The Tom Ellis Athletic Memorial (TEAM) Foundation is now reaching out to alumni to raise the final $200,000 needed to build a new multi-purpose outdoor athletic and activity field at Holmes High School.
The foundation has already raised more than $400,000 from individuals and organizations.
The “Finish the Field” campaign, which runs from Sept. 1 through Nov. 1, seeks to fund construction of a new synthetic athletic and activity field that will be used not only by Holmes’ football and soccer teams and its marching band and JROTC program, but also by Holy Cross’ football and Covington Latin’s soccer teams as well as by local youth sports teams.
“We have raised a little more than one-half of the funds needed to build the new field and we are hopeful that our alumni will contribute the remainder of the funds needed to make this dream become a reality,” said Gary Huhn, president of the TEAM Foundation. “If we meet our alumni fundraising goal in this campaign, the Foundation will request that the Board of Education rename the field as ‘Holmes Alumni Field at Tom Ellis Stadium.’”
The TEAM Foundation applied for an NFL Foundation grant to bridge the funding gap, but it recently learned that this grant was awarded to another high school in the Greater Cincinnati area.
TEAM Foundation is named for Coach Tom Ellis Sr., also known as “Mr. Bulldog,” who compiled 1,100 wins while coaching football, basketball, and baseball at Holmes High School. The TEAM Foundation assists Covington youth and public schools by supporting athletic activities, providing scholarships, and promoting excellence in education and sportsmanship. A major focus of the Foundation is to support Holmes High School and the City of Covington by providing funds to assist in the creation and maintenance of athletic facilities. For more information, go to our website at teamcov.org or our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/teamcov.
The “Finish the Field” campaign has three major giving levels:
Bulldog Sponsor – $5,000
Crimson Sponsor – $1,000
White Sponsor – $500
“If you join this TEAM effort with a tax-deductible donation at one of these levels, your name will go on a commemorative plaque when the new field is dedicated next year,” Huhn said. “Even if you can donate only $5, $10, $15, or $20, we still need your support to make this dream become a reality.”
Donations can be mailed to:
Tom Ellis Athletic Memorial Foundation
P.O. Box 12132
Covington, KY 41011
Donations can also be made online by visiting the TEAM Foundation website at www.teamcov.org.
The current field, originally constructed in 1936, has not seen a major upgrade since 1982. Because of its condition, only about 20 events per year can be held on the field.
“This means that the marching band is forced to practice on the searing blacktop parking lot in the middle of the summer, the soccer teams must practice at a nearby elementary school, and physical education classes are unable to use the facility at all,” Huhn said.
The field current condition also excludes younger students, youth sports teams, and community members from being able to utilize the field, Huhn said. A synthetic field also would eliminate $46,000 the school district must pay each year just to maintain the current grass field, he said.
“A new field will allow more students and people in the greater community to enjoy the facility much more than they can now,” Huhn said. “Right now, many sports teams cannot play and other activities cannot be conducted on the field because of its poor condition.”
Huhn said a new multi-purpose field will allow the football team to practice on the field, the soccer team to practice and play more games on the field, the varsity track and field team to practice and host competitions, allow middle-school, elementary school, and youth football and soccer teams to play games on the field, the Holmes Marching Band to practice on the field and hold competitions there, and the Holmes JROTC to use the field for drills. A new field would also allow these teams and organizations to host district and regional competitions.
