Annual Holly Springs High School Alumni Basketball Games set for Sept. 14; supporting community youth

The focus of the second annual Holly Springs High School Alumni Basketball Games is all about coming together in support of the community’s youth.

Organizers Darrel Thomas, Juanette Cummings- Thomas and Jeanita Cummings, with the TPC Foundation, are stretching their fund-raising efforts to provide scholarship money for every Holly Springs senior who will continue his or her education after high school.

“It’s all about unity and bringing hope,” Cummings said, “and that starts with our youth. They’re our next generation, our future, and we need to shift the mindset in our city as we strive to build a better Holly Springs.”

The alumni basketball games will once again be held in conjunction with football homecoming. The football Hawks will face Benton County rival Ashland on Friday night, Sept. 13, on Danny Warren Field at Sam Coopwood Park. Football homecoming is always a big deal with alumni gathering for tailgating activities and enjoying the football game together.

The alumni basketball games will follow on Saturday, Sept. 14, in the high school gymnasium.

As a result of last year’s alumni games, $12,000 was presented to Holly Springs High School, with 50 percent designated for athletics and 50 percent for the classroom. Thomas, who assisted NFL legend K.J. Wright with a July 6 alumni basketball game that matched Olive Branch against Holly Springs, said part of the proceeds from that event will be donated to Hawk athletics. So, funds from this year’s Holly Springs High School Alumni Games will all go to education, including classroom needs and scholarships for members of the Class of 2024.

“We will split the scholarship money equally among all graduates who are pursuing a higher education,” Thomas said.

In addition to funds from ticket sales, organizers are also reaching out to businesses and individuals in the community this year for donations.

“We want to unify and provide a message to these young people that the community supports them,” Cummings- Thomas said. “We want to show them, as a community, that we are behind them and that we have hope in them. We want to be an encouragement to them on their journey.”

The four alumni basketball match-ups will include a women’s game, plus three men’s games - 1980s versus 1990s, the 2000s up to 2014, and a contest between members of the 2003-2006 back-toback state championship and runner-up teams.

Game-times are not yet set, but they will likely begin around 2 p.m. There will also be fun activities in pre-game, including music, food trucks and much more. Some teachers who made a great impact on Holly Springs High School graduates will be recognized as part of the day’s activities.

Tickets, at $20 each, will go on sale about a month prior to the games. They will be made available at local businesses, like last year.

For more information, email hshsalumnigame@gmail.com , or go the website, www.tpcfoundation.org. Donations can be made via the website.