NEWS

PAGE 4 | WWW.OBUSIGNAL.COM

The Elrod Center’s mission focuses on service in the community. The Thanksgiving Baskets project was started almost 20 years ago, with continued work in 2022. (photo by Levi Dade)

Elrod Center prepares Thanksgiving baskets for community

BY Jacie Sellars

Staff Writer

As the Thanksgiving season approaches, the Elrod Center is putting together Thanksgiving Baskets to provide a meal for Arkadelphia families in need. According to Judy Duvall, Director of the Elrod Center, this project started almost 20 years ago, and it has continued to grow over time. “It started small when we reached out to the community to see what families might benefit from having a meal at Thanksgiving,” Duvall said. “At first, we helped around 25 to 30 families, and it has grown over the years. Now, we serve around 100 families in Arkadelphia.”

This year, Leigh Anne McKinney, Associate Director of the Elrod Center, is overseeing the project. McKinney works with school counselors and local organizations like Lighthouse Ministries in order to identify families that need Thanksgiving Baskets. She also works to inform students about the project through emails and a presentation in chapel. Students have the opportunity to donate canned goods, dressing, desserts and other foods needed for a Thanksgiving meal. The Elrod Center partners with Sodexo to provide a cooked ham in each basket, and students, faculty and staff can donate money for the hams. The Thanksgiving Baskets also include handwritten notes, children’s books and Bibles. “So much love goes into these baskets,” Mckinney said. “We try to give the families everything they need for a holiday meal.”

The Elrod Center partners with students, faculty and staff in order to assemble and deliver the baskets. This year’s student leader is Allie Wilson. Wilson helps promote the project, gather information, find volunteers and coordinate logistics. She has helped with Thanksgiving Baskets in previous years, and she loves how the project brings joy to community members and volunteers. “I have been blessed to grow up in a loving family with a Thanksgiving meal every year, and this project brings that same joy to families in the Arkadelphia community,” Wilson said. “I hope the families receiving these baskets will see the love that Ouachita has for them, but most importantly the love God has for them.”

Along with donating, there are several ways for students to volunteer. On Nov. 17th, students can come to the Elrod Center between 8-5 to pack the baskets. This is a simple way to help that makes a big difference.On Nov. 21st, students can help deliver the baskets to the families. Each year, the families are surprised with the Thanksgiving Baskets, and basket delivery gives students an opportunity to go out into the community and spread joy. Judy Duvall describes volunteering for the project as a wonderful way to serve the community.

“Ouachita students and staff have so much. We have food to eat and we are in such a rich environment, and with that privilege comes a responsibility for us to help others and to pour blessings into the lives of others,” Duvall said. “This is an opportunity for us to give back since we have been given so much.”

The Student Athletic Advisory Committee starts Sharp Cup Competition

BY AUSTYNN CROCKER

Staff Writer

The organization known as SAAC, has been on campus for nearly all of Ouachita’s history. SAAC stands for Student Athletic Advisory Committee, and it is an National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA, required organization. Every sport on campus has a representative that participates in SAAC meetings, relays information about SAAC events to their teammates and participates in SAAC organized community service.

Although SAAC has always been an active organization on campus, it has years where it has been considerably more active than others. SAAC reached its peak at Ouachita under the leadership of Jordan Sharp, a Ouachita football player from 2013-2016. There were a dozen other members at the time and they worked hard to raise funds every year to the Makea-wish foundation. They made a big impact with their donations but once the leaders, Jordan and other seniors graduated, SAAC became significantly less active. Lydia Rogers, the assistance compliance athletic director, together with Coach Sharp, came up with a plan for enhancing SAAC in recent semesters. “It has to be student-led,” Coach Sharp said about the direction of SAAC. One of the first objectives was to elect one or more athletes from each sport. Once this was accomplished, they continued with regular scheduled meetings and over the summer they hosted a retreat, where SAAC members from all over the GAC conference were invited.

Through this event, “student athletes saw the value of the relationships with other schools,” remarked Mrs. Rogers amidst explaining how much the SAAC members for different schools were able to connect and learn from each other. “It has been good to see SAAC come together to discuss different institutions’ issues,” Mrs. Rogers added. As Student Athletic Advisory Committee continues to develop, a president was recently elected, EJ Day, a junior on the volleyball team. The committee is working on creating more positions for athletes to be elected to. During Mrs. Rogers’ quest to enhance SAAC, she met with the senior associate commissioner and they discussed what the SAAC needs to focus on. Audra Kedey helped provide the answer: community service and community engagement. Community service is active through transverse, by aiding organizations like the Lighthouse and the Humane Society. As for Community engagement, SAAC leadership devised a plan to enhance and encourage athlete to athlete audience participation. Athletes will now receive a point for their sport for every game or tournament they attend for Ouachita. By the end of the year, Spring 2023, the sport with the most points will win the Sharp Cup, a coveted title. The Sharp Cup is one of the incentives for athletes to watch other sports compete, but the friendly competition aspect is driving all of OBU’s student-athletes to as many sporting events as they are able. The student athletes of the SAAC are working hard to create an encouraging and dedicated culture for sports on at Ouachita Baptist University.

NEWS

WWW.OBUSIGNAL.COM | PAGE 5

Chase Hartsell poses for a picture on campus with his Student Production award, also called Student emmys, from the Mid-America chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Hartsell earned this award for his 2021 project, “A November Morn,” which highlights the history of the Battle of the Ravine between Ouachita Baptist University and Henderson State University. (photo by Sarah Dean)

Junior Chase Hartsell wins student production award, highlights Battle of the Ravine history

BY Matthew Cheatham

Staff Writer

Ouachita added to their reputation of producing some of Arkansas’ finest communications students recently when junior Chase Hartsell, a sports media major, won a Student Production Award, also referred to as student emmys, by the Mid-America chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS). The reward credited the work he put in for a 2021 project named “A November Morn,” highlighting the history of the Battle of the Ravine between Ouachita Baptist University and Henderson State University. Not a traditional news package, the project is a video poem narrated by Dr. Jeff Root and Dr. Casey Motl with heavy guidance and inspiration from Professor Chris Babb and his sports media class. The final product was debuted on the Ouachita Sports Digital Network’s “OSDN GameDay” live show that was aired prior to BOTR 2022, where Ouachita eventually won in a 40-37 overtime thriller.

“Featuring archival footage and photos as well as current videos and images, this project pays tribute to the past, present, and future of the rivalry,” said Hartsell.

“Many of the judges for this award had never heard of Battle of the Ravine beforehand but, after watching the video, they said they could see the significance of the game,” Hartsell said. “It’s also been a blessing to see how this project has served as a promotion for OSDN and the Rogers Department of Communications.”

Hartsell’s Student Emmy is a highly reputable addition to both Ouachita’s communications department and himself.

“For me personally, this award has presented a great networking opportunity. It has allowed me to get my name out there in a new way, and I’ve been able to connect with professionals and other students from around the region as a result of this experience,” Hartsell said.

The NATAS’s official mission statement stated in their website is “ to provide scholarships to deserving high school and college students who are studying or intend to study journalism, broadcast television, television production and communications.”

Hartsell added, “I am so grateful for the feedback that I received from both of these groups, and I was both surprised and honored when I got the news that my project had won the award from NATAS Mid-America. It was a really special moment.”

Hartsell”s “A November Morn” is available to watch on the Ouachita Sports Digital Network channel on YouTube, and it is encouraged to view by all Tigers to educate themselves on the school comradery, town’s excitement, and nation’s amazement at one of college sports fiercest rivalries that takes place all on one November morn.