Pioneer Basketball Reaches Out To Community

Brandon Reed and Jeremy Fortner (far left and far right), with Highland Elementary Principal Larry Neas (seated) and a future basketball standout.

Unfortunately, the public image of athletes has been spoiled by countless scandals involving drugs, dishonesty, and greed. Charles Barkley of the NBA's Houston Rockets once even proclaimed "I am not a role model." However, role models are exactly what Tusculum College basketball players Jeremy Fortner and Brandon Reed hope to be.

Fortner and Reed have teamed with the Greeneville City Schools to make visits to each of the system's five elementary schools. The pair blends basketball with the schools' Character Education Community Virtues into a lively presentation that extols values such as responsibility, honesty, and fairness.

Tusculum head coach Mike Hollowell is proud of his player's efforts. "I can remember how important it was to me to see the high school and college athletes in my community and I know how much our players are role models to my kids, stated Hollowell. It is important for young kids to have someone that they can look up to. If there are a few kids that we can make a positive impact upon, I see that as a big positive for our basketball program."

Fortner, a junior from Taylorsville, NC, has seen nothing but positives from his experiences. "It makes you feel more involved with where you live. Greeneville really feels like a second home to me."

Reed, a native of Mount Carmel and a graduate of Volunteer High, has enjoyed seeing lots of familiar faces. "We meet many of these kids at our camps and clinics, and it is really nice to see these guys again."

The duo have also gotten many of their teammates involved. Pioneer players Tim McPhail, Shane Banks, Seth Deerfield, Benji Hawk, and Joel Owen have aided in some of the presentations and handed out free tickets to Pioneer home games.

A program at Highland School was typical. Reed gave a brief talk on perseverance and Fortner followed up with a primer on responsiblity. The players also stressed the importantance of academics and its relationship to athletics.

The group also got to field some pretty interesting questions from their young audience. "How tall are you?", "Have you ever slam dunked?", "How many games have you won?", "How old are you?", were among the typical queries that players faced.

Tusculum College athletic director Ed Hoffmeyer also praised the players for their community service efforts. "Brandon and Jeremy exemplify the best in college athletics. Tusculum College is proud to be a part of the Greeneville commnuity and we are always ready and pleased to reach out to the community."

The virtue programs are not the only way that Tusculum basketball has reached out to the area in the recent past. Both TC basketball programs hosted a free basketball clinic on Sunday afternoon that drew over 160 children to Alpine Arena for an afternoon of basketball instruction. Also, the women's basketball program collected toys and canned food for the underpriviledged as admission for their game versus Milligan last month.

The Pioneer football program was also involved with Greeneville City Schools in the form of a partnership with Eastview Elementary School.

Added Hollowell, "We hope to remain active within the schools in our area. I want our basketball program to be a positive force within the community and we hope that Greeneville will support us in these aims."