Trey Songz, and award-winning actor Blair Underwood. While these graduates have made names for themselves and of the school, new legacies are being created.
The school’s athletic director Coach William W. Lawson, III is the son of retired Petersburg High School guidance department chair Mrs. Lula Lawson and the late William W. Lawson, Jr., who retired as the head basketball coach and athletic director of the school. Coach Lawson’s grandmother also taught in the same school system while his grandfather was the head football coach at Virginia State College – his alma mater.
Now, Coach Lawson is building his own legacy.
“Coach Lawson is a legend at Petersburg High School,” said Zack Guida, team leader at RTW Media. “He’s a legacy coach, a legacy athletic director, and is actively building his own legacy by creating quality experiences for these student athletes both through his foundation and in the athletic facilities at the school.”
In 2022, Lawson started Rise Up 4 Greatness – a foundation to help student athletes continue their educations after high school. Around the same time, at the school Coach Lawson’s started upgrades to the athletic facilities at Petersburg High School.
“The systems at the football stadium and in the gymnasium were dated,” said Guida. “They were using speakers from the mid-90’s. The sound was unintelligible and they were barely functioning.”
Zack’s team at RTW Media was selected for the upgrade. RTW selected Danley Sound Labs products for the upgraded sound system.
“RTW Media works consistently in K-12, higher education, corporate, and houses of worship-type environments,” Guida commented. “We design and install many of the audio, visual and lighting projects in the eight counties surrounding Richmond, Virginia. Our work is well-known and word of mouth between athletic departments and coaches travels quickly.”
The first project was the school’s William H. Lawson, Jr. Gymnasium – named after Coach Lawson’s father. RTW Media installed 7 Danley OS80 loudspeakers and 1 DBH218 subwoofer.
Commenting on the installation, Guida said “we chose Danley and specifically the OS80 because of its ease of installation and quality. Indoors, Danley products provide crystal clear sound. Outdoors, OS80s are built like tanks. They are very rugged, well protected from the elements and the throw is kind of mindbending.”
Following the installation at the Gymnasium, RTW Media followed with installation of 3 Danley OS80 outdoor loudspeakers, 2 Go2-8CX loudspeakers and 1 DBH218 subwoofer for the school’s football stadium sound system.
“When we upgraded the football stadium next, Bill wanted the best and had experienced it with Danley,” said Guida. “The students, student athletes, and fans have been blown away with how robust and clear the sound is. The clarity of the sound is just impeccable.”
ABOUT DANLEY SOUND LABS
Danley Sound Labs is a visionary in the audio industry providing powerful loudspeakers, subwoofers and other innovations to performances and venues around the world. Led by co-founders Tom Danley and Mike Hedden, Danley built its reputation on designing the most technologically innovative audio products on the market today. From stadiums to houses of worship, theme parks to cinemas and live sound, Danley products generate crystal clear sound that can serve audiences of any size.
Learn More at https://www.danleysoundlabs.com