Jim Fair
Kathy Couser had one of the best locations to sell tickets to her Meals On Wheels Pets project. A cutout of Clemson Head Football Coach Dabo Swinney stands behind her. It is a live auction item from 7-9 tonight at Fairview Baptist Church.
Jim Fair
Barbara Edwards found several volumes of books she purchased this afternoon at Big Thursday. A cutout of USC Head Football Coach Steve Spurrier, will be in the live auction later this evening, obviously competing against its cardboard rival Dabo Swinney of Clemson.
Jim Fair
Margaret Lindsey holds a jar of pickled beets while perusing one of the tables showcasing canned foods and sweets and desserts. Most of those items were picked over earlier in the morning.
Jim Fair
Greer High School linebacker John Hicks stopped by Big Thursday to visit Lisa Merrell, left, and Tina Swafford, in the Christmas crafts section this afternoon. Hicks was selected, with teammate offensive tackle Alex Waters, for the North All-Stars in the annual North-South football game to be played in December in Myrtle Beach.
Cutouts of head coaches Dabo Swinney of Clemson and Steve Spurrier of the University of South Carolina were nearly side-by-side to be bid on later tonight during the live auction.
“They will hold up a Clemson item on one side and a South Carolina on the other with people bidding to see who gets the highest bid,” said Craig Dittmar, Executive Director of Greer Community Ministries (GCM). That’s the way Dittmar wants it. The more money bid the more GCM benefits from its biggest fundraiser of the year.
Greer and Blue Ridge high school sports goods baskets were snuggled together during the silent auction. Blue Ridge appeared to be the hotter of the two with its bid doubled the minimum, which Greer only covered at 1:30 this afternoon.
A hot dog supper produced by the Greer Lions Club from 5-7 p.m. preceded the live auction.
Dittmar explained after lunch he was tired but “that may be a good sign,” he said. “That may mean I’ve been busy.”
While Nancy Welch was preparing her Angel Biscuits in the Fairview Baptist Church kitchen – “That’s 200 dozen, not 200,” she said. – people were casually looking over the handmade crafts, goods, foods and auction items.
Margaret Lindsey was holding a jar of pickled beets and said, “It looks like a lot of the goods are picked over. “I’m just looking to see if there’s something I want,” Lindsey said.
Kathy Couser was selling tickets to Meals On Wheels for Pets. “We do our own fundraising and make our money on donations. We have to feed the pets. When people can’t afford pet food they feed their pets their own food.”
The North Greenville University basketball team helped serve during the barbecue lunch and school choirs provided entertainment.
Greer High School football players came by after attending the weekly Touchdown Club luncheon to meet friends and family at the church. John Hicks, linebacker, and Conner Merrill, center, were there to support Lisa Merrell and Tina Swafford working in the Christmas display.
Both players talked briefly about their success in the past and focusing on this week’s playoff game versus Seneca. “I think we’re a lot better team than we were when the season started,” Hicks said. Seneca beat Greer in both team’s season opening game at Dooley Field, 46-45, in overtime.
“We have to put the past (beating Blue Ridge for the Region II-3A No. 1 seed) behind us and concentrate on the next game,” Merrill said. Merrill was injured, missing three games, before returning against Blue Ridge.
Greer plays Seneca Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the first round of the state playoffs at Dooley Field. Greer, the Upstate's No. 1 seed, was bounced from the playoffs last year in the first round by Fairfield-Central, a No. 4 seed.