Antonio McGinnis

Antonio L. McGinnis is a native of Huntsville, Alabama. He is married to  Mitzi Wade McGinnis and together they have three sons, Kendall, AJ and Ian. Tony grew up in the Sparkman Homes Community and was a member of the Sparkman Homes Boys & Girls Club. He attended Terry Heights Elementary, Stone Middle, and Butler High School (BHS). While attending BHS, he was a member of the Freshman Football team, ran track, and was a member of the boys’ basketball team. In 1991, Tony was named city MVP and awarded first team all-state honors. Recently, Tony was named by AL.com as one of the top 25 Athletes in Butler High School History. 

After graduating from Butler High School in 1991, he went on to attend Texas A&M University where he received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Journalism.  Tony funded his education through a full athletic scholarship. While at Texas A&M, Tony was a member  of the Men’s Basketball Team, a four-year letterman, and was selected as a member of the Southwestern  Conference All Conference Team during his senior year. In 2012, Tony received a Master’s Degree in  Public Administration from Strayer University.

After completing his stay at TAMU, Tony traveled the globe playing professional basketball in Slovenia  and Australia. After a short professional career, he returned home and started working as the Health and  Physical Education Director for Boys & Girls Club (BGC). While employed with BGC, he took on various  positions from Athletic Director to Club Director and other duties as assigned. Tony worked at the Boys  and Girls Club for eight years and in January of 2005 saw fit to explore other opportunities. 

In June of 2005, Tony started working with the Huntsville Housing Authority (HHA) as the Youth Services  Coordinator and was employed for five years. In March of 2010, he became the Executive Director for the  Harris Home for Children, which is a non-profit foster care facility for children who are in the custody of the  Department of Human Resources. 

In June of 2012, Tony was inducted into the Boys and Girls Club Hall of Fame and on April 1, 2013 he  was inducted into the Huntsville Madison County Sports Hall of Fame. Furthermore, in August of 2012, Tony was named Young Professional of The Year by the Huntsville Madison County Chamber of  Commerce. 

Tony is the former Head coach of the Oakwood University men’s basketball team. In 2012, he led his  team to the United States Collegiate Athletic Association championship becoming the third coach in the  state of Alabama to win a collegiate national championship in basketball. Tony is a published author. His  first book is entitled “The Game is Deep,” and is geared to help athletes, parents, coaches and fans deal  with the stresses that come with playing the game that so many young people have grown to love. His  second book, “Life in The Bricks,” chronicles his life growing up in one of Huntsville’s toughest public  housing neighborhoods. 

Tony is currently the Executive Director of The Huntsville Housing Authority, located in Huntsville  Alabama. Tony’s mission is to help as many people as possible break the chains of generational poverty by helping them create a personal blueprint that will led them on a journey towards self sufficiency.

Antonio is a graduate of Leadership Huntsville Connect, Class 13.  He is a graduate of Class 2 Of the Leadership Impact Class and a recent Graduate of Leadership Alabama Class XXXII.