Contractors give school hoops

Published April 17, 2012
By Senior Airman Matthew Hubby
436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- A group of contractors banded together to donate and install four adjustable basketball hoops April 13, 2012, at the Dover Air Force Base, Del., Welch Elementary School.

The contractors were originally tasked with transporting hoops from the former Youth Center to the school, but found that the old hoops were not up to specifications so they decided to furnish $6,800 worth of new hoops free of charge. Each hoop can have its height adjusted and has a padded anchor.

"The base has done a lot of good things for us, so we wanted to give back to the military community," said Mark Newell, a contractor with CH2M Hill. "We are all products of the public school system, so we wanted to make sure the kids had the same opportunities to come out and play like we did."

All four hoops were built by a three man team that consisted of: Newell, Sam Zug, a contractor with Cherokee Nation Construction Services, and Rick Stoops, a contractor with George & Lynch. The team assembled all four hoops, and installed them on top of newly-poured anchor pinions. The entire installation has a lifetime warranty, so the school will never have to worry about repairs.

"We really appreciate these new hoops, the kids just love them," said Alane Brown, Welch Elementary School principal. "They're just what we needed. The others ones were so old - and the younger children couldn't really play on them. Now with the new hoops, even the kindergarteners can play basketball."