John Stallings has dedicated nearly half a century to the development and education of the youth of Yancey County.

From an early age, John knew his calling was to teach school and coach sports in order to help mentor and guide young folks to realize their worth and gain confidence in themselves.

John and his wife Melanie moved to Burnsville in 1978, and John began teaching social studies at Mountain Heritage High School.

John taught at Mountain Heritage from 1978 to 2002 teaching Economics, Legal and Political Systems as well as U.S. History. He often served as the chair of the social studies department.

From 2003 until his retirement from full-time teaching in 2008, Mr. Stallings taught 6th-grade social studies at Cane River Middle School.

Mr. Stallings returned to Yancey County Schools after retirement to serve as a substitute teacher through 2021.

He was one of the county's first state-certified mentor teachers, receiving additional training to help prepare new teachers to be successful in their roles. In 1993, he was recognized by the N.C. Cooperative Extension as the Farm–City Yancey County Educator of the Year.

John coached football at Mountain Heritage from 1978 to 1989 and at Cane River from 2003 to 2004. He returned to coaching football at Mountain Heritage from 2012 to 2014. He also coached softball at Mountain Heritage from 1978 to 1984 and at Cane River from 2003 to 2005. In September 2007, Mountain Heritage celebrated “John Stallings Night,” with a special presentation at halftime of the football game.

Mr. Stallings is still active at Mountain Heritage, volunteering to provide motivational speaking to sports teams. He can also be heard on WKYK radio, broadcasting the play-by-play for Mountain Heritage football games.

His children, John David and Emily, attended Burnsville Elementary, East Yancey Middle, and Mountain Heritage. John David is now a teacher himself at the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC. Emily worked in hospital administration and now lives in Raleigh.

Mr. Stallings has a strong religious faith and served as a sponsor for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter at Mountain Heritage for 14 years.

Mr. Stallings served one term as a Yancey County Commissioner (2016–2018), choosing not to seek an additional term. Public service runs in the Stallings family. His father, William Stallings, Sr., served on the school board in Rutherford County for 16 years and also served as a volunteer fireman. His brother, Bill Stallings, served as a Highway Patrolman in Yancey County in the 1970s.