Just before the holiday break, I learned about a fundraising drive that is near and dear to the hearts of those in our family. When you learn the details, I’m sure you’ll understand why.
The Leadership Class at Farragut High School is sponsoring a campaign to replace the costume for the school’s mascot, Admiral Dave. The cost for new threads for Dave is no small matter so the class is hoping to get community and local businesses on board to help shoulder the load.
In speaking of the importance of this effort, FHS sophomore Austin Hoag, a member of the leadership class, says “His appearance is anything but a morale booster; his overall state is quite depressing. To further encourage school and community spirit, our class would like to replace the existing uniform.”
As you may recall, not so long ago - when he was a junior and senior - Paul donned the costume and boosted school spirit through his efforts. I wrote about his Admiral Dave exploits on a couple occasions.
His theatrical talents, plus his love for and understanding of sports made him a perfect candidate. As a proud parent, one of my favorite memories from a football Friday was the night the student section was chanting his name. Paul gave them a “aw shucks” kind of wave and then acknowledged the crowd using one of his signature moves – the salute.
I mentioned the efforts of Austin and the Leadership Class to Paul during the break and he said he agreed the update was much needed. Paul said the old Admiral could have used boots and gloves to jazz up his look and noted that the costume itself had seen better days. After all, Austin points out that Admiral Dave is 16 years old.
Imagine how many FHS students have donned the suit over the course of nearly two decades.
Anyway, Paul saluted the idea behind this campaign, which is a natural part of the idea behind the Leadership Course.
Students in the leadership course plan activities that benefit the FHS student body. This semester the class project involves raising funds to purchase the new mascot uniform for Farragut.
In a couple weeks, Austin tells me, the Leadership Class is going to begin selling “Support Admiral Dave” shirts to help support the cause. The t-shirts will be on sale at FHS athletic events.
Before the shirts are printed, he is hoping the class is able to attract a number of sponsorships at the following donation levels:
Lieutenant - $50
Commander - $125
Captain - $250
Admiral - $500
As you can imagine the larger the donation, the larger the size the corporate logo will be when printed on the back of the Admiral Dave shirts. What a great way to advertise your business AND support a great cause.
Also, you can help the cause by purchasing the shirts when they go on sale. And, of course, you can make a donation. There is a gofundme account; the url is http://www.gofundme.com/he7ado. Or if you prefer you may send a check to the school made out to FHS and sent to the attention of either Austin or Leadership Class. The school’s address is 11237 Kingston Pike 37934.
If you’d like more information about the project, Austin says you can contact him by email at austinhoag456@gmail.com or you can call 865-742-7711.
You could take any of those steps to help Support Admiral Dave.
JG
Originally posted 1/7/2015
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