Eight teams to participate in Roy Stanley Shootout
NEW CASTLE – The Salem Kiwanis Club and WDBJ-TV are partnering up to present the Roy Stanley Memorial Shootout.
The one-day tournament, featuring eight of the leading basketball teams in the Roanoke Valley and state, will build on the Member One Shootout the Salem Kiwanis have showcased for several years. The event will be held on Saturday, February 4, at the Salem Civic Center, and Comcast has signed on as the presenting sponsor.
Roy Stanley, a friend and a fixture in the Roanoke Valley, died when a sudden illness claimed his life in April of 2002. He was one of the first African American broadcasters in the south. For almost 30 years he was on the air on WDBJ with an emphasis on high school athletics.
“This is a wonderful joint venture for the Salem Kiwanis Club,” says Brenda Giles, club president. “Roy was such an icon in the valley and we’re most appreciative for the opportunity to be associated with his memory.”
Since Stanley’s death, WDBJ through, the RSM Charitable Foundation, has awarded more than 50 scholarships to deserving high school seniors in the WDBJ viewing area. Following the completion of a successful tournament, the Salem Kiwanis Club hopes to join the RSM Charitable Foundation list of scholarship donors.
“The shootout is a good fit for us in that it provides an opportunity for a civic club to make some money that can be applied right back into the community through charitable funding,” said Mike Bell, WDBJ programming and public service director. “The Kiwanis Club has a hefty list of organizations it supports that could benefit from this project and we’re going to do our part to promote the cause.”
Each year Salem Kiwanians raise thousands of dollars to give back to those in need in the Salem/Roanoke Valley. The club has supported such projects as Snack Buddies, a program that provides more than 4,000 mid-morning snacks to under-privileged students in elementary schools in Salem and Roanoke County; Challenger Little League, that gives physically and mentally challenged kids the joy of play the game of baseball; and scholarships for disadvantaged students to attend camp at Apple Ridge Farm and 4-H.
The tournament lineup features Salem versus Rockbridge(1 pm), Patrick Henry versus Waynesboro(3 pm), William Fleming versus Virginia Episcopal(5 pm) and Oak Hill versus Christ School(7 pm).
Tickets are $8 and are available through Ticketmaster or the Salem Civic Center box office. Tickets will be $10 the day of the event.
