Hoosac Valley Football Team Honored for Community Service

FRANKLIN, Mass. -- The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association has honored the Hoosac Valley High School football team for its community service work.

 

The Hurricanes were one of 21 programs named finalists for the 2015 MIAA Community Service Award.

 

Last month, the award was handed out to the girls lacrosse team at Bishop Feehan High School and the girls basketball team at Carver Middle/High School, who shared the honor.

 

Hoosac Valley's football team was recognized for three actions it has taken in the Adams-Chehire community.

 

The first involved the restoration of the playground at C.T. Plunkett Elementary School. Football players picked up rakes, shovels, wheelbarrows and pitch forks and helped spread the bark mulch that forms the base of the play area.

 

Second, the student-athletes helped shovel out fire hydrants after this winter's unusually heavy snowfall.

 

"Our community had a house fire that ended up taking the life of an elderly woman," Hoosac Valley Athletic Director Michael Henault wrote in the team's nomination letter. "In the interviews with the fire chief, who is a physical education teacher at the high school, he discussed the importance of clearing out the hydrants in the winter to help fight fires.

 

"One of our parents came up with the idea to shovel out the fire hydrants as a community service effort. We joined our football team and basketball team as there is a lot of crossover student-athletes and spent an afternoon clearing out fire hydrants."

 

Lastly, the football team for the last three years has helped serve chowder at the annual competition held during the ThunderFest Winter Festival.

 

Hoosac Valley was the only Berkhire County school recognized this year as a team finalist by the MIAA.