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Fundraiser tradition aids soccer club |
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Thursday, 03 April 2008 |
by ALISON MEANEY
Intern Lifestyles Reporter
Boone and Appalachian State communities are joining together April 8 to help give members of the High Country Soccer Association a place to play.
Thirteen restaurants are hosting the High Country’s third annual Celebrity Serve and will donate at least 10 percent of the night’s earnings and all of their celebrity’s tips to benefit the Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex, which is currently under construction.
 Appalachian State University football players took part in last year's Celebrity Serve. File Photo
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Mackorell, the former owner of Makoto’s, is an Appalachian graduate who played soccer for the university as a goalie in the 80s, current owner and general manager of Makoto’s Gwen Dhing said.
After his death in 2005, his widow, Dr. Stacy Conn, donated $250,000 toward the Field of Dreams Campaign, which was established to raise money for a soccer complex in the High Country, Dhing said.
They plan to have the complex ready by this summer in order to host a tournament in August, Dhing
said.
Dhing said she worked under Mackorell “forever” and organized Makoto’s Celebrity Serve event to
honors her former friend and boss.
Makoto’s is making a big deal of this year’s event by planning to set up searchlights, a red carpet, a
red rope and the creation of a group on Facebook.com.
They will also have a silent auction for a football signed by all of the Appalachian team members,
among other items.
“We just do it up!” Dhing said.
She also has another reason to get excited about the benefit as her son, Jett, plays for a team in the
High Country Soccer Association.
Dhing said his team currently plays wherever they can find fields, sometimes in Valley Crusis and
Lenoir and frequently off the mountain.
She’s excited that a lot of the money spent outside of Watauga County for soccer will stay in the
community.
“People are going to come here to the High Country to spend money here,” Dhing said.
Additionally, Dhing said next week’s event will bring the school and community together for a good
cause.
Many of the celebrities that participated last year are returning, including football head coach Jerry
Moore.
“[Moore] did it last year and he was excellent,” Dhing said. “He wanted to do it by himself. We offered
some of [the football players] jobs, but they wanted to try out for the NFL instead … I wonder why!”
For more information on the Field of Dreams Campaign or this year’s Celebrity Serve event, visit
www.hcavalanche.org.
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