Famed University of Florida basketball player, Walter Clayton Jr., was in Lake Wales on Friday, April 18, 2025, to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Albert Kirkland Gymnasium.
A small motorcade of vehicles, including representatives of Lake Wales Police Department and Lake Wales Fire Department, as well as several vehicles provided by the Low Payment Kings, arrived at the Gym with Clayton and his family.
The public was invited to attend the event, and many citizens took advantage of the opportunity to witness Clayton return to the Kirkland Gymnasium. Lake Wales Mayor Jack Hilligoss spoke at the event, welcoming Clayton back to the City where he lived and spent part of his high school years.
Clayton cut the ceremonial ribbon along side his mother, Cherie Foster, which officially opened the gym after the flooring was recently restored.
At one point, the All-American basketball player looked off to his left and said, “I think that’s where I hit my first dunk.”
