By James Wajer
MCC Activities Director
One wonders sometimes how they can ever give back to a place that occupied many years of their lives. I for one am thankful for where I grew up. Some can say a person has taught them about life. Some can say a place has taught them about life. I can say I am thankful for the community of Slayton. As the sign says it is a great place to live. As I write this article I can truly say that I am constantly reminded of how special this place is.
One day I was sitting in my office at the school, I received a phone call from a former teacher from back in the day named Mr. Roger Huyink. His voice was as memorable as the first day I heard him lecture. He was the voice of the Wildcats/Rebels for years. He talked to me about wanting to donate back to the community where he taught and raised his family. He first wanted to donate shot clocks to the gym as it is a hot topic through the MSHSL. We got some numbers together on what that would cost and passed those on to Mr. Huyink. As time passed, the MSHSL vote for requiring shot clocks for member schools did not pass. As I talked with Mr. Huyink we discussed a better way for him to give back that is more of a current issue. In the competition gym we have fan style back boards on our side baskets. They are used during practice and are considerably outdated. They have rims that are not breakaway and the backboards are considerably smaller than the ones for game play. Two of the four had to be replaced last year. We approached Mr. Huyink with the idea of donating two more new backboards that have the breakaway rims. After some discussion he decided to donate the two backboards. I for one was so moved by his gesture as it gives our students a safer environment that they can take pride in.
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