Family Full Of Volunteer Spirit - The Daily Leader: News
1/4/12 12:21 AM
Family Full Of Volunteer Spirit By NATHANEL WEATHERSBY, University of Missis | Posted: Saturday, December 31, 2011 4:45 pm Editor's note: Today, The DAILY LEADER concludes a series of stories compiled by University of Mississippi journalism students during a field trip to Lincoln County in late October. Today's feature is on the Brister family, who volunteer in a variety of ways at Loyd Star Attendance Center.
With seven kids, you might think the Bristers would spend their spare time curled up on a couch somewhere, exhausted, and let others coach soccer teams, feed a bunch of hungry football players and run the parent-teacher organization.
You would be wrong. The nine-person Brister family takes the concept of family influence to the next level. Dale, Gwen and their children contribute greatly to both their community and their school. Dale Brister coaches Loyd Star's varsity soccer team and is president of the Touchdown Club, a booster club for the football team. "Being a small county school, they don't have the funds to pay for a coach," Dale says. "This way, I'm able to help the school and the kids." Their seven children - all but one school age - have given Dale and his wife a strong connection to both Loyd Star's students and faculty. "I had quintuplets and when they started school, I wanted to be up here with them," says Gwen Brister, a major volunteer in her own right as president of the Parent-Teacher Association and secretary of the Touchdown Club. Gwen's volunteer work is non-stop, year-round. Take football, for example. Even before the season starts, Gwen makes sure that the school has the funds and support necessary to supply an atmosphere full of spirit. "In the summer I go around and get businesses to renew advertisements for signs for the football games," she says. "We get out and raise the money, then we feed the football players before each game." http://www.dailyleader.com/news/article_00976e6c-33fe-11e1-ae59-0019bb2963f4.html?mode=print
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Family Full Of Volunteer Spirit - The Daily Leader: News
1/4/12 12:21 AM
However, she still doesn't forget to involve her kids. "I get them to help me with the flowerbeds" at school," she says. Gwen and Dale's generous devotion to the school is not lost on their children. Their oldest son, Brendyn, has followed in his parents' footsteps. "If it weren't for them, I probably wouldn't be concerned with community service, " Brendyn says. Like his parents, Brendyn is a bit of a workaholic. As a recipient of the HOBY scholarship, he is required to work 100 hours of community service per year. HOBY stands for Hugh O'Brian Youth scholarship and promotes youth leadership throughout the country. "That's what started me off," Brendyn says. "I tried the contest and happened to get it." But that's not all. He volunteers to help his school and the elderly and doesn't plan on quitting any time soon. "I've helped at the homeless shelter and worked at the Food Network. Not everybody is as lucky and it's just good to help others," he says. Somehow, despite all this volunteering, Brendyn plays on Loyd Star's varsity soccer team and keeps his grades up, too. This effective use of time management is another thing that seems to run in the family. Besides their intensive work with Loyd Star Attendance Center, Dale Brister works as a physical therapist, and Gwen has a job as a radiation therapist. When asked how they do it, Dale replies, "You just run," while Gwen says, "You just take things as they come." When he volunteers, Dale gets no pay. However, he receives payment in other ways. "My teams have given me plaques and pictures, but the main thing is just a 'thank you,' like when somebody sends you a letter and tells you how much you affected them and appreciate your help," he says. Still, there is a part of Dale that feels sometimes people "don't respect the fact that you are doing it all volunteer." "It really means a lot to us," varsity soccer player Garrett Holden says. "It kind of helps motivate us. If he can work a job and coach us, we should do our best." Meanwhile, Dale continues to work and volunteer. http://www.dailyleader.com/news/article_00976e6c-33fe-11e1-ae59-0019bb2963f4.html?mode=print
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Family Full Of Volunteer Spirit - The Daily Leader: News
1/4/12 12:21 AM
"You just can't stop," he says. "Once I've made the commitment, I feel obligated to fulfill it." This will be his fourth year with Loyd Star's soccer team, and he expects the upcoming season to be a winner - probably in many more ways than just the obvious one.
http://www.dailyleader.com/news/article_00976e6c-33fe-11e1-ae59-0019bb2963f4.html?mode=print
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