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Students stand up for seats at Maury

August 30, 2008 12:17 am

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.

Hopes were buoyed by a recent project in Huron County, Ohio. Kalahari Resorts has a water park there, and donated nearly $500,000 in cash and in-kind services to install a synthetic-turf field for a local high school.

Kalahari plans to build a similar park in Fredericksburg's Celebrate Virginia.

While the students are currently focused on motivating the community, they plan to approach local businesses and hope to strike deals similar to the one in Ohio.

So far, the James Monroe Class of 2011 Maury Stadium Student Revitalization Committee has collected general donations and sold 38 of the 260 seats in the middle section. It might not sound like much, but the seats were sold with little effort and without any advertising.

Individual seat sponsorships cost $100. The donor can have a small plaque on the seat back engraved to commemorate the contribution.

building excitement

The committee plans to make a big push in the next month, taking advantage of the new school year and the upcoming football season. Wen McNally Photography in Stafford County has agreed to donate time and create all the marketing materials for the effort.

James Monroe athletic trainer Tammy Clark is the committee adviser, and also happens to have taught a number of the members as an elementary teacher at Hugh Mercer.

"They were go-getters in third grade. Anything they strive to do, they'll accomplish," she said.

"I think teachers will jump on the bandwagon," Clark added. "They will be excited about this."

The group plans to complete the project before they graduate in 2011. In addition to the new seats, they hope to cap the existing bleachers with state-of-the-art contoured seats. Other items on the stadium overhaul wish list include a paved path from the gate at the south end of the stadium to the stands, and a new scoreboard.

Will believes it can all be completed by the start of the football season in 2009.

"We're trying to get everyone into Maury," he said, "The whole town."

To reach Jonas Beals: 540/368-5036
Email: jbeals@freelancestar.com