PARSONS – The floor in the Parsons gymnasium has been replaced and members of the Tucker County Youth Basketball League are pleased with the new surface and thankful for everyone who helped make it possible.
Tucker County Youth Basketball League President David Lambert said he played basketball on the former floor when he was younger and said it was overdue for an update.
“This was the floor I played basketball on when I was five-years-old,” Lambert said. “It has some tile replaced in 1995 because of some water damage. As you can imagine, a tile floor on concrete is hard on the kids – hard on the knees and joints. We have kids coming and running and going after it.”
Lambert said when he got on the League board seven years ago the league replaced the padding on the wall.
“We were talking back then that the ultimate goal was to get a new floor in here,” he said. “We saved every dime we could.”
Lambert said during the league games, there is no admission charge. He said they put up a box for donations and everyone donated money each week – he said the league also runs a concession stand to raise money and that gave them the $26,000.
Lots of sports have sponsors and do fundraising, but Lambert said they did not do anything like that for Tucker County Youth Basketball League. “We have a good draw. Our games are all day Saturday and Sunday. We raised $26,000 and we were close and Jonathan Hicks suggested it was time to make a push to complete the project.”
In October, they started asking for donations and the Tucker County community was once again generous and stepped up to the plate to help.
“When we received our first two $5,000 donations, we had the construction company come back, which was AIP out of Charleston and gave us an estimate of approximately $39,900 which included the entry ways and wrapping it around the bleachers. We also replaced the moldings,” Lambert said. “When we received the last donation, it was enough for the floor and insurance for the kids in the league and uniforms for the kids.”
Hicks said among the donations were three from out of the county including Stuart McMunn, Lynn’s Self Serve and Howard Concrete.
Lambert said the gymnasium is used for Tucker County Youth Basketball and many others. “In the past, it was used for Relay for Life. There are people who rent the space for a nominal fee for birthday parties and such. It is a community building. The Kisamore annual Halloween Party is in here and McDonald’s uses it for their annual Christmas Party. The Tucker County Family Resource Center and the pre-kindergarten use the space as well.”
Lambert said new benches were installed in the gymnasium on Dec. 21.
“Thanks to the Rubenstein Center building construction department for building these for us,” Lambert said. “They are another small improvement that makes a big difference.”
Donors for the new floor include the Tucker County Youth Basketball League, $26,000; St. George Medical Clinic, $5,000; Kisamore Enterprises, $5,000; Tucker County Commission, $1,200; Wesley and Adrianne Lambert, $1,000; Howard Concrete, $1,000; Stuart McMunn, $500; Mettiki Coal, $500; Lynn’s Self Serve, $300; and Moore’s Farm Service, $300.
Tucker County Youth Basketball League has had approximately 160 kids each year for the past two years. Lambert said before that, the league had approximately 180 kids each year.
“This is the community’s court,” Lambert said. “We talk about the $26,000 the Tucker County Youth Basketball raised and it’s easy to pinpoint the individual donors who came in. It’s amazing the support that came in late to get us over the top. But it’s the community that got us there – the donations at the gate over the years. The biggest thing to call out, other than our individual donors – is the support we receive from the community in raising $26,000 dollar by dollar from our donation box,” Lambert said.
“Anyone who has dropped money in our donation box or purchased a hot dog has helped us make this new gym floor a reality,” Hicks said.
Lambert said the next project will be to replace the more than 30-year-old bleachers and side basketball rims.
“This is an ongoing project,” he said. “That’s the next step. We appreciate the support.”
