2B | SATURDAY, JULY 7, 2018 | SIUSLAW NEWS
Little
from 1B
paragraph of my high school
accom-plishments. Th e infor-
mation looked very much like
you would see in a graduation
program and hardly an “award”
you would mention on a college
application since there were ap-
proximately 6,500 names in the
book.
Clearly, some people made
money on this book.
Th at same year, another “op-
portunity” made its way to our
doorstep when I received an of-
fer to play a single game of foot-
ball in England.
I was selected with sever-
al other graduating seniors to
practice for one week in England
and play a game at week’s end.
All I needed was to raise $2,700
dollars.In 1970 — and even to-
day — that is real money. I could
not, nor could my parents, aff ord
to spend that money on a single
game.
I was also not going to ask the
community of Warrenton for the
money through various fund-
raising ac-tivities.
I return the invitation with the
boxed checked “Not interested.”
Fast forward to 2002 in Flor-
ence. Brandon, our son, received
a similar letter to play football.
Th e game he was invited to play
was also in England. I wondered
at the time if the same organiza-
tion was still active in sponsor-
ing this game. By this time, the
price tag had grown to $4,500.
Th e game was to take place
during spring break. Since he
was playing baseball — and we
weren’t rich — it was not an op-
tion for him.
Charnae, our oldest daughter,
as well as our youngest daugh-
ter Alaura, each received their
senior year off ers to play volley-
ball in Australia. Th e price tag
this time was a “mere” $3,000.
Miranda, our middle daughter,
received off ers to join a team to
play soft ball in Hawaii.
She summed up her answer in
her typical manner, stating if she
ever goes to Hawaii she does not
want to be playing soft ball.
If I was rich, I probably would
have sent my children to play in
these games had they wanted to
play. I would have encouraged
them to meet other athletes and
see diff erent places they other-
wise may never have a chance
to see.
But I’m not rich and most cer-
tainly would never ask the Flor-
ence community to give money
so my children can “go and play”
because there are many, more
important and needed areas for
our community to support.
Over the years in Florence
I have read occasional articles
about students and or athletes
attempting to raise money to
do just this. In my opinion, the
parents and their sons or daugh-
ters are not seeing clearly: Th e
athletes on the team formed and
coached may not resemble the
coaching methods and strate-
gy of their high school coaches;
they may spend all the money
and see limited game time; and
in the end, it is just a money
maker for someone at the ex-
pense of player or parent ego.
I would caution parents of the
growing number of organiza-
tions off ering the excitement of
overseas travel to entice young
people to participate. Your son
or daughter may very much
want to join one of these teams.
If you can aff ord it, then you
have the right to do whatever
The best kept secret in
Florence, also has the
best view of the Bay and
Siuslaw River in town.
you choose. I would just caution
you to make sure your young
athlete can diff erentiate between
what they want and what they
need.
For just $75, I was listed as a
“Who’s Who” in America’s high
schools. For just $75, I got a
single paragraph in a 600-page
book containing over 6,500 oth-
er “Who’s Whos.”
Trying to fundraise for a sin-
gle student or athlete to attend
and participate outside the
country for thousands of dollars
will only use funds that could
have been better spent on more
important causes in our com-
munity to benefi t others.
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Includes beverages on the course, breakfast snacks, cart, and lunch
2018 Tee & Green Sponsors
The Siuslaw News, Cascade Title, KCST, Lofy Construction,
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A weekly roundup of shopping, savings and doings around town.
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(541) 997-3475 • 1-800-348-3475
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To those who contributed and those
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Please support our sponsors who
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N ATALIE N AGRONE , Broker
Cell # 541-991-0531
natalienagrone@gmail.com
Alta Taylor,
Principal Broker/ Owner
Offi ce# 541-997-4842
Cell # 541-999-0727
fl orencekeyrealty@msn.com
Realty
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541-997- 4842
Natalie Nagrone
Broker
Cell # 541-991-0531
natalienagrone@gmail.com
Natalie Nagrone
Alta Taylor Principal Broker/ Owner
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