George Hicks graduated from Iowa State Teachers College–now Northern Iowa University; he then came to Cherokee in 1927 as athletic director and coach in all sports. He coached for nine years and has the distinction of being the coach of Cherokee’s first Lakes Conference championship (basketball in 1936.) Hicks served as the mayor of Cherokee from 1939 to 1950, then was selected to the Cherokee Board of Education. While serving on the board in the early 50’s, Hicks was one of several individuals instrumental in planning and erecting the then new Washington High School complex, which included a superb new athletic field and stadium plus a spacious gymnasium-auditorium. The athletic field was named George Hicks Field in 1972 in his honor for all he contributed to Cherokee athletics. Hicks was the official starter at the Iowa State High School Classic in Ames for more than 20 years. A conservative estimate would have him starting more than 400 track carnivals in his tenure as a track official. This would include Cherokee’s own Tomahawk Relays, which was long known as “Northwest Iowa’s Track Classic.” Even today, the 4 X 800 relay at Tomahawk is run as the George Hicks 4 X 800 with a handsome traveling trophy being presented to the four winning participants by the Queen of the Relays.
A tribute written in the Cherokee Daily Times after his sudden death in 1971 quoted him sharing a conversation with the editor of the paper.
“…Some people say we have a bad generation coming up. I don’t believe that for a minute. They’re good kids. Better than we were, that’s for sure. If a few of them act up, maybe we’d better take a long look at ourselves and our attitudes and examples and lay the blame where it belongs.”
Standing at the corner, his forehead wrinkled in thought, his usual mirthful eyes serious now, dead serious, he said, “You know, I like kids. They’re wonderful. Just think of what they could do if we would give them more chances. Just think…”