Fourth Annual AYSA Sports Expo a Success
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Once again, FDLIC employees showed their support for the Abilene Youth Sports Authority (AYSA) by volunteering at the fourth annual West Texas Sports & Fitness Expo on February 21, 2009. The Expo provides area businesses and youth sports leagues with the opportunity to showcase their services in a central location. Families show up to gather information about leagues and tournaments as well as have fun at game booths, win prizes, and get autographs from area athletes.
"We couldn't coordinate the activities at the Expo without volunteers, and the FDLIC volunteers are our largest, and most fun group of volunteers. Most of this group has helped with several of our events, so they know exactly what they are doing, and they always have fun doing it," said Jon Smith, Executive Director of the AYSA.
The two biggest draws this year were the 3-Point Shootout and the autograph session with Abilene's new professional arena football team, the Abilene Ruff Riders. The 50 exhibitors provided a variety of prizes for drawings that were conducted all day. Some of the larger prizes were a Nintendo Wii, iPod Nanos, a basketball goal, patio furniture set, and a portable refrigerator.
The AYSA seeks to promote Christian principles in Abilene's athletic programs by upholding the highest ideals of teamwork, sportsmanship, honesty, trust, and respect for authority with the specific purpose of influencing kids and adults to become better individuals. The AYSA facilitates involvement in youth sports by providing organizational structure and financial assistance to children who wouldn't otherwise be able to participate.
The Expo is the AYSA's largest fundraising event of the year. This year, over 3,500 people of all ages attended the event, which raised $20,000 to help fund AYSA programs. Along with the support of community sponsors, the Expo allows AYSA to provide scholarships for disadvantaged youth to play in local youth leagues; publish and distribute a free youth sports newsletter to 4,000 area families; administrate a central youth sports website with over 100,000 hits per month; and provide coaching clinics that give parent coaches tools to become better coaches and to role models for their teams.