For the past 45 years a little-known organization has been quietly working behind the scenes to support Greenwood High School football, now among the top prep gridiron programs in Arkansas with 11 state titles won since the year 2000. The non-profit Greenwood Bulldog Foundation, Inc., also known as BFI, held a special event this past Tuesday at the student center on the GHS campus. The celebration recognized several key volunteers and announced the recent transfer of BFI’s responsibilities and assets to the Greenwood School District.
Greenwood Athletic Director Chris Young, also the Bulldogs’ head football coach, along with three associate ADs, assistant principal Chase Meyers and coaches Brandon Brewer and Tyler Woods, are now charged with managing and growing the capital resources and community relationships and support garnered by BFI over the past several decades.
That’s a tall task indeed and was only possible due in part to the recent creation of classroom curriculum to train GHS students to run cameras and other broadcast equipment used to operate the jumbotron and live stream GHS football games. This change provides a stable roster of experienced student volunteers to fill those manpower needs for decades to come. For many years a small group of faithful volunteers dedicated countless hours of time and effort toward video board and live stream productions.
The school district’s choice of Coach Young as its athletic director in the spring of 2023, and the assignment of his three assistants also impacted BFI’s decision to phase out its operations and move its resources and responsibilities to the district’s athletic department. Superintendent John Ciesla and BFI President Curtis Weaver signed the official agreement on July 1st.
According to Weaver, the organization began informally in the 1970s with a small group of local men he affectionately refers to as “The Brown Bag Boys.” They met periodically in one of their homes to discuss a need in the football program, then passed around a brown paper bag to collect donations to satisfy that need. If enough money wasn’t collected the first time around, the process would be repeated until the need was met, such as buying additional helmets for the team. That modest beginning focused on small investments later grew to include more members and much larger, more ambitious and expensive projects.
A businessman new to Greenwood in the 1970s, Weaver was later invited to join the group by The Brown Bag Boys and has served faithfully ever since. He and his current BFI colleagues are now ready to pass the torch to a new generation of leaders, while members of the old guard will remain available in an advisory role if needed.
One of BFI’s core principles was to do their work quietly without discussing their business publicly or calling attention to themselves. Another was that the group was a private football-only organization back in the days before there were so many other high school sports. Today each sport has its own parent-based booster club to raise outside funds to support their student athletes. Historically, BFI has never given money to or received funding from the school district.
According to Weaver, hundreds of volunteers have donated their time and energy to the foundation in small and large ways over the past four decades, far too many to remember or recognize in a single ceremony. The ones honored at Tuesday’s banquet were the exceptions, each serving from seven to 25 years.
Those honorees included Austin Mickle, Johnathan Vaughn, Joe Bufkin, Brian Vaughn, John McKinney, Chris Compton, Troy Jarrell, Steve Leonard, Mike Gillham, Ken Fritsche, Steve Brown, Bill McCain, Bill Ginger, Phil Hicks, Mike Hamby, Billy Fuller, Bob Beams, and James Stein. Each volunteer received a plaque for their service to BFI and their support for Bulldogs’ football.
Some of the major projects funded and completed over the years include providing office furniture for the coaches; the construction of the home press box and concession area with lots of in-kind donations; three artificial turf fields; two video boards or jumbotrons; a new weight room and equipment; doors added to the inside practice facility for improved air circulation; the stadium’s LED sports and celebration lighting, the new visitor’s side press box; and many more smaller projects.
According to Weaver, the foundation also developed various revenue streams over time, including advertisements on billboards, a player’s honor board, stadium signs, the jumbotron, live streaming, live announcing, the Greenwood Dog Pound website, and private donations. Sponsors can choose a short-term or long-term commitment ranging from three to 10 years. About 80% of those sponsors are from Greenwood, with the remaining 20% mostly from Fort Smith. The foundation offered the following examples of how their honored volunteers have assisted Bulldogs’ football.
A GHS graduate and local insurance agent, now retired, Phil Hicks has fired the cannon after every Bulldogs’ scoring play on Friday nights dating back to 1989. The cannon was built by Ted Efurd, a local welder and the father of longtime high school principal Jerry Efurd. Hicks also serves as a board member for the Pitt Bull youth football program and has faithfully served on the BFI board of directors.
Another major contributor to the foundation’s largest ever capital project was Bill Ginger, now retired and living in Bella Vista. In the mid-90s, Bill devoted over a year’s worth of time and sweat equity to oversee the removal of the small press box built in 1978, and construct the one we have today, including the current concession and restroom facilities on the home side of Smith-Robinson Stadium.
Still another key figure in that renovation effort was Bill McCain, credited by Ginger for his generosity and volunteer commitment, greatly reducing the cost and time required to complete the project. McCain’s time and construction equipment, the digging and setting of I-beam holes, and pouring all the concrete, while refusing any payment is a reflection of his character and commitment to Greenwood.
Another BFI board member who spearheaded the group’s development of advertising billboards was Steve Brown. His vision and creativity led to the construction of the first billboards and securing the first two sponsors. Today there are 19 billboards at the stadium, and they are the #1 revenue source supporting GHS football. Those billboards must also be maintained and updated each year. BFI board member Ken Fritsche took on the task of one special billboard known as the honor board. He secures photos of chosen players, acquires sponsors, and installs the finished billboard, sometimes only a few hours before the first home game.
Mike Gillham was the first BFI camera operator during the time of Head Coach Ronnie Peacock in the 1990s. He worked tirelessly breaking down game film for coaches and personally filmed on the sideline and taught new volunteers the art of filming and handling cables. His only compensation was to be on the sideline for the 2000 state championship game to watch his son play.
After faithfully serving the football booster club, Steve Leonard joined the BFI board and provided consistent professional insight to the group’s project planning, using his unique ability to think through problems and propose solutions well received by all. Troy Jarrell, another key volunteer, burst on the scene in 2008 by producing BFI’s first head coach’s show for Rick Jones. In 2010 the group initiated plans for the first jumbotron and live streaming. Troy was the foundation’s go-to technology guy and trained others in professional operations, resulting in what many people believe to be the best high school football live streaming production in Arkansas.
Chris Compton became a key volunteer in 2011 when he installed the first video board or jumbotron by tying himself atop the old scoreboard structure, using a grinder to smooth off the top I-beams perfectly level, welding extended I-beams to accommodate the new video board, and then securely welded it all together. He continued as a volunteer working on billboards, removing old signs and installing new ones. The primary compensation Chris received was an assurance he would be stung by at least one wasp on a hot August day.
John McKinney has devoted the last 10 years in the background as a foundation volunteer providing graphic designs for their sponsor ads and serving on the board, all while working closely to accommodate sponsor wishes and turf company requirements. It’s impossible to calculate the hundreds of hours he freely gave of his time and talents.
Another group of honored volunteers are known as the “The Dream Team.” They include Dog Pound website founder Brian Vaughn, along with Joe Bufkin, Johnathan Vaughn, and Austin Mickle. Through its articles, photos, and video files, the Dog Pound provides a living archive or historical record of all GHS sports for much of the last 25 years.
These four men have a combined service time of over 50 years administering the website, coordinating live announcing activities, and producing jumbotron and streaming operations. They’ve worked every home game, 7th through 12th grades, and all varsity away games for 13 years, enduring rain and wind and extremes of 100 to 30 degrees weather. “Words cannot express our deep appreciation,” said Weaver.
The ceremony also recognized four more long-time officers of the Bulldog Foundation, having served a combined total of 97 years on BFI’s board. They are Billy Fuller, James Stein, Mike Hamby, and Bob Beams. The owner of Myers Mower and Tiller in Fort Smith, Billy Fuller is the foundation’s secretary and served as BFI’s most knowledgeable guy on all mechanical and labor-intensive projects. “He’s one of those individuals you can always count on getting a quality job done no matter how difficult,” said Weaver.
Accountant James Stein serves as BFI’s treasurer. “As a CPA, he does all our invoicing, collections, financial reporting, and ensures that all bills are paid on time,” said the retiring BFI president. “He also keeps the IRS happy with required reporting completed in a timely and professional manner.” Local attorney Mike Hamby has served as BFI’s legal counsel for many years. “He ensures that we adhere to all the 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation laws,” offered Weaver. “When Mike talks, everyone listens very intently.”
The final board member to be recognized was retired banker Bob Beams, who serves as BFI’s Vice President, a position he held for several years. According to Weaver, “Bob wears many hats, including sales, receivables, depositing receipts, and anything else the rest of us messed up. Bob is not someone that will tell you what you want to hear just to get along but will give you an honest opinion that comes directly from his heart.”
Coach Young spoke briefly during the banquet but offered these related comments in mid-June. “We’ve been very fortunate to have BFI. They’ve done a lot for our school district and our football program, and a lot of work we didn’t have to do because they were handling it. I think most of our community doesn’t understand that BFI raised the money to put turf on our field twice. They put turf on our indoor facility. They did our weight room and our jumbotron twice. The Bulldog Foundation has provided our kids with great assets, and not only football. Soccer uses that field, and all the sports use the indoor facility and the weight room. We’re fortunate that BFI has been around and we’re sad to see them go because they’ve done so much for our student athletes and coaches over the years.”
Near the conclusion of the catered banquet, both the current BFI board members and Coach Young presented Curtis Weaver with plaques honoring his many years of selfless service in support of Greenwood Bulldogs’ football. The unassuming Weaver then received a well-deserved standing ovation from the audience.
In his remarks from the podium, Coach Young mentioned that the morning of the banquet also kicked off the annual FASDOGS event that will continue for three weeks, helping improve the flexibility, agility, and speed of those aspiring athletes who attend. Young revealed that 437 area youth turned out for the first day of workouts that started with the varsity football players at 5:30 a.m.
That’s the kind of dedication that sets the Bulldogs apart from other teams and makes them great, just as the dedication and work of BFI’s army of volunteers and sponsors has helped shape the direction of GHS football in the past. It’s now up to the school district and its athletic department to take the handoff from BFI and run with it into an even brighter future. Go Bulldogs!