NM Rotary Challenge
The sixth Annual New Martinsville Rotary Basketball Challenge, a partnership with Magnolia High School, is in the books and you can mark it up as another success story for the community.
By virtue of its class planning and execution, public interest, team participation and longevity, it has achieved legacy status. It is now a destination event in the Valley, much like the B&K Basketball Camp is at Paden City High School.
My previous experiences with the tournament has been pretty much limited to taking photos of participating Wetzel County teams and writing about those games. But this year, for the first time, I experienced the event literally from before the first tilt. At my age, I thought my days of being amazed at stuff were long gone. Man, was I wrong.
I did some “investigative reporting” this year to look beyond what fans see on the hardwood. What I found was not a surprise to some … and should not be a surprise to anyone.
It started, and ended, with conversations with event chair Jim Blatt, who, with his wife, Claire, have been the principal organizers of the tournament since its beginning. Blatt begins each year with zero dollars, except in the early years when a few began with deficits. Proceeds from the event’s gate and program advertising revenue are donated to Magnolia’s girls’ and boys’ basketball teams.
Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. Success is caused to happen because a lot of people are willing to work hard to achieve it. Adding a touch of class in the planning doesn’t hurt.
It is a responsible, and probably conservative, estimate that 35 individuals and more than 20 businesses put their shoulders to the wheel to make it happen. Planners seemed to have thought of everything, including properly inflated basketballs.
This year, 12 teams and more than 200 players/coaches participated. As each one arrived at MHS, Blatt greeted them and explained what was going to happen and how. The class began to show when players were given tournament t-shirts – customized with each school’s colors. Players also were given bags for their valuables which tournament officials secured while teams were on the floor.
Coaches received a whistle engraved with each one’s name. They weren’t plastic cheapos, either. They were Thunderer brand, the classic state-of-the-art athletic whistle.
With four girls teams and eight boys teams, locker rooms posed a logistical nightmare. However, planners designed a rotation schedule for the school’s two locker rooms and designated classrooms for two teams. It went without a single incident.
There was a hospitality area on the gym floor level designated for players only. A second hospitality area was created on the balcony above the hardwood for Rotarians, coaches, game officials and special guests. One of those special guests was Butch Powell, assistant executive director of the WVSSAC.
In addition, a concession stand was available near the playing floor for fans attending the event.
Apart from tournament action, planners created two areas where fans could watch the televised basketball game between WVU and TCU. Both areas – one upstairs and a second one downstairs – came equipped with snacks and beverages.
Programs highlighting the participating teams were plentiful and game schedules were everywhere. You didn’t feel lost or have to ask someone what was going on. There was music between games and two performances by the Marshall County Dribble Team.
New Martinsville PD provided tournament security, MHS custodians kept the venue clean and fresh, teachers allowed their rooms to be pillaged for needed tables and chairs and Relay for Life supported the event with its presence. It was like the event was happening in the convenience your own living room.
Too often, when events go off seamlessly, we take them for granted. The hard, time-consuming work is transparent. But, someone had to carry tables and chairs, set them up and return them from whence they came. Someone had to design, print, collate, assemble and distribute the programs. The food and beverages didn’t fall from the sky and the game clocks were not on autopilot.
Somebody had to donate, physically transport the televisions to and from the tournament and somebody had to program them to work with the school’s computer system. Somebody had to voice-communicate, sometimes frequently, with participating schools. Bus drivers had to be engaged transport teams to and from the tournament; and the game schedule did not simply materialize.
Think about the commitment of physical work and dollars as you read, elsewhere on these pages, the names of the individuals and businesses that made this event another success. And be grateful to them. They made a declaration of our values that defined who we are much more than it was a statement of what we can do.
*****
The following persons, schools and businesses made the 2015 Rotary Basketball Challenge successful.
Participating High Schools: Bishop Donahue, Hundred, Madonna, Monroe Central, Paden City, Tyler Consolidated, Wheeling Central, Williamstown and Magnolia; Marshall County Dribble Team;
Sponsors: Moose Lodge #931, Bayer Corp., Dana Liquid Transport, Axial Corp., Elementis Specialties, Charlie Morris Grasshopper Basketball, W. Va Del. Dave Pethtel, A-L Concrete, Tri-County Hearing Center, Ludewig Insurance, Grisell Funeral Homes, Wetzel County Hospital, Witschey’s Market, J. C. Mensore Distributors, Bayer Heritage federal Credit Union, Anderson Orthodontics, Toman Insurance, Dr. Neill Marshall;
Item Donations: Player t-shirts, Quinet’s Court Restaurant and Shirts ‘N More; Coaches gifts, Buddy Light Accounting and Tax Service; Hot wings: Amy’s Candlelight Restaurant; TVs, Wayside Furniture; Refreshments for the Marshall County Dribble Team, PJ’s Pizza; Cups and Plates, Wendy’s Restaurant; Players’ Pizza Discounts, Domino’s; Game Officials’ Gifts: Bayer Corp.;
Individuals: Game Schedule: MHS coaches Dave Tallman, Tom Tisher, Mark Blair, Phil Hulsey and MHS Athletic Director Brian Castilow; Balcony Hospitality, Carol Tallman, Rita Berardinelli and Janie Carder; Player Hospitality, Becky Winters, Barb Blain; Set-up/Teardown organized by Jeremy Blain; TV Set-Ups, Mark Lemasters, Tom Myslinsky; Game Announcers, Neill Marshall, Scott Anderson;
Radio Broadcasters: MIX 100, Sports Radio 1430 AM, Magic 93.1 FM/1330 AM; Watchdog AM 1600/1370.
In addition to these contributors, thanks also goes to Claire Blatt, Stacy Barcus and the Relay For Life and to NMPD Chief Tim Cecil, Ptrl. Jason Utt and Sgt. Don Larsen.