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James Monroe sophomores (from left) Kellie Martin , Alan Carter, Will Campbell and Sarah White want individual seating for all of Maury Stadium before they graduate in 2011.
SUZANNE CARR ROSSI/THE FREE LANCE-STAR

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Students stand up for seats at Maury

Students leading drive to get stadium seating at Maury


Date published: 8/30/2008

BY JONAS BEALS

Sophomore Will Campbell is a member of the James Monroe High School football team.

If he has his way, he will be remembered not for what he did on the field, but for what he did right next to it.

Will and a group of fellow students hope to raise more than $150,000 to install professional-quality seats in Maury Stadium, the home field for JM athletics and site of the annual graduation ceremony.

It's a fundraising project beyond the scope of most high-schoolers, but Will and his friends are up for the challenge.

"We just got a new school, and we felt the stadium should look just as nice," sophomore Kellie Martin said.

"We're trying to get some school spirit back," Will said. "We want to get the community involved again. This is going to happen."

This outpouring of confidence continues, despite having to put the project on hold for almost two months.

Will and Kellie hatched the idea in the spring. They ran with it ahead of explicit approval from school administrators, and had to back off until things could be made official. Call it an early lesson in frustration by bureaucracy.

Approval has since been granted, a contract with Contour Seats of Allentown, Pa., has been signed, and the distractions of summer are coming to an end.

"I did what I had to do to get through it," Will said of the setback. "I calmed down, took things step by step. I did my best to be patient. If anything, it's made me want to push harder and get things done even faster."

seeking donations

With approval and a renewed spirit, the race is on to get the center section of the stadium finished by homecoming in October.

"That's extremely ambitious," JM Principal Daryl Chesley said. "The enthusiasm of the students is overwhelming, and it's a great learning process for them."

Chesley has been impressed by the response so far, noting that the committee has raised almost half of the $10,000 needed to install the first section.

Will plans to raise money the old-fashioned way--hitting the street and knocking on doors. But he sees corporate sponsorship as the key to success.


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To donate to the seat fund or for more information, contact Will Campbell at 540/834-2073 or wcsr4life@yahoo.com.



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Date published: 8/30/2008


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Why don't they... (posted by PYTHON37 , Aug. 30, 2008 12:13 pm)   
contact George Coghill. I bet he has some money and would love to see his old high school's stadium look nicer.

parking (posted by FredKitKat , Aug. 30, 2008 9:31 am)   
Instead of seats, maybe funding should be sought for parking. Parking is no longer allowed at the condos now occupying the old school - and all non-Maury Commons cars will be towed. How can you have events at the stadium without parking?

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