Beacon Newsroom
Volleyball tournament raising cash for kids
May 13, 2009
The Charlotte ObserverBy David Perlmutt
Teams from 17 firms paid the $2,000 entry fee and played each other in a round robin – and the Six on Six Volleyball Tournament was born. At the end, the tournament committee wrote a $60,000 check to Right Moves for Youth, the nonprofit that works to keep at-risk youths in school.
This year, the soured real estate market had organizers contemplating bagging the tournament until the economy rebounded.
Yet Beacon and Childress Klein decided the show would go on, this time waiving the entry fee and asking firms to send a team.
Teams from 24 firms stepped up for today's Six on Six at Freedom Park.
“We didn't think a lot of firms would write the entry fee check,” said Pete Lash, president of Beacon. “It's a tough environment. There's still business getting done, but it just takes more prospecting and hustling to make a deal. People are stressed and anxious.
“Still we all had fun last year. So we decided to cut the entry fee and asked firms to come and give what they can.”
They'd hoped to raise $75,000, but now think a $40,000 day will be a successful event. Proceeds again will go to Right Moves for Youth.
“We want to try to build on our momentum from last year, but we've tempered our expectations,” said Matt Harper, a partner at Childress Klein. “Even with the pay-what-you-can-give model, we'll raise more money than if we hadn't held the tournament at all.”
The organizing firms had seen a similar event in Orange County, Calif., and thought it would translate well in Charlotte.
The teams are a mix of young and old – with at least two females on each team. The games begin at noon and a champion will emerge about 3:30 p.m. Awards follow.
In the end, it's children who win, Lash said.
“We decided that Right Moves for Youth would be a meaningful contribution,” he said. “We all have a soft spot for school-age children.”
