ETBU Baseball Team Helps Rebuild Hurricane-Torn Area

[KFDM COOP]

ETBU baseball team helps rebuild Hurricane-torn area

This is from the ETBU SID office.

IMO.... stuff like this is what makes ETBU special. Makes me feel better that my monthly loan payments are going towards stuff like this.....lol.

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SABINE PASS, Texas – The wind, rain and storm surge are long gone from this area along the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast border region, but their collective destruction still remains. But there’s a little less work to do following a visit by East Texas Baptist University’s baseball team.

ETBU coaches and players recently made a trip south in an effort to help Hurricane Rita victims continue recovery from the storm that ripped through the Gulf Coast in September of 2005. During the course of the team’s two-day trip, the Tigers picked up some new fans who were glad to see them and appreciative of the help.

But according to ETBU head coach Sam Blackmon, the Tigers themselves are now fans of the residents still trying to repair their homes and personal lives from the havoc wreaked by Rita.

“The trip opened a lot of our eyes to what we have heard and read about, but until you see it in person, you can’t really grasp the true scope of the damage,†said Blackmon, who along with 50 players and coaches made the trip to Sabine Pass earlier this month. “As a result, I feel that we all came back with a better understanding of how blessed we are and how fortunate we are to be able to give back to those in need. While the people we worked with said they are now fans of our program, the true fans are us. We deeply admire the strength, courage and determination that people down there show on a daily basis. The generosity and warmth they showed us was overwhelming.â€

Blackmon and his staff began the school year this fall hoping to find some sort of community project the team could do in an effort to, among other things, create bonding and team chemistry. They had been unable to decide on the proper project, however, until Allan Thompson, director of ETBU’s Great Commission Center, spoke of the need for rebuilding projects in Sabine Pass. The baseball staff collectively felt this was the type of thing they’d been waiting for and planned a mission trip for early November to the region.

With help from organizations such as Texas Baptist Men, Central Baptist Church of Port Arthur, and Methodist church in Port Arthur, and players’ families, the Tigers spent two days in Sabine Pass doing all kinds of recovery work – gutting and roofing a house, hanging sheetrock, taping and bedding, building handicap-accessible ramps and retaining walls, putting up siding, and generally helping with the construction of a new building.

All the work goes to help a community that still has a majority of families living in FEMA trailers, which went up en masse when Rita stormed ashore last September and left a path of destruction in its wake.

“Upon completion of our workday, families affected were very thankful for the progress made toward getting their life back to normal,†Blackmon said. “Families at the present time are living in FEMA trailers or with friends and family in the area. They were overwhelmed by the amount of work our young men completed in one full day, but there is still much to be done with the cleanup for that area.â€

While the experience affected everyone in the program, Blackmon also feels the trip has helped his team grow closer together.

“Our staff felt that this was something that we had been looking for our guys to do and that God had opened this opportunity for our team,†he said. “We feel the bus ride down and the time spent working together allowed us to learn more about one another and has brought us closer together. It also proved that teamwork can get a lot accomplished.â€

[Guest reddog]

What a great story and many of the kids from this area aided in that effort. Thanks Coop

[KFDM COOP]

Some great people at ETBU.

[Txfootball07]

This is what it is all about. My hat is off to the ETBU coaches and players.

[Hupernikomen]

ETBU is a fine school.

[Guest reddog]

ETBU is a fine school.

Cheap to huh boys? Do you know it is now more expensive to send one to Aggieland than Etbu? :shock:

[Hupernikomen]

Cheap to huh boys? Do you know it is now more expensive to send one to Aggieland than Etbu? :shock:

No I didn't. It cost about 15K per year at ETBU 15 years ago when I attended. No clue what it cost now though.

[Guest reddog]

What makes Etbu cheaper is now they your cost is gtd for eigth semesters as opposed to Aggieland rises each year. Wife went up today and best I can tell Texas A&M with everything will be around eighteen to twenty large for everything. :shock: Never would I wear a Aggie hat but now that junior is headed there? Got to do what you gotta do. :oops:

[tvc184]

I am glad that I am just stupid and have no plans to go to college.

[TXNewbie]

This is a wonderful story and an excellent demonstration of a community raising responsible members. All too often in these forums we debate which team has the best athletic talent without mention of a commitment to academic progress of the athlete or social development of respect for others. If athletics can provide them the means to a college education - great - but it is education and social growth we should really value. These young men and women are our future leaders - as evidenced by this story.