If you follow sports in the USA, then you have heard of all-star teams and all-conference teams – but how about a Community Service Team honor?
The Southeastern Conference is a governing body for more than a dozen universities in the Southern USA: the University of Alabama, University of Arkansas, University of Auburn, University of Florida, Georgia, University of Kentucky, Louisiana State University, the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, University of Missouri, University of South Carolina, University of Tennessee, Texas A&M University and Vanderbilt University. I just found out that, each year, the SEC chooses a “Community Service Team” of basketball players from among SEC schools – a men’s team and a women’s team. At a different time, they do the same regarding football. The honor goes to players in recognition of their off-the-court/off-the-field volunteering and community service activities. Like an all-conference team or an all-state team, the Community Service Team is a hypothetical team – the members won’t actually get together and play a game.
I’m from Kentucky, so I’ve grown up with SEC teams. The SEC Women’s Basketball Community Service Team for 2018 includes Makenzie Cann of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky and a junior at UK. She has volunteered more than 150 hours at the Lexington Humane Society working with the marketing and fundraising team, spent time building houses and a local park with Habitat for Humanity, visited with children at the UK Children’s Hospital and Breakfast with Santa program, has packed backpacks of food for local kids, has volunteered at several local elementary schools afterschool program and spent an afternoon at the local YMCA playing basketball with kids.
This year’s SEC Men’s Basketball Community Service Team includes Dillon Pulliam from Cynthiana, Kentucky and a sophomore at UK. He volunteered in a telethon to support victims of Hurricane Harvey, a food backpack program, a mission trip to Belize, as a counselor in the UK basketball camp and been a guest speaker at a local elementary school.
I wish these players got even half as much attention for this honor as for their university team winning the SEC conference tournament or the NCAA tournament!
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