All good things come to an end. That is the case of the annual El Dorado News-Times Sports Banquet. After 20 consecutive years of recognizing the best and the brightest student-athletes in Union County, I was informed last year's event was the last.
I'm disappointed. The banquet was an idea I pitched to former managing editor George Arnold, who told me to line up the program and figure up the costs. Once I did, he came up with a co-sponsor, AmerCable, and we had our inaugural event on April 23, 1998 at the El Dorado Golf & Country Club.
Our first speaker, I believe, was Louis Campbell of the University of Arkansas. He was great. The event, however, had a few bugs.
Over time, I thought we ironed out most of the wrinkles. We found a pair of great emcees in John Ralston and, later, David Voss, who managed to keep his schedule free each year. The only payment he wanted was some of the leftovers from Woods Catering, which also became a regular at the event once it moved from the country club to College Avenue Church of Christ.
I'm not going to lie. I'm going to really miss our banquet. Oh, it was a ton of work. But, I won't complain because the payoff was always worth it. Once the event ended, the fun part for me was mingling with the parents and watching the nominees take pictures with one another.
Girls, who I'd only seen sweaty with their hair tied up, were unrecognizable, dressed to the nines with beautiful smiles instead of clenched-teeth grimaces. As for the guys, some dressed shockingly well while others chose casual cool.
Either way was fine as long as they showed up.
And, most of them did. Obviously, some had other commitments and a few just didn't attend for their own personal reasons. But, I thought the community's response to the event had grown to where it was just that – an event.
I'd like to thank the area coaches who supported us every year, whether they had a player nominated or not. Two come to mind in former El Dorado coach Scott Reed and former Parkers Chapel coach Clancie Laymon. Also, thanks to El Dorado's athletic department for buying tickets for its coaches each year. Derrill Smith started the tradition and Phillip Lansdell has offered his support these past several years.
We had some great speakers, including Keith Jackson, the player not the broadcaster, Gary Blair and Teresa Weatherspoon. Blair mistakenly referred to Scooter Register and Skeeter or Skipper or something while Weatherspoon probably gave the most inspiring speech I've heard.
Overall, it was a lot of fun.
Financially, the News-Times simply cannot afford to keep the event going. We will recognize Scholar-Athletes of the Year again. Thanks to Sports Alley, we've been able to recognize Players of the Year in the individual sports.
But, after 20 years, the banquet has reached its conclusion. They say all good things must come to an end. That doesn't make saying goodbye any easier.
(Tony Burns is sports editor for the News-Times. Write to him at [email protected]).