Hoops Against Cancer

My big fundraiser for the year was the Hoops Against Cancer 3 on 3 basketball tournament on April 24. This was the 2nd year running the tourney. I tried to improve it over last year, and I think we did so in many ways. We had 18 teams this year over the five we had in year one. The biggest change that was made is that I was able to find some excellent helpers. Ricky Woods, Chad Turner, and Brandan Turner joined me to form a "committee" to run the tourney.

Ricky got on to local radio station Froggy 98 to promote the tourney and get some free publicity. At one point, the radio personalities were going to have a team, but their plans fell through. Ricky also secured many donations including a football signed by over 30 Huskers. We're actually going to auction that off this Saturday at our Spring Fling party. Ricky also had a team in the tourney.

Chad also secured many donations from local businesses. He has a lot of contacts through his CD Warehouse store. The highlight of his contribution might have been securing four rounds of free golf with two carts at Hill Crest Country Club ($260 value). Chad also helped officiate at the tourney.

We wound up raising over $1,300 this year. We were very pleased. The day went smoothly. We had three divisions this year including five teams in a women's division. Everyone seemed to have a great time. And we were able to raise good money for a great cause.

Raising Awareness

The cause of fighting against cancer needs spokespeople and one way that we've been able to fight back is by getting involved with public speaking opportunities. Tracy is particularly good with telling her story. Recently, we were asked to speak at Waverly High School as part of their "Purple Week" to raise awareness of the dangers with cancer. As usual, Tracy did a great job telling her story. On the other hand, I found out that following Tracy and speaking about personal issues are not easy for me to do. I always get a little emotional listening to Tracy speak. And I was out of my comfort zone talking about our experiences with cancer in front of so many former students.

We were very impressed with the turnout of students who came to the Purple Rally. We'd like to thank the committee for asking us to speak!