Plains wrestlers raise money with Christmas wreath sale
Christmas trees and wreaths set up on display on Plains Main Street last Saturday morning. (John Dowd/Clark Fork Valley Press)
Jesse Uski helping local Lenka Harris pick out the perfect Christmas tree. (John Dowd/Clark Fork Valley Press)
Steven Yother, Jesse Uski, Peter Carey, Conrad Vanderwall and Mykenzi Blood out in the morning last Saturday selling wreaths and trees for the wrestling team. (John Dowd/Clark Fork Valley Press)
For the last couple of weekends, as well as for the next couple, the members of the Plains High wrestling tram have been doing their best to raise funds for their upcoming season with an annual Christmas wreath sale.
The fundraiser is something many of the locals of the community look forward to, as explained by local woman, Lenka Harris who said, “Every year my daughter, in Billings, calls me and asks if the wrestling team is selling their wreaths, and if so to send her one. They make the coolest wreaths.”
The wreath fundraiser is just one of several ways the team tries to earn funding for their season.
Before the fundraiser, the team loaded several trucks worth of bows. They also load firewood and do all they can. After loading the bows, a local woman, Doreen Stokes, then makes them into the wreaths. The team buys many off of her to sell, along with others made and donated by Jerry Marjerrison.
The team also sells Christmas trees during their weekend fundraiser.
Mykenzi Blood, the team manager explained how the team is a tier two sport, and how much of their activities are self-funded.
Only certain aspects, like money for motels for state competitions and the buses, are provided by the school. Everything else the team must pay for out of pocket.
Blood explained that some of the funding is also meant for the Kenny Marjerrison Scholarship Fund, the rest goes for new uniforms, gas for travel, and anything else needed by the team to compete.
The fundraiser will be held for the next two weekends, on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
They sell Christmas trees for $20, little wreaths for $25 and big wreaths for $30. Last Saturday, by noon, the team had made nearly $600.
Blood, who has been working with the team for three years said, “There is always supports from everywhere,” as she talked about the community and how it helps the team in many ways.