SEBASTIAN — For the past six years, the Dollars for Scholars Football Classic has lured die-hard football fans to watch the Vero Beach Fighting Indians and the Sebastian River Sharks battle it out on the field.
The first game, in 2006, put a then-untested rivalry to the test with a pre-season scrimmage, and in 2010, the game became sanctioned.
As fans poured into the Shark Stadium, about 175 Dollars for Scholars supporters enjoyed a pre-game VIP Barbeque dinner in a tent located in the shadow of the north goal post.
During the game brave guests lined their chairs along the end zone.
Katy Block Faires, who has chaired the Football Classic the past few years, was delighted with the growth of the Football Classic, which has raised more than $75,000 since its start.
“We’ve more than doubled in attendance over the six years which is awesome,” she said.
In theory, the pre-game tent is neutral ground, but fans generally appear weighted in favor of the Vero Beach team.
“I’m here to support the Fighting Indians,” said Penny Odiorne, sporting the team’s red and black. “I love all this community stuff.”
The Maes family had somewhat divided loyalties. Wife Patty’s sparkly red t-shirt was adorned with photos of her son Zachary who plays in the Vero Beach band, but husband Kirk, now the team physician for Sebastian sported Shark blue.
“Last year he cut and sewed two shirts together so he had a half Vero and half Sebastian shirt,” laughed Patty Maes.
New board member Patti Gibbons has already proved her worth; concocting a new fundraising idea which they hope will eventually raise enough to create an endowment to fund a new Golden Scholarship.
“I found a gold coin in Darby’s desk,” said Gibbons, referring to her late husband Darby Gibbons, a long-time Dollars for Scholars supporter. After learning it was worth about $500, she got the idea for a new Trinkets to Treasure campaign.
“She suggested board members bring in things that have no value,” said Gaye Ludwig. “I had things from old boyfriends that no longer had meaning and I even got my mother involved.”
“We just thought it was great quirky way to raise money,” said Katy Block Faires of the Treasure Hunt. “It’s sometimes hard to write a check, especially in hard times, but everybody has an old bracelet, or a silver spoon to donate.”
As a former scholarship recipient herself, board member Gwyneth Fournie said, “I know what a difference it makes. I’ve been on the interviewing committee the last few years and I’ve been just blown away with these kids.”
As for the football rivalry, Vero Beach took an early lead, but the excitement continued until the final minutes of the game.
In the end, Vero Beach came away with a 26-14 win against the Sharks, making the six-year Football Classic tally Indians four games and Sharks two games.
As always, the big winners will be the deserving students who score Dollars for Scholars scholarships. Since its founding in 1965, $7.6 million in scholarships has been awarded to 2,541 students.
