Ok. I hardly ever make comments to these posts but here is my reply. Jackson County wrestling club was also 1 of the hosts of District 1. Let me give you a little backround. I have been involved with our club for the last 13 years. Of those years, I have helped organize 10 years worth of Sub-Districts at our facility. This year was no exception. It was my first year with being involved with Districts as a host and what an eye opener!!

First off-every effort was made to make sure a hospitality room was provided to the coaches and table workers (I don't mess with this at Subs don't have the time and obviously it's not worth all the complaining). I made sure that arrangements were made to get drinks to the tables and I know for a fact that it happened. It was also stated at the table workers meeting that every club was responsible for relieving their workers for lunch break. I know this for a fact because I organized this meeting. We can not be responsible for those parents that gave their passes to their wrestlers to get food out of that room. If you were one of these parents, shame on you!!

Secondly-Did I know about the $3 parking fee? Absolutely not! I paid it and didn't even bat an eye about it. That was a small price to pay to watch kids wrestle their hearts out.

Thirdly-I love to volunteer and have for the past 13 years for wrestling or anything for that matter. Do I expect anything in return when I say yes I'll help you out? NO!! Do I think it's great to get in free and possibly get a free meal? You betcha!! But..hey...if the food is gone and I'm hungry, I get something at the concession stand and don't think twice about it. I figure getting in free and having the best seat in the house is well worth the sacrifice of no lunch especially since you got out of there by 2:30.

But..hey...let's just say that when you run a tourament you don't get much of a chance for breaks. You're pretty much on your feet from 5:30am to 5:00pm (that's what time I got out of there on Saturday and for that matter the Saturday before that)and you're really lucky if you get anything to eat or drink because your way to busy trying to make sure things are running smoothly so everyone can get out of there by 3:00 and yes Subs was done by 3:00 also! Not to mention the long nights several weeks in advance that you are planning for the tournament. AGAIN..a big sacrafice to volunteering but well worth it for the kids.

And..Finally..life is way to short to complain about not getting food for lunch or paying a $3 parking fee. And...yes...I know this too well. My husband is battling his third round with cancer since April 2007. We will be making a trip to Mayo next week to see what type of treatment he can get to help battle this terrible disease since it's resistant to the chemo that he has already had. And...yes...he is a coach for our club and guess what...he was coaching on Saturday! Do you think he cared that water was $2.50 or had to pay $3 for parking? NO...he was there for the kids and enjoyed every minute of it. Is money tight? You bet! We have two kids left in wrestling and with the events of the last year we had to cut back some.

We have always helped the kids that couldn't afford to wrestle and it was difficult not being able to do that this year. So...I help by volunteering my time and not complaining about it even with everything going on in our lives! And...yes...I'll be volunteering my time at State this weekend and so will my husband and for that matter our 10 year old son took it upon himself to ask Tuff if he could volunteer at a table this weekend. What a very valuable lesson for a 10 year old to learn!! You can bet that I'll be very happy volunteering this weekend just for the front row seat that I'll have to watch our 14 year old wrestle and the joy of seeing my husband coach him!!!!

That is what volunteering is all about!!