Annual Bucks game highlights Board of DD Awareness Month
Holmes County Bucks team member Shawn Garnes reacts gleefully after the Bucks dealt another loss to the winless Holmes County All-Stars. The game is part of the National Board of Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month of March.
In a time when public venues are shutting down due to fears over coronavirus, the gymnasium at West Holmes High School was very full when the Holmes County Bucks hosted the Holmes County All-Stars in a friendly game of basketball that has come to define the season for the Bucks while providing an avenue for the Holmes County Board of Developmental Disabilities to say thanks to the community for its support.
The Bucks hosted the All-Stars on Tuesday, March 10 at West Holmes High School in an annual game that has gained a great deal of popularity over the decades.
The event takes place during March each year as part of the National Board of Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. Although according to Holmes BDD Superintendent Marianne Mader, the celebration here takes place year round.
“Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month is a big month for us, but we try to create awareness opportunities all year round,” Mader said. “It’s exhausting when you put it all in one month. Plus we like to try to keep the public aware of what is going on all year because we do some really neat things here that we love to share with the community.”
The basketball game ended in yet another Bucks victory, this time a 64-49 win, but the inevitable outcome was secondary to the joy emanating from The Dungeon at West Holmes High School.
“The Bucks love this night, and the community continues to turn out bigger and bigger each year to show their support,” Mader said.
Aside from the throng of fans sitting in the bleachers who cheer on the Bucks and lovingly boo the All-Stars, the BDD is always elated to see so much interest in local people participating for the All-Stars.
The Bucks coaching staff consists of Grant Fox, Rachel Day, Miriam Miller and Duane Morrison with team members including Dayne Morrison, Aaron Hershberger, Joe Duran, Shawn Garnes, Roy Smith, Levi Hershberger, Jarrett Palmer, Andrew Moorehead, Ashley Boreman, Julian Mast, Charlie Wilkins, Dennis Hershberger, Blake Day, Hope Snyder, Michael Harwood and Leroy Kuhns.
This year’s cast of All-Stars included some longtime members like Tom Lee, Keith Troyer, Benji Miller and Chad Troyer, but it also included a good number of newcomers who felt the desire to show their support for the BDD by participating in the game including a number of younger players and three members from NewPointe Community Church, which will host next year’s Night to Shine event.
Training Center coach Miriam Miller said it is exciting to see so many people volunteering, and it is nice to see some newcomers joining in on the fun.
“We contact all of our former All-Stars each year to invite them to come, but over the past few years we have seen more and more people show an interest in participating as All-Stars,” Miller said.
One of those players was Michael DeWitt of the Holmes County Dog Pound. The BDD has a relationship with the pound and its employees, sending clients to the pound to help care for the animals in any way they can.
“It’s neat to see him here because our guys go out there as volunteers every week, and they’ve built a nice relationship with the people there,” Miller said. “We are at the point where we have a lot of All-Stars, but that is a wonderful problem to have, and it is great to realize the way this community gets excited about supporting the Bucks and the training center.”
Not only was the evening about basketball, but also it was about showing off some other talents. As has been the case the past several years, BDD client Charlie Wilkins sang the national anthem as Aaron Hershberger signed and a group of clients served as cheerleaders, getting an assist from the West Holmes Knights cheerleaders.
The evening also serves as a way to say thanks to all who have played a role in the Bucks’ basketball season, and there was a 50/50 fundraiser raffle, a raffle for benches built featuring the team colors of West Holmes and Waynedale, and some other items that were raffled off.
The most important part of the evening was the celebratory feel that wafted through the gymnasium, where smiles were everywhere, even if quality shots from the All-Stars were not as prevalent.
Guest officials including former Bucks head coach and West Holmes Middle School teacher Ron Hay, retired Millersburg Police Chief Tom Vaughn and HCBDD member Curtis Goehring did their best to make sure the All-Stars were whistled for some very unique calls including a technical foul on Ben Ogi for plowing over Bucky, the Bucks’ mascot. It was all done in fun, and the crowd cheered with every call that went the Bucks’ way.
“The support we see every year is incredible,” Rachel Day said. “Every year we see more and more people, and the kids love playing in front of the home crowd. When they hear those loud cheers, it makes their year complete. Our Bucks love this game.”
As does everyone else who comes to show their support.
“I don’t think you can even explain the joy that is experienced here,” Mader said of the evening. “You have to just come out and experience it firsthand. It’s a lot like Night to Shine. You get there and feel the electricity in the atmosphere, and it is an amazing experience, especially for our Bucks.”