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 The annual event is a fundraiser for local
veterans. For the past two years, the money raised during the show
has gone to the CIVC for the Veteran Tiny Home building projects.
Prior to 2021, the fundraiser benefitted the Veteran Honor Flight
project. The Honor Flight program was another very worthwhile
project that provided day trips for veterans to Washington D.C. to
see the war memorials. Honor flights made multiple trips a year to
the nation’s capital, and over the years dozens of Logan County
veterans have gone. The Honor Flight was halted in 2020 due to
Coronavirus. At the same time, the CIVC was working hard to raise
money for the construction of tiny homes for veterans. Everything
fell into place nicely for the CIVC to be the next organization to
benefit from the annual event.
While the program is called Hoops FOR Heroes, it could
just as easily be called Hoops BY Heroes, for every
person young and older alike are heroes in the eyes of those who
will benefit with safe, sturdy housing in newly constructed homes,
at no cost to them.
As we look at the people involved with this project, let’s talk
first about the younger side of the scoreboard. The seventh and
eighth grade boys and girls basketball teams of WLB are the first
heroes, and perhaps we should call them Superhero’s. Think about it.
What makes a super hero? A super hero is someone with unique talents
and abilities who uses those gifts for good. The young players at
WLB certainly have the talent. There is no doubt about that, as
numerous game wins and state competitions including a number of
championships testify to their capabilities.
The young people are learning in their youth to honor, respect, and
serve those who have served them even before they were born.
Veterans defended their right to play ball before they ever knew
they wanted to do so. Veterans defended our country and kept their
parents and grandparents free to live, work, play, and worship as
they so choose, and to bring up their children in the way that they
saw fit.
These young people are learning to give of themselves and live a
generous life. That makes the coaches and staff at WLB heroes as
well, for helping these young people learn those lessons. The
parents of these children are also heroes, for they encourage the
kids to use their talents in a way that is pleasing.
On the other side of the scoreboard are those whom we shall just
refer to as ‘a little more seasoned.’ While an 11 year old might
consider the men and women they were playing against as ‘old,’ they
wouldn’t say so to their faces. The members of the seasoned teams
consisted of Lincoln Police Officers, Logan County Sherriff’s
Deputies, city of Lincoln Fire Fighters, Lincoln Rural Fire Fighters
and Logan County Paramedics.
To say that the ‘Seasoned teams’ were talented might be a stretch.
They still get an ‘A’ for effort. The seasoned teams real talents
comes in the daily duties they perform without hesitation protecting
life, health and safety for all Logan County residents. That talent,
strength and courage make them heroes in the eyes of all of us.
Police and fire fighters have thankless jobs. They don’t get
accolades or earn trophies for a job well done. They may even endure
nasty words when they stop a speeder or bring in a law breaker, or
fire destroys a home. Nonetheless, when we need help, they are the
very ones we depend on.
At the Saturday night game, all the players gave their best to
entertain the crowd and raise money for the veterans, heroes who
live in Logan County.
The first game of the night featured WLB boys and girls basketball
teams taking on the local fire departments with LCPA.
Before the first tip off, the board members present from the CIVC
were called out on the floor and introduced. Joe Schaler thanked
everyone for coming out to support the CIVC and the Tiny Home
project. He introduced board members Dan Benedict, who is the
director of the Logan County Veteran’s Assistance Commission; Patti
Becker, who is the administrative director of the United Way of
Logan County and Marsha Fernandes with the CIVC.
Fernandes was asked to say a few words and after delivering thank
yous to various people and the crowd she encouraged the teams to
have a good time, but to “play fair.” Those last words may have been
lost on a few people, including the seasoned players, the referees,
and the score keepers.
The colors were presented by the local Marine Corps League Honor
Guard and the National Anthem was sung by Aaron Hinton.
The University of Illinois Fighting Illini Marching Band offered
accompaniment as the students of WLB sang a medley of military theme
songs. Veterans in the gymnasium were encouraged to stand for branch
theme.
The shenanigans began at the tip off, when the ref faked the tip and
handed the ball over to a WLB player to get the game started. While
the score is of little consequence in these games (we’ll explain
that later), it was clear from the get-go that the firefighters were
going down. The kids ran circles around them, stole the ball from
their grasp, made basket after basket and the best thing the
firefighters could do was look pretty out there on the court. Oh,
they tried, and they did score from time to time, but it was easy to
see that WLB would take the first game hands down.
Of course it didn’t hurt that the kids got fouls and free throws
they probably didn’t earn. Baskets went for more points than they
were normally worth, and the refs had a tendency to clear the field
and let young players have the basket all to themselves from time to
time.
The WLB teams also had a ringer. While seventh and eighth graders
are typically 11, 12, maybe 13 years old, it was seven–year-old
Nolan Neitzel (and a half he tells us) that came to the floor from
time to time with impressive shots that never missed. The crowd
roared at the talent of this up and coming basketball player.
In between half-times and games there were other activities on the
floor. A chance of a half-court basket for a $2 donation again
brought the cheaters (maybe we should call them ‘helpers’) to the
floor. Tiny tots were picked up and carried to the basket by
seasoned team members, and others were just permitted to forego the
half-court boundary.
The Lincoln Community High Pom Team and the Marching Illini offered
a great performance for the audience.
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Cody Tucker did the honors of auctioning off a basketball signed by
Chicago Bulls player Demar Derozan, and Republican primary candidate
for Illinois Representative of the 87 District Mary Burress had the
distinct pleasure of winning the ball with a bid of $400. After the
auction, Burress was honored to be invited to pose for a group photo
with all the team members both young and seasoned, holding the ball
for all to see.
Game two
The second game of the night was between the WLB kids and the local
law enforcement officers. This game was a hoot almost from the
beginning. The law enforcement team was definitely a little more
talented than the firefighters and they gave the kids a run for the
money.
However, did they win….no, did they lose….no. How can that be? Well
blame it on the scorekeepers. Perhaps more entertaining than the
action on the floor was the action of the scoreboard. There was at
least one basket made by the WLB kids that ended up giving the team
an additional 10 points. We don’t know…it just happened. But that
was not the last time it happened. Throughout that second game the
score would jump wildly, sometimes with no ball in the basket at
all.
Lincoln Police Chief Matt Vlahovich wrote the book on stall tactics
and keeping one offensive guard on the WLB team occupied. How did he
do that? Well, he had to stop in the middle of the game and tie his
shoes (calls for time outs were never recognized by the refs). Now
one would think that the chief of police could tie his shoes
quickly, but honestly we never saw a toddler take as long to ‘wrap
the bunny ears” as what it took the good Chief.
During The evening, the announcer kept people laughing as well. When
a WLB athlete ended up splayed out on the floor desperately hanging
on to the basketball as he laid there, the firefighter called out
for “picking on someone not his size.”
Perhaps the best joke of the night came at the expense of Lincoln
Police Officer Phil Cooper. At the game, the announcer said that it
appeared that Cooper might not be in proper uniform for the game.
You see his shorts were a little on the long side. The announcer
said the rule book was being consulted to see if it was okay for a
player to wear pants on the court. While the crowd roared and the
WLB athletes yelled for the player to be tossed, Cooper took it all
in stride, laughing it off in his typical good nature.
While we noted earlier that the WLB team had their young ringer, who
stepped in from time to time, the law enforcement team also had a
ringer of sorts. The adult teams have been referred to as seasoned
because they are older than the WLB players, but in reality, most of
those players were not all that old. Of course to an 11 year old, 30
is old. Anyway, one in particular looked to be even younger than
everyone else on the team. And he was definitely more skilled. The
young law enforcement officer had height and the agility. He could
snatch the ball, run the ball and most importantly he could sink
balls about every time he went to the basket.
When eighth-grader Marin Luckhart went to the free throw line it
appeared that every member of both teams came in to line the box; a
fact the refs chose to ignore. It was then that the boys of WLB
decided to take matters into their own hands. Three of the boys
wrapped themselves around the young officer, doing everything in
their power to keep the seasoned team member from snatching the ball
at the end of the throw.
We also have to give kudos to Luckhart, who in spite of the chaos,
was not deterred, and stayed completely focused during her shots.
As the seconds wound down on the clock, the points were rising at a
furious rate, though it would be hard for any record keeper to tell
us who made those points for either side of the board. At the
buzzer, the announcer called the game a tie. However, after the
buzzer, the WLB score mysteriously rose by one more point.
So, who won? Well from the game perspective, we would have to say no
one won, or maybe everyone won.
What we can say for sure was that the top winners were the veterans
who will benefit from the dollars raised at the event. The proceeds
from the Hoops for Heroes will go toward another home build in
Lincoln for a local veteran.
After the game, Lincoln Police Chief Vlahovich commented about his
participation, “I feel honored to play in a fundraising event to
assist our Nation's Veterans. It's shameful our Federal Government
does not do what it should do, with regard to Veteran's Assistance
Programs, the V/A, and the like. In my eyes, this game was the least
I could do, in helping veterans.”
Lincoln Rural Fire Protection District Chief Chris Buse also
commented. “This is our second time playing and I think it is a good
idea of a way to raise money for a very worthy cause. I feel like
the Central Illinois Veterans Commission has really taken a lead in
trying to help out the local veterans in our area. First responders,
whether police, fire, or EMS, sign on to help people when they are
in need. By taking part in this, it is just a continuation of what
we do in our professions, helping people. The veterans, whether
local or abroad, should never be forgotten for the sacrifices and
service they have provided to our country. We really enjoyed our
small contribution to helping raise money to assist in the continued
work that the Veterans Commission is doing, and will continue to
assist when we can.”
We agree with the comments of both Vlahovich and Buse. Our veterans
are first-line heroes who are ignored and neglected. It is up to us,
all of us, to see to it that is not the case in Logan County. To
date the CIVC has provided two new homes to local veterans Scott
Jackson and Dave and Tecia Hennessey. The CIVC has the funding in
place for home number three and are hoping to have that home built
before the end of the year.
What the CIVC is doing with assistance from the Logan County Veteran
Assistance Commission, the young athletes of West Lincoln-Broadwell
School, our local first responders, and the people of Logan County
is an heroic measure beyond compare.
It is one thing to say ‘Thank you for your service.’ Those are words
veterans hear often and yes those words are taken to heart and
appreciated by the men and women who hear them. But, a home and a
solid future, a place of ownership and a sense of belonging to our
community, that is the best kind of thank you, and that makes all
these people heroes in our eyes.
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