Wednesday, December 07, 2005

The event was held in the west auxiliary gym located in the Memorial Center. The track and field teams provided decorations, refreshments were served, and a large inflatable play gym where the children could bounce around and have fun in was donated.

"There are about 20 children participating this year and each child will be given their own individual gifts," said head strength and conditioning coach Lee Morrow, "and a little later we will have a visit from Santa Claus."

At 6:30 p.m. the baseball team helped bring Santa's sleigh in and serenaded the children with Jingle Bells.

"It's such a great event for the kids and it's a really great opportunity for us to give back to the community," said sophomore track and field athlete Katelyn McCarty (Kingsport, Tenn.).

After Santa arrived each child's name was called and they were given the chance to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Afterwards, each child was given a bag containing a couple of fully wrapped gifts.

"It is so gratifying to see the children getting a smile put on their faces. They get to see Santa Claus and really it makes their day. Just seeing them and all the athletes out here, supporting them and their families, it's really great," said senior forward Dillion Sneed (Chicago).

The ETSU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics takes pride in its community service activities and strives for 100 percent participation from its student-athletes, coaches and administrators throughout the year.