Franklin County High School's YOVASO Club held its first annual Guns and Hoses benefit basketball game Friday night raising $2,779 for the Lights for Life memorial. L.D. Arrington accepts the check from Chelsea Hodges, Jessica Chitwood, Levi Wray and Brian McClung.
Members of Franklin County High School’s YOVASO Club (Youth of Virginia Speak Out) wanted to contribute to the Lights for Life memorial fundraiser when they returned to school in September.
The drive had started about a month before students went back to school.
According to Brian McClung, club sponsor and criminal justice instructor, it was the students who came up with the idea for a basketball game, featuring local law enforcement officers and firefighters.
So they borrowed the name “Guns and Hoses” and set the contest for Feb. 18 in the Samuel Hawkins Central Gym.
A lot of work went into preparing for the game. Larry McCarty and Deborah Russell, local restaurant operators, were lined up to coach the firemen.
Veteran radio announcer Glenn Lynch and Amy Pendleton, a morning radio personality, were picked to coach the police officers.
Special t-shirts were purchased for the participants, with the officers using their badge numbers and the firemen using their last names.
With assistance from Master Trooper Tim Harris, a club sponsor, team rosters were quickly filled with volunteers.
An estimated 500 spectators showed up to support their favorite team, said McClung.
The Guns team clearly had the height advantage and put it to work early in the game. The officers had doubled the score on the firefighters, 35-15.
Special entertainment was provided throughout the event, with children from the crowd shooting baskets against the officers.
Finally the announcers and scorekeeper jumped into the mix. Suddenly two-pointers scored by the firefighters appeared on the scoreboard as four points and occasionally even more.
Unofficially, the final score was shown as a whopping 104-98.
The club presented the proceeds ($2,779) to L.D. Arrington, drive chairman, Friday morning.
“We’ll have have to do this again next year. We all enjoyed it, and we appreciate everyone turning out to support us,” said Chelsea Hodges, club president.
“The students were the ones who made this work. And we got got tremendous support from the police, firemen and a lot of volunteers,” McClung added.
With the club’s contribution Friday, Arrington said the drive total now stands at $272,694.
