By Dr. Drew Bennett
Chancellor, Missouri State-West Plains

The following letter to the editor appeared in the West Plains Daily Quill on Nov. 7, 2008

As our Lady Grizzly Volleyball team moves into the regional tournament and our Grizzly Basketball team starts the season with our first home game this week, I want to thank those who have made the Missouri State University-West Plains athletics program possible.

Entering our 16th season, we are mindful of the generous support provided by fans of Grizzly Athletics. While contributions have come in many forms and for a variety of needs, we want to express special appreciation to those who have made our tournament structure possible.

Since the program began in 1993, 15 different organizations have provided various levels of support for the tournaments. Those organizations are Comet Cleaners, Figuro’s/Ramada Inn, Garnett Wood Products, Global Communications, Great Rivers Distributing, Holiday Inn Express, KDY Radio, Ozarks Medical Center, Physical Therapy Specialists Clinic, Pizza Inn, Southern Missouri Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine Clinic, Super 8 Motel, Town Square Internet, U. S. Cellular, and West Plains Ambulatory Surgery Center. Because of their generous support, we have enjoyed many top-notch Grizzly volleyball and basketball tournaments. While we are grateful for them all, we also want to recognize an “Honor Roll” of tournament sponsors at this time.

• KDY Radio, an affiliate of the Ozark Radio Network, sponsored eight Grizzly Basketball Tournaments.
• Ozarks Medical Center has sponsored seven consecutive Grizzly Basketball Tournaments, including the 2008 OMC Tip-off Tournament which OMC is supporting at the Gold Sponsor level.
• Physical Therapy Specialists Clinic has sponsored 14 consecutive tournaments, including the upcoming tournament in January 2009 which they are sponsoring, along with West Plains Ambulatory Surgery Center, at the Platinum Sponsor level.

These “Honor Roll” organizations have been long-time members of the Grizzly Booster Club, established endowed Grizzly scholarships, and provided other forms of financial and gift-in-kind support to the program for years and years. We appreciate them, as we appreciate all fans who have helped build Grizzly Athletics into a program respected at the state, regional and national level.

Another group of individuals that should be recognized are the Grizzly Track Award winners who have been honored by the Grizzly Booster Club Executive Board of Directors for showing “exceptional enthusiasm for and extraordinary support of Grizzly Athletics. Their actions have enabled Grizzly Athletics to take a giant step forward.” For the entirety of their contributions, the Board of Directors has presented this highest honor to the following people and organizations: Richard & Mary Sheid, Jess & Betty Garnett, Bob Neathery, Russ & Laura Gant, Norma Hilburn, Dr. Robert Martin, the Bruce & Allison Smith family, Paul Childers, West Plains Daily Quill, Ozark Radio Network, Bo & Sunie Pace, and Rick & Lois Frazier.

The Grizzly Athletics program has been fortunate to have community members who have volunteered their time to serve as president of the Grizzly Booster Club Executive Board of Directors. Their leadership has been a key ingredient to the program’s success. A special thank you goes to the current president, Eric Judd, and past presidents Carrick “Boze” Davidson, Gene Richman, John Williams, Russ Gant, Paul Childers, Dale Engelbrecht, Norma Hilburn, Maurice “Moe” Sandfort, Tom Marhefka, Chuck Kimberlin, Carr Ward, Jim McFarland, Ron Shemwell, Carolyn Smith, Jim Peters and Donna Frey.

While these individuals, businesses and organizations have played a significant role in the success of Grizzly Athletics, their efforts would be moot without the continuous and enthusiastic support of our Grizzly fans!

We invite the community to join us in cheering on the Grizzlies this weekend. The volleyball team will be in Park Hills, Mo., Friday and Saturday, Nov. 7-8, for the NJCAA Region 16 Volleyball Championship Tournament, and the basketball team will be playing its first home games of the season at 7 p.m. each day on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6-8 in the West Plains Civic Center as part of the Ozarks Medical Center Tip-off Tournament.

Make plans to attend one, if not both, of these events to see your Grizzlies in action! You’ll be glad you did!