72 hours of planning needs to be typed out in order for everyone to understand what all they have been invited to on Sunday afternoon !

The photo πŸ“Έ above the brain 🧠 child of my dear friend, Ron Cochran ! It’s called the Vickey Voucher, and in the business I’m in, we call this part a 2-fer !

See πŸ‘€, Vickey Ritchie and her / our Special Olympics Basketball program are set to be our honored πŸŽ– guests on Sunday. The first half of the 2-fer is that Vickey normally has food available for the team during the halftime break. Treating each of them to lunch not only keeps their routine going but it enables Lin and I to cover the bill with the dedicated people who have offered up their Sunday afternoon to work the Concession stand !! Win, Win πŸ†

From 12:00 until 2:15 pm, I will do my absolute best to provide as much good, clean fun as possible and at the same time shine a light on as many people as we can.

Now, we have the Concession Stand and the Special Olympics covered, so what’s next ?

We have signed up such a next level duo to perform our National Anthem that we had to hire them a Personal Security detail !

Greg Bolen, yes, the same Greg Bolen that his name plastered across our very site this story appears on has agreed to protect the dynamic duo of Samantha Reed and Joi Ogle !!

I’m pretty sure that it’s ever so rare, once in a lifetime performance, that we feared that the cost of admission would skyrocket to see πŸ‘€ this, but I remembered that everything is FREE!

The amount of respect πŸ™ I have for these two women is matched only by the respect I have for our National Anthem itself !

Let’s circle πŸ”΅ back to Vickey Ritchie and Company for a minute. The athletes will be participating in our introductions in the same way it is handled with an International soccer ⚽️ match ! Half on the Alumni side and half on the Lady Cavaliers side.

Three more groups that I do everything I can to show appreciation and support for will have center stage in the parking lot from Noon to 2pm.

Kristy Jones and her family, Eddie and Dakota Walls βž•οΈ Ryan McCafferty of The Carroll News.

Kristi Jones has two very special children and a pretty cool Father to boot. The car above belongs to their family and Maci is about to slide πŸ› into the seat that her Big Brother, Trenton has occupied for a number of years.

Dakota Walls, pictured here with the Alumni group last year, is the son of Carroll County graduate πŸŽ“ Eddie Walls. Dakota is currently a student on The Hill and a treat to work with !

The third factor in this triangle πŸ”ΊοΈis young Ryan McCafferty. Ryan officially started the job at The Carroll News, which I unofficially handled across a few years. It has been an absolute pleasure to assist Ryan and his efforts at every turn possible. Sports in general, but his passion is Motorsports.

I will be turning over the πŸŽ€πŸŽ™πŸŽ€ to Ryan for this part, and I have complete faith in his ability to handle the situation with both πŸ‘ͺ families. A mixture of Q & A, βž•οΈ photo πŸ“Έ ops with both cars will be included !

At roughly 2:15ish, we will flip the script and have the rest of the day be about the softball game scheduled between the current high school players and the alumni players.

At this point πŸ‘‰, I will simply try to hang out with my Hero, Greg Bolen, because he’s frickin Greg Bolen !!!

Maybe, if I slip him $20.00, he can get me an autograph of our singers !!!

One point to clarify is that the singing is not designed to be humorous, not even a little.

See, I care about a number of people in the community, and this will be my final attempt to create a performance like this, I wanted to love and appreciation for Special Olympics Basketball, Carroll County Softball, Carroll County High School, The Carroll News, Dakota Walls and Kristy Jones +

A great deal of heavy lifting 🫴 for sure and I simply could not accomplish this without some key players.

The field and the program belong to Coach Rick Nester, the school 🏫 is run by Mr Chuck Thompson, the Athletic Department by Kevin DeHaven.

Samantha Reed, Joi Ogle, and Greg Bolen are people that I feel blessed to interact with from time to time ! Ron Cochran is one kind soul…

No cost, food available for purchase, our own version of a Car Show, a singing performance that probably be an One and Done and then some softball at one of the nicest facilities in the Commonwealth.

Know, you know what I know as Thursday night has become Friday morning πŸŒ„.

Once, Twice, Three times a Lady Cavalier !!! One ticket 🎟 on The Hill gets you 3 volleyball 🏐 matches !!!

Middle School 🏫 celebration of Family Night πŸŒ™ ahead of the opening set !!!!

Floyd County takes the first set 25 -10

Here for the night πŸŒ™

CCMS forces a 3rd set by winning #2, 25-17 !!!!

Floyd County wins the final 15-6

[5:47]

Next Up – JV

Set #1, CC 25-21 [6:39]

Back home 🏑 and it’s time to play catch-up.

Varsity :

Carroll County High wins πŸ† 3-0 ( 25-22, 25-10, 25-19 )

Junior Varsity :

Carroll County 25-21

Floyd County 25 – 20

Carroll County 15 – 5

Four hours of volleyball 🏐 against our neighbors and friends from Floyd County!

Make sure to check βœ”οΈ out the game story by Ryan McCafferty in the Carroll News and check out the pictures πŸ“Έ captured by Velvet Leonard !

Fun Night πŸŒ™ on The Hill !!!

Four more home matches remain, and two of them will include our Middle School 🏫 team as well !

Today, we roll out our Morning πŸŒ„ Brew from Galax, where we have a special guest host…

I’m scared 😱 because I can’t look at a Halloween related item without thinking about Vickey Ritchie….
Howard Mayo and his Motovational Nugget for the Day :
Amen πŸ™ Coach
4:30 pm for the Middle School match !
Travis Osborne and his Bible Verse of the Day :

1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

Sunday afternoon at Cavalier Park !

Have a Blessed Day πŸ™ŒπŸ˜‡πŸ™

It’s time ⏲️ for the 3am coverage of the Cross Country meet yesterday, and we start with a well-done graphic design !

The site was the course over in Grayson County, and Head Coach Shawn Montgomery loaded up the bus 🚌 with a total of 18 runners πŸƒβ€β™‚οΈspread across our four squads.

Seven Middle School Boys, four Middle School Girls, six Varsity Boys, and one Varsity Girl dawned our school colors on the same day as the Homecoming festivities were being held back on The Hill.

This story has to be about dedication in regard to both the sport and the program itself. Independence is pretty enough this time of year, but wouldn’t it have been more fun to just stay at home and enjoy one of the more fun events of the school year ?

Dedicated for sure !

Eight schools 🏫 sent runners to the event, and Carroll County had enough competitors in a category to compete as a team in two of the four categories. A team needs to have five to fit into this column.

Boys πŸ‘¦ Varsity had three of the eight schools end up in the final standings.

George Wythe – 34

Galax – 37

Carroll County – 62

Here are the individual details for our six runners !

The Middle School Boys also placed third amongst the six teams that brought a minimum of five.

Auburn – 43

Fort Chiswell – 72

Carroll County – 79

Grayson County – 88

Galax – 98

Bland – 114

Now that you know all of the facts, the question is, where does the story take us ?

We can start with the efforts of Amelia Forsyth, our lone runner in the Varsity Girls category. Last time out, all three of our Lady Cavaliers were either sick or injured, and with just three on the team, they will not be eligible to compete as a team this season.

Yet, this young Lady still showed up and landed in the Top 20 !

Option two for the story would be the efforts of young Sylas Nissel !

This young man finished his day in fourth place overall and helped his team to a third place finish, just seven points behind the Silver Medal πŸ₯ˆ spot. Cole Bowers and Colton Marshall joined Nissel in the Top 20.

Maybe the lead would be that our Avery Jones led the boys’ charge and just missed a Top Ten finish.

Maybe the story is about these four young Ladies who also fall just shy of posting a team score. They are our future in a sport that barely makes a ripple in the water.

Yes, 18 current and future Carroll County High School cross country runners spent their Wednesday afternoon running through a field 30 miles from The Hill. I am not sure exactly how many actually care that this took place, but I know that Shawn Montgomery cares, and that is enough reason for me.

The road less traveled can sometimes be a lonely journey, but it’s still the right path !

Full Circle πŸ”΅ back – Graphics are Awesome….

Thank you to whomever captured the pictures πŸ“Έ !!

How to throw a Party πŸ₯³ without breaking the Bank 🏦 in 10 easy steps !!! Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!!!

Step #1 – Make sure that your partner in the process is as committed to the cause as you are ! This photo πŸ“Έ came from Donna Nester last night πŸŒ™ after her and Coach was preparing Cavalier Park for our Big Day !

Check βœ”οΈ in that Box πŸ“¦!!!

Step #2 – Make sure that everyone who might have an interest in attending your gathering feels welcome to come and join the fun ! Invite, Invite, Invite.

Step #3 – If you are planning your day on the Sabbath, absolutely πŸ’―% avoid any interference with people attendingΒ  Church β›ͺ️. Yes, I will be down there well before noon, but we won’t officially start anything until after church.

Step #4 – Find a balance between your showcase and others who might want to be involved with the day ! Time ⏲️ is a precious commodity for everyone, but some folks will cross the Boulevard. Can we use our platform to benefit others in Cavalier Nation ?

Step #5 – Framing the National Anthem ! Thankfully, our anthem means as much to me as it does to anyone who has served our country in uniform. You always have the fallback option of just playing ▢️ the song 🎡 over the speakers, but having it performed live is always the best !!!

Step #6 – Minimize the cost for anyone who wants to stop by and take in the sites and sounds ! Parking is free, and admission is free βž•οΈ we will offer reasonably affordable food in the Concession stand with the proceeds going to a local cause.

Step #7 – Have a wing πŸͺ½ Man πŸ‘¨ !!!

Check βœ”οΈβœ…οΈ!!!

Getting to hang out with Mr. Kevin Burress is simply an honor πŸŽ–, to the point where I would do this one for free. Insert laughter πŸ˜ƒ here because everything is done for free in my world 🌎.

Step #8 – The softball game will take care of itself with some commentary and music 🎢 mixed in. The search is to find other ways to bring joy to the occasion but never at the expense of others.

Step #9 – Control everything you can control and leave the rest up to GOD. The weather here is always a wildcard that we have no control over, so you say a prayer πŸ™ for that and plan out everything else that you can control.

Mother πŸ‘© Nature

Finally, Step #10 – Have you head and your heart ❀️ in the right place ! They say that if you enjoy what you do, you will never work a day in your life.

Consider yourself invited to the South side of the Boulevard on Sunday afternoon !

RSPV is not required….