A program organized by the Elizabethton High School Athletic Department, has already engraved almost 400 bricks that will be permanently displayed at the entrance plaza of the new stadium as a display of community support for EHS Athletics. This creative fundraiser — titled Buy a Brick, Build a New Stadium — allows alumni, businesses and community members to contribute to the stadium’s development, and to forever honor the school.
“The intention is that it can be a continuous fundraiser for the school system and high school,” said Richard VanHuss, Assistant Director of Schools.
The project will continue to be updated until they run out of brick, but he said they do not expect to do anytime soon. Approximately 9,000 bricks are available with space for a total of 17,000. Some are currently being personalized.
Bricks come in two sizes and include three lines of text. The eight inch by eight inch bricks will have cyclones engraved in them and cost $250, and the four by eight inch cost $100.
Bricks may be engraved with personal messages, names and dates to commemorate alumni, classmates, extracurricular activities, teachers and memories.
Orders may be placed at the EHS Athletic Department in person, or sponsors may print the order form from ehs.ecschools.net and mail it to the address listed.
The bricks are not the only way to be a part of the future of EHS. Several opportunities for contribution exist like purchasing banners or funding the construction of the cyclone statues at the east and west ends of the stadium.
“What we tried to do when we started this project was to have several different levels so anyone in the community could plug in to be a part of the building process, from bricks all the way up to the donor wall,” said VanHuss. “We tried to have several options for people to be involved if they were interested.”
The donor wall highlights Bronze, Silver, Gold and Citizen sponsors who have contributed from $10,000 to more than $100,000 to stadium construction and EHS Athletics. Donations thus far total over $800,000, of which $500,000 came from Citizens Bank.
“For a community our size to raise $300,00 shows the level of community support for our school system,” commented VanHuss. “We want people to be a part of it in any level that they can benefit. We are appreciative for all participation; it all matters.”
Anyone seeking more information on the program is asked to call Angie Peters at 423-547-8000 ext. 1549.