Page 13 - Florida Sentinel 4-15-16 Edition

FLORIDA SENTINEL
FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2016
B
Belmont Heights Alumni Association Hopes To Bring Back Stars From The Past
DWIGHT GOODEN
Vance Lovelace, Floyd Youmans, Carl Everett, Derek Bell, Gary Sheffield, Dwight Gooden. Those are just a few of the young men who gained popularity and fame later in their lives after spending their youth as part of the Belmont Heights Little League (BHLL) Program.
Another pair of young men who played for BHLL began talking in February about what can be done to reunite the old players, and have them collec-
GARY SHEFFIELD CARL EVERETT DEREK BELL FLOYD YOUMANS
VANCE LOVELANCE
ation, and more information about their first fundraiser.
Any former player or coach who wants to be a part of the association, can reach Curtis Reed at (813) 410-1833; Maurice Larry at (404) 803- 4931, or Theron Smith at (813) 382-0161.
Funds raised from the golf tournament will provide direct support to BHLL for uniforms, equipment, costs for umpires, and other identified needs.
tively come back to support the new wave of athletes.
Theron Smith, Vice Presi- dent of the newly founded Bel- mont Heights Alumni Association (BHAA), and Cur- tis Reed, a Trustee, are lead- ing the effort to recruit past players. Both men felt the tim- ing was perfect as BHLL will be celebrating its 50th Anniver- sary in 2018.
The BHAA was established by these former players, who say their members are success-
ful business leaders, educators, law enforcement officers, members of the Armed Forces, and community leaders in Tampa and around the coun- try.
“Our motto, ‘You’re On Deck,’ was selected, because we believe it’s our responsibility to step up to the plate and give back to the East Tampa com- munity,” said Smith.
“Aside from announcing the creation of this association, we also want to announce a
fundraiser we’ve established. “Named in honor of the first President and a co-founder of the league, we are going to host the inaugural Benjamin “Skin” Rouse Memorial Golf Tourna- ment on Saturday, May 14th. The event will be held at the Heritage Isle Golf and Country
Club.”
Smith and Reed said they
have committed themselves to recruiting more past BHLL athletes, and they’ve set up a website for the Alumni Associ-