Photo by Travis Bell
Since 2013, South Carolina’s electric cooperatives have sponsored the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl, an all-star clash of the Palmetto State’s best high school football players. More than a game, it’s a week full of opportunities for 88 young men to grow as people.
For me, the most significant experience comes days before the game. Deserving children from a nearby elementary school are selected to go on a Christmas shopping spree at Target with the players. Equipped with a $150 gift card provided by the electric cooperatives, one player from the North team and one from the South are paired up with each child.
Working on a budget, they do their best to fulfill the wish lists of those 44 children. However, the red Target carts don’t necessarily wind up filled with toys and games. Instead, the children tend to select necessities like pants and socks for their siblings or gifts for their parents.
A few years ago, one trio drew my attention. Two young athletes were doing their best to keep up with a nine-year-old girl as she wheeled through the aisles. At the jewelry section, she stopped to admire a modest gold necklace and briefly considered adding it to her haul. Instead, she put it back.
Once they got to the checkout, many of the players discovered that they had forgotten to account for sales tax in their tally, meaning their gift cards couldn’t cover the contents of their cart. Of course, someone from the cooperatives was there to take care of the difference.
But then I saw something even more moving. As our nine-year-old girl was distracted, her players purchased with their own money the gold necklace she had admired. When they gave it to her, her eyes lit up, and I knew this act of kindness had made not only her Christmas but the players’ as well.
Sponsoring this game is about more than just celebrating excellence on the football field. It’s another way cooperatives show their love and concern for the community they serve.
It’s also a chance to pass on those values to the next generation.
Mike Couick is president and CEO of The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, Inc., the statewide association of not-for-profit electric cooperatives.
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Get There
2023 Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl
WHEN: Dec. 9, 2023, noon kickoff.
WHERE: Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium, 705 33rd Avenue North, Myrtle Beach.
TICKETS: Advance tickets online, $25 at TouchstoneEnergyBowl.com/tickets. At the stadium, $30 each.
DON’T MISS: Halftime ceremonies will include the announcement of the 2023 South Carolina Mr. Football award, the state’s highest prep sports honor. On the eve of the bowl game, 88 high school players from the Class of 2025 will showcase their skills in the Joanne Langfitt Junior Showcase, beginning at 5:30 p.m. The showcase is free and open to the public.
MR. FOOTBALL READER POLL: Visit SCLiving.coop/football this month to cast your vote for the high school athlete most deserving of the 2022 Mr. Football award. The poll closes Dec. 1.
open to the public.
SPONSOR: The Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl is organized by the South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association and is sponsored by The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, Inc.