Just recently my hometown (good 'ole Kinder) had its very first annual alumni softball tournament. BEST IDEA EVER. My friends from other towns always talked about how fun these events were, but I never really knew what to expect because I had never been to one. All I can say now is there’s no reason why your town shouldn’t have one, just a lot of reasons why it should.

First of all, it brings all the generations together. This might not seem like a big deal for larger schools, but for the smaller ones it is. My town is just like your normal small town where everybody knows everyone, so it was good to get the whole town together. Not only were we able to hang out with our classes, but we were able to make new friends from other generations.

This kind of event also brings a lot of business to your town. I’m pretty sure every business benefited from this tournament. People have to eat somewhere so that brings money to the restaurants and fast food places. Every time I passed a gas station it was filled up with people buying gas, alcohol, and snacks. The local grocery stores had people buying everything from the ice for their coolers, Gatorade for their team, and charcoal for their bbq pits. So not only does this help whatever cause the tournament is for, but it always helps all the local businesses.

With that being said, one of the most important things is that the money goes to a great cause. It’s not like someone is throwing together a tournament just to pocket the money. Our tournament was put on by the Kinder High School baseball team to help raise money for their upcoming season. There was also a Home Run Derby and all the money from that was given to a local family in need to support medical expenses for a well-known man. I don’t know about you, but this reason alone is good enough to convince me that this kind of tournament is a good idea.

Next, you get to reunite with your class. For the most part when you graduate everybody in your class goes their separate ways. Then it might not be until your five-year reunion that you get to see everyone again. This yearly tournament, however, gives classes the chance to reunite and continue to make memories at least once a year with each other. This helps the bond between each other stay tight. You won’t have as many people disappear for years without seeing them because now there will always be a reason to come back.

Lastly, it gives everyone in town a chance to get out and have fun. Sure the whole town spends its year supporting the local sports teams, celebrating holidays with parades, and of course having homecoming. BUT THIS TOURNAMENT IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT. At these other events most of the older folks who have already graduated are just the local spectators. A softball tournament gives everyone the chance to get out and play again no matter what age they are. That is definitely one of the best things. It’s not about winning or losing, it’s just about getting out and having fun.

As you can tell I was definitely pleased with our first annual alumni tournament. There were no problems, there was no fighting, and there was no danger. As a whole, the community came together really well to make this tournament enjoyable and such a big success. It was a sad feeling as the weekend came to an end. I’m glad I was able to be a part of it and I look forward to all the ones in the future. One thing is for sure - I’m proud to have graduated as a yellow jacket and it’s true when they say “Kinder Pride Never Dies."

Big thanks to Kenny Courville and Jeremy Walker for putting together such an awesome event.