August 13, 2021 - Friday evening August 6th, a great and unique event took place in Center, Texas. That evening was the first ever Purple Up Meet The Riders. We are used to having Meet the Riders each year, but this was Purple Up Meet The Riders. This new community event took place in the parking lot of Center High School beginning at 5pm and transitioned into Roughrider Stadium where cheerleaders, Chaparrals, fall athletes and coaches were introduced.
From 5pm-6:15pm in the parking lot, there were free activities for kids to enjoy. There was a 20’ Inflatable Slide, a Bounce House and The Big Splash. The Big Splash was a bucket dump station where “kids” of all ages threw softballs at a target in hopes of hitting the mark causing a coach or community volunteer to get soaked. Ur Chef Old Fashioned Texas BBQ from Nacogdoches provided BBQ and snow cones for purchase. A station was available for anyone who wanted a cold bottle of water. Mingling among the crowd were the cheerleaders who were giving away plastic spirit cups and tattoos.
Great appreciation is extended to New Life Church for sponsoring the 20’ foot slide, the Barnabas and Locke Sunday School Classes of First Baptist Church for sponsoring the Bounce House and The Big Splash and to Center Christian Fellowship for sponsoring the water bottle station and assisting with the Big Splash. Appreciation is also extended to Foley Rentals of Carthage for working with us on providing the games and Texas Glacier Ice & Water for the ice to cool the water bottles. Special thanks and appreciation goes to Robin Conway, Coach Huffstetler, Coach McGarvey, Grant Murphree, Michael Masterson and Chase Mayfield for going the extra mile to sit in The Big Splash!
Plans are already being discussed for Purple Up Meet The Riders 2022! If there is any Church, Sunday School Class, Business or Civic Club that would like to participate by sponsoring an activity please send an email to stepstones.info@yahoo.com to get your name on a contact list for next year.
Thanks again to all who served the community and to all who came to enjoy the fun and excitement of Roughrider Athletics,
Mike Brister
Stepstones Ministry International
