Augusta, GA
‘I know she’s smiling’: Local coach’s influence lives on
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – As the graduates from Cross Creek High School file in to take their seats, joy in the James Brown Arena is palpable.
Everywhere you look, there’s a loved one celebrating.
Quanda Ball should be one of them.
The 43-year-old’s body was found in a car at Pendleton King Park Tuesday. Investigators are calling her death “suspicious.”
“She would have been clapping and yelling and screaming,” said Krystle Johnson. “She would have been really proud.”
Ball never had any children of her own, but it’s fair to say, she still had a lot of kids.
Krystle Johnson met Ball through a mutual friend when they were looking for a coach for the Lady Grinders, a local girls travel basketball team. She says Ball instantly became family to the girls on the team.
“She was that Auntie that they needed,” Johnson laughed.
Just ask Michaela Bogans.
She started playing for “Coach Q” in the 6th grade.
“I know she’s smiling right now,” Bogans said.
Bogans will be playing at the next level next year; she signed to play Division I basketball at Morgan State and leaves for Baltimore in July.
Bogans helped lead Cross Creek to four region titles and the Lady Razorbacks’ first-ever state championship.
“Coach Q, she means a lot to me. She was amazing. She told me I could do anything that I put my mind to,” Bogans said. “She was an inspiration to me. I looked up to her.”
Ball was quite the baller herself, playing D I ball for William and Mary.
Before that, she helped lead Curtis Baptist to the 1996 GISA state championship. The following year, she played for Richmond Academy and helped her team win the 1997 GHSA AAA High School State Championship. They were the first-ever team from Augusta to win a state championship in Class AAA.
“She was a really good person,” said Tiara Turner, a 2024 grad from Cross Creek. “A nice person. A good coach – a GREAT coach.”
Turner has been playing for Coach Q since middle school. Cross Creek teammate and fellow 2024 graduate Alaya Henry says she learned a lot about life from Coach Q.
“I had a game where I walked out of the gym, and she followed me out there and told me to tighten up – do it for the team,” said Henry. “Can’t just think about yourself no more.”
On this day of celebration, the Cross Creek graduates are thinking about others; they’re reflecting on how they each got to this point. For the young ladies Coach Q mentored, that means celebrating Coach Q’s impact, too.
“There’s a song that we would sing in church called ‘May The Work That I’ve Done Speak For Me,” Johnson said. “And I hope the work that Quanda has done in our community – especially with our girls – continues to live on.”
As an AAU coach, she wasn’t just a mentor for girls at Cross Creek; she coached girls in schools all across Richmond County.
When she wasn’t on the court, Ball also worked as a nurse, dedicating her life to caring for others.
Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Students showcased drones they built during a two-week summer camp at Augusta Regional Airport on Friday.
12 junior and high school students attended the camp, where they learned to fly and build drones designed to help others.
Anderson Puryear, a student, said the camp focused on delivering small medical supplies.
“It was focused on delivering small medical supplies like an EPI pen or glucose packet for like diabetics and for people with allergies in need in the real world that could obviously help save lives, and if people are like in a place in a boat or like in the desert or in the forest where they can’t easily access those supplies it can save their lives,” Puryear said.
The airport partnered with Georgia Tech, state troopers and the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Department for the Air Edu Summer Camp.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The 10th annual Juneteenth Augusta Festival brought families to the Augusta Fairgrounds on Friday despite the muggy heat.
Cultural and community-focused events, live music performances and food trucks were available at the celebration.
Tonia Hill, attending the Juneteenth celebration, said she loves the holiday and is supporting the community, though she acknowledged the weather conditions.
“I love Juneteenth. And I’m supporting everybody. It’s hot. It’s hot. It’s hot,” Hill said.
The festival runs until 10 p.m.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Augusta Dream Center is seeing more families turn to its food pantry this summer as children lose access to school lunches.
Organizations like the Augusta Dream Center see a surge in families who relied on school lunches during the academic year, according to Hallie Kohan, assistant director.
“We see a lot more families that have young kids who are in need that simply don’t have those meals they are normally getting,” Kohan said. “We see an influx of families that come through.”
Demand is up, but the food supply is not keeping pace.
“Right now we are having some food distribution issues so while we are seeing an increase in families, we are seeing a decrease in the amount of food coming through our doors,” Kohan said.
The center is asking the community to host food drives or donate kid-friendly items such as mac and cheese and oatmeal.
Every Sunday the Dream Center opens its doors for a hot meal, serving as many as 120 people.
“Families can come in and get their hot meal. They sit down, it’s dignified, it’s a diner,” Kohan said. “It’s a welcoming experience for kids to come in and not feel like they are in need.”
No paperwork is required to receive help.
“Just because you think someone is in a great situation, in today’s economy you never know,” Kohan said. “It could be your neighbor, mom, or best friend.”
The Augusta Dream Center food pantry is open Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to noon and Thursdays from 5 to 6 p.m. Hot meals are served Sundays from 5 to 6 p.m.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
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