Monthly Archives: April 2011

The 2nd Annual Great Bridge High School Alumni Game was a huge success!!  We had 18 alumni come out to play with the varsity players last Saturday night, April 9th.  The guys play hard and the alumni beat the varsity 2-1.  The alumnis wore forest green T-shirts with orange letters \”Paul\’s Team\” on the front and their numbers on the back.  We inadvertently left Paul\’s number \”13\” on one (the number 13 was retired after Paul\’s death) and Eric Messmore wore the shirt proudly!  The announcer noted that it was like Paul was playing on the field again.   In fact, we decided that the number \”13\” should always be a part of the alumni game.

The attendance was wonderful, despite the cold weather, and the crowd was enthusiastic.  Two little tykes teams played a game on the \”big kids field\” at half time.  It was truly a highlight of the game.  There were many who teared up when we saw Paul\’s niece, Ella on the soccer field running and playing her little heart out, just as her Aunt Hillary, her Mommy Emily, and her Uncle Paul have done many times in the past.  It was such a great feeling to see her out there running and having fun as a new soccer player!

Donations were great and the feelings of enthusiasm were palpable.  The Alumni Game brought in $1148, which is 4 times the amount we raised last year at the 1st alumni game!  The icing on the cake for the weekend was the Chili\’s Restaurant \”Give Back\” days.  There was good attendance at the restaurant over the weekend and hopefully we will receive a nice donation from this fundraiser.

Now…on to the May 10 event:  The 5th Annual Paul C. Harris Great Bridge High School Scholarship Fundraiser soccer game and fun night!

We are so excited about this year\’s fundraiser\’s for Paul\’s scholarship!  The first fundraiser is this week.  This Saturday night, April 9th, we will hold the 2nd Annual Great Bridge High School Alumni Games.  Last year we had about 25 alumni show up and play some ambitious soccer!  The announcers were hilarious and one of the guys even \”graduated\” from Tidewater Community College right there on the soccer field!  Congrats, Eric!  Haha!  What a \”graduation\” it was!

This year the event will pit alumni\’s against varsity players.  It should be exciting and fun to see!  I pray that the attendance is good, that we have a blast, and that we raise some good money for Paul\’s scholarship.

One more thing…come to Chili\’s in Great Bridge either Saturday, the 9th or Sunday, the 10th with a flyer in hand and they will \”Give Back\” to the scholarship from the two days\’ proceeds.  Free Salsa and Chips, too!

It is hard to believe that this is the 5th year for the fundraiser and the scholarship.  As always, it seems like a million years in some ways and in others it is like a moment ago that Paul died.  I guess it may always be that way.  We are blessed to have the support of  many friends, family members, and the community as we honor his memory with these scholarships.  Cindy