By Kyle Roberts
This past Saturday marked the sixth and final week of my family gathering in the gym at Temple Baptist Church in Ruston.
Packed into the two court gym with one row of bleachers are families coming out each Saturday to cheer on their children as basketball players and cheerleaders in “Upward,” a league hosted by Temple for kids in first through sixth grades.
My younger daughter played each week, and I loved getting to watch her run up and down the court doing her very best to get rebounds and catch passes (the words are emphasized for a reason). And as each week went along, I saw her developing some new skills thanks to her coaches (and two dear friends) Dr. Dustin Whitlock and Doc Hoefler.
But my girl would not be able to play without a host of volunteers willing to give up a nearly two-month slate on their calendar. These are referees, coaches, devotional leaders — you name it. And our family has a tremendous amount of appreciation for all of them.
So from the Roberts family, a very hearty thank you to every single one of you for your sacrifice of time and energy. It was a lot, and we are grateful.
- Cecil Barham
- Marshal Doss
- John Queen
- Ryan Roberson
- Emma Shelton
- Jeremy Telford
- Garrett Terry
- Bolton Warren
- Dustin Whitlock
- Mary Basco
- Tracy Houck
- Christopher Walker
- Daniel Asher
- David Asher
- Turner Brasher
- Reggie Bridges
- John Easley
- Luke Easley
- Clark Canterberry
- Ashley Cripps
- Nathan George
- Toby Hammons
- Richard Heard
- Beau Holloway
- William McIntyre
- Jake McKenzie
- Joseph Nolen
- Lauren Pipes
- Jason Smith
- Emily Vining
- Todd Whitlock
- Holden Aultman
- Josh Dean
- Fenner Derry
- Kenneth Dickson
- Jessica George
- Ryan Kilpatrick
- Jennifer McCarthy
- Christian Norris
- Danyelle O’Neal
- Collyn Valentine
- Zach Williams
- Seth Hood
- James King
- Haley McHale
- Daniel Alsup
- Brandon Ball
- Mims Boyce
- Matt Cotton
- Doc Hoefler
- Tommy Ledford
- David Lofton
- Manthei Mills
- Joseph McMahan
- James McMahan
- Chad Newson
- John Nugent
- Helen Payton
- Jody Smith
- Jeremy Vining
- Evan Yuhasz
- Gary Kleinpeter
- Sally Hearn
- Zach Husser
- George Lee IV
- Hannah Jones
- Chris Taylor
- Lily Spillers
- Josh Mote
- Elizabeth Draughon
- Joy Terrell
- Gary Rambin
- Dalton Diel
- John Austin Bergeron
- Lane Cooper
- Matt Barham
- Tedd Hull
- April Potter
- Vickie Benefield
- Adam Albrecht
- Patsy Price
- Kay Church
- Shirley Crump
- Amanda Walker
- Landon Newsom
- Luke Hutchings
- Tyler Fletcher
- Phil Jackson
- Ethan Taylor
- Joshua Lajaunie
- Galen Turner IV
- Adam McGuirt
- Michael Shelton
- Emily Coker
- Brad Waller
List provided by Temple Baptist Church
