ALL KIDS IN – Graves County Schools’ Superintendent Pete Galloway and West Kentucky Telecommunications human resources manager Ellen Thomas share ideas in a recent meeting on All Kids In. Two upcoming auctions will benefit the program. It will provide scholarships for disadvantaged Graves County elementary students who want to participate in basketball, football, and/or cheerleading. The first auction will be held in a telethon/radiothon format at Graves County High School from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14. It will be broadcast on WKTV channels 1 and  Murray Electric TV 15, Graves County High School’s WGCE-TV, and “Willie Radio,” WLLE-FM 102.1. Interested persons may attend that auction in person free-of-charge, if they choose, or simply phone in their bids to (270) 856-KIDS. That’s 856-5537. The broadcast will take bids on certificates for numerous consumable products and services. Bidding also will begin on “big ticket” items on the Thursday broadcast auction and will continue at the Saturday live auction between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 16. Harris Auction Co. will conduct the Saturday event. Ticket prices to participate in Saturday’s auction are $25 per couple or $15 per person. They can be purchased at the door at the Mayfield Golf and Country Club, the Saturday event’s site, or obtained by phoning (270) 856-KIDS. Donations of auction items also can be made by calling the same number.

(Photo by Paul Schaumburg, Graves County Schools)

Two upcoming auctions will benefit “All Kids In,” a program that will provide scholarships for disadvantaged Graves County elementary students who want to participate in basketball, football, and/or cheerleading. The idea is to help those children get a good start on athletics to enjoy early in their school careers and to serve as a means to keep them interested in school through the years.

The first auction will be held in a telethon/radiothon format at Graves County High School from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14. It will be broadcast on WKTV channels 1 and 15, Murray Electric TV, Graves County High School’s WGCE-TV, and “Willie Radio,” WLLE-FM 102.1. Interested persons may attend that auction in person free-of-charge, if they choose, or simply phone in their bids to (270) 856-KIDS. That’s 856-5537. Successful bidders are asked to pick up their items that night or the following day at GCHS. 

Popular items placed up for bid will include certificates for restaurants, oil changes, and other local retailers’ products and services.

Firefighters of the Mayfield Fire Department are building a playhouse that will be auctioned. St. Louis Cardinals’ baseball, University of Kentucky basketball and other sports tickets, packages, and memorabilia will be available. Bidding will begin on furniture, trips, events, and other “big ticket” items on the Thursday broadcast auction and will continue at the Saturday live auction between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 16. Harris Auction Co. will conduct the Saturday event.

Ticket prices to participate in Saturday’s auction are $25 per couple or $15 per person. They can be purchased at the door at the Mayfield Golf and Country Club, the Saturday event’s site, or obtained by phoning (270) 856-KIDS. Donations of auction items also can be made by calling the same number.

“We’ve seen a large need at the schools in the last year. This charity has taken place over the last six years,” said Trevor Bonnstetter, general manager of West Kentucky and Tennessee Telecommunications, one of several corporate sponsors. “We’ve always reached out to organizations in need and with the current economy, we think the need is here. All Kids In is an organization of people and businesses who see a need and want to help.”

Bonnstetter continued, “The money will go specifically to the family resource centers of the Graves County elementary schools to help kids who need help to pay for registration and other costs to participate in sports. We think it will help in several ways.”

 “You see kids all the time walking the halls of the high school and wonder why isn’t that kid playing?” said Fighting Eagles’ football coach Lance Gregory.

 “The more connected a kid feels at a younger age, the more likely they’re going to be successful in education – to have a sense of belonging,” said Lady Eagles’ basketball coach Amy Carrico.

“They have ownership when they’re involved in sports or band or whatever,” said boys’ basketball coach Terry Birdsong. “We have some kids who come to school at 7:45 and leave at 3:05 and that’s it, both in high school and elementary school. They don’t have as much school pride or ownership as they do when they participate in extracurricular activities. As for sports, it’s so competitive now that if you don’t get involved early and wait until the fourth or fifth grade to start you’re going to miss the boat.”

“We really are grateful that cheerleading will benefit from this project, too,” said Jon Summerville, coach of the multi-national and state champion GCHS Co-Ed Competition Cheerleading Squad. “Some people think they can’t participate in cheerleading because of the cost, but this will help kids get a good start if they are interested.”

“We are grateful to (Graves County sports play-by-play announcer) Joe Jackson and Willie Radio and to West Kentucky and Tennessee Telecommunications and their manager, Trevor Bonnstetter, for their support and hard work on this project. We want to get this out to as many people as we can,” Birdsong concluded. “We know that our high school kids are the example of what a lot of these younger kids want to be. So, we will make sure that our players are involved and visible, answering phones and helping out.”