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NEWS
Hundreds attend Boys and Girls Club fundraiser
Katie Jones dines during the Boys and Girls Club fundraising dinner at Pullman Plaza Hotel on Friday, March 19, 2010, in Huntington.
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HUNTINGTON -- On Friday night, hundreds of men and women came together to celebrate Huntington's boys and girls.
The Boys and Girls Club of Huntington hosted its 38th annual fundraising dinner at the Pullman Plaza Hotel to honor and support what board member Elsie Pruett called "one of Huntington's best-kept secrets."
"Without this fundraiser and these donors, we wouldn't have three clubs, we wouldn't have the programming, a lot of these kids wouldn't get that one hot meal a day they get at our clubs; in truth, some of these kids would fall by the wayside," said president John S. Anderson.
The Boys and Girls Club, located in Westmoreland, 14th Street and Guyandotte, serves more than a 1,000 children ages 6 to 18, through meals, after-school programming, tutoring and mentoring. Though no tickets are sold to the dinner, previous events have generated between $160,000 and $225,000 through pledges and raffle items such as this year's Greenbrier Resort getaway, Marshall University football skybox tickets and four rounds of golf at Glade Springs.
"We use the dinner as a way to recognize past, current and potential donors," Anderson said.
WSAZ's Keith Morehouse served as master of ceremonies and former Marshall football coach Bob Pruett introduced this year's guest speaker, former Marshall star running back Doug Chapman, selected in the third round of the 2000 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings.
Chapman, who travels between Atlanta and Washington, D.C. working for ESPN among other obligations, said he didn't think twice when asked to speak at this year's banquet.
"The Boys and Girls Club is about community, it's about giving back. When I was here, Coach Pruett instilled in us that community was as important as football, and I think it's important if you have the ability to give back, you should give back," Chapman said. "The community here was very good to me, the fans here were very good to me and supported me, and that's why we come back."
Chapman follows a string of former Marshall athletes to speak at the Boys and Girls Clubs events, including Chad Pennington, Byron Leftwich and Randy Moss, among others. Many of the athletes even worked at the club while they were in college.
"I think they're pleased to come back because they've seen the work the clubs do and the know the effect it has on the kids," Anderson said.
Elsie Pruett said seeing was believing when she and her husband got involved in supporting the clubs.
"The people who work there love these kids. They're strict. They give guidance. It's a wonderful thing that people can send their children somewhere they can be safe, education and fed," she said. "I would rather my money go here than anywhere else."
