Basketball tourney raises money for Boys and Girls Club
Students sharpened their management skills, had some fun and raised money for the Boys and Girls Club all at the same time Saturday morning while hosting a three-on-three basketball tournament at USU.
Oscar Marquina was designated as the CEO of a group of 12 students during his MHHR 3110 class this semester with the goal of managing a service project and learning management skills.
“It was really worth it,” Marquina said. “It was fun and a great experience.”
The group considered many ideas and decided the Boys and Girls Club was a worthy cause because they sponsor many after school activities for children in Cache Valley and are always in need of donations, said group member Shane Tubbs.
Planning the tournament was a difficult task to organize as they contacted sponsors for prize money and got the word out to people who might want to participate.
“I learned a lot about communicating with people and delegating tasks,” Marquina said.
The group ran into some problems in their planning phase when they booked the gyms for the tournament and then found out that there was a mistake and someone else had the same rooms for the same time.
“We had to move things up a few weeks and this really made everyone have to step up their efforts in order to make the tournament go off smoothly,” Tubbs said.
Despite any setbacks, the group pulled together and made things happen. They obtained prizes and sponsorship for the tournament from Beto’s Mexican Food, USU Bookstore, T.J. Maxx, Cache Valley Honda and Café Sabor, said Marquina.
They got the word out by passing out flyers around campus and town and also by setting up a table in the TSC for students to sign up to participate.
“We had 12 teams, which meant there were 36 participants and about 20 spectators, and we raised $240 for the Boys and Girls Club,” Marquina said.
The winners of the tournament were the Rough-Riders, comprised of members Reggie Petersen, Steven Vaugh and Kevin Larsen.
Second-place finishers were the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, comprised of Cody Buzianis, Fred Ishola and Chris Mabbitt.
“This experience adds to the tradition of service in this class. Most students don’t have the time or don’t take the time to do things like this. It was awesome to get involved and do something for the community,” Marquina said.
Tubbs added, “It was great to see how a few people can get together and really make a difference.”
lyndim@cc.usu.edu
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