FishHawk Wolfpack’s Year-End Event Fills Palmetto Club To Capacity
By Tamas Mondovics
“It’s the first time the Palmetto Club has been filled to capacity,” said Wolfpack Youth Football and Cheerleading Association Board of Directors President Ted Koontz, during the organization’s second annual year-end celebration held last month in FishHawk. Close to 1,000 young football players, cheerleaders and their parents, as well as fans and volunteers, took part in the festivities, which began with dinner, provided by All Stars Italian American Grill. It hosted nine VIPs and two Buccaneers cheerleaders, distributed 1,200 autographs, took more than 400 children on hayrides and awarded 350 trophies.The Wolfpack is affiliated with the National Pop Warner Little Scholars and is a member of the Foundation for Youth Development Tampa Conference. Proud of what it has been able to accomplish since its inception in 2007, and pleased with the event’s turn out, Koontz spoke to a packed ballroom, recounting the organization’s speedy success.“The attendance of the event itself gives testimony to how far we’ve come as an organization and how much support we have from our parents, players and cheerleaders in all that we do, including scholastics and our charitable giving,” Koontz said. In football, the past season included two teams going undefeated for the entire season: Jr. Pee Wee Blue and Pee Wee White. Pee Wee White was the first Wolfpack team to win a playoff game and make it 10-0 for the season. FishHawk was also selected as the host for both playoff and bowl games.In cheer, all three of the Wolfpack competitive teams, a total of 79 girls, advanced to the Pop Warner Southeast Regional Championships in Orlando and are now preparing to compete for a chance to advance to nationals at Walt Disney World’s Wide World of Sports. The Wolfpack cheerleaders’ efforts to give back to the community also deserve recognition, as it included receiving $1,000 in food and art supplies that were, in turn, donated to A Kid’s Place on Lithia Pinecrest Rd. in Brandon.The Wolfpack also collected food for Lighthouse Ministries and sports equipment for the local Girls and Boys Club and donated a percentage of the silent auction proceeds to its Rastus-Ward Scholarship fund, which is used to fund registration fees for those children who would otherwise not have the opportunity to play for the Wolfpack. Year-End Celebration Chairman Andy Ruesche agreed when he said, “Thanks to everyone who attended and who volunteered to help with this event. We truly pulled together as an organization, and I want to especially thank our parents for all their support and assistance with this event and throughout the entire year.”For more information about the FishHawk Wolfpack Youth Football and Cheerleading Association, please visit www.fhwolfpack.com.
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