Two athletic facilities at Petersburg High School (in Petersburg, VA) recently received sound reinforcement upgrades in the form of new systems both headed by a range of loudspeakers from Danley Sound Labs in a project by AV integration firm RTW Media.
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.
“Coach Lawson is a legend at Petersburg High School,” says Zack Guida, team leader at Virginia-based 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, Petersburg began upgrading its athletic facilities. “The systems at the football stadium and in the gymnasium were dated,” explains Guida. “They were using speakers from the mid-90’s. The sound was unintelligible and they were barely functioning.”
The first project was the William H. Lawson, Jr. Gymnasium, named after Coach Lawson’s father. It’s outfitted with a new system utilizing seven OS80 loudspeakers joined by a DBH218 subwoofer. Guida: “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.”
RTW Media followed that with the installation of three more OS80 loudspeakers as well as two Go2-8CX loudspeakers and another DBH218 subwoofer for the football stadium. “When we upgraded the football stadium next, Bill wanted the best and had experienced it with Danley,” Guida concludes. “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.”
