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Ruff Riders In The Community

May 25, 2012 - Lone Star Football League (LSFL) - Abilene Ruff Riders News Release


The Abilene Ruff Riders have stayed busy in the Community during the past three weeks of road trips to Houston, Corpus Christi and Odessa. The Ruff Riders Players and Dancers volunteered time to the Zach Robinson Memorial Event this past weekend. The Dance Team helped with Skeet Shoot on Saturday and the Players helped with the Banquet on Sunday evening by working as servers for the event. Joe Brannen, Head Coach said " The players enjoyed working the banquet and this group of men understand that the community involvement is key to gaining support for the team and organization. We jump at the opportunities to be involved in the community whenever we are invited. We are thankful for great causes such as the Zach Robinson Foundation that allow us to be involved in helping them succeed"

This was the second tournament in May that the Ruff Riders volunteered time to. On the weekend of May 5th the Ruff Rides helped with the Auction and banquet for the Bilbo Classic Golf Tournament that benefitted the Children of New Horizons. Both events allowed the players to interact with the community as a whole and reach out to members of the community that have not had the opportunity to meet the players.

In the month of May the Ruff Riders Players, Coaches, Owners and Dance team have made appearances at the Kenley School, Johnston Elementary, Wylie Junior High, Jackson Elementary and Ira School District. The team enjoys these opportunities to work with kids and help organizations in any way possible. If you would like to Ruff Riders to visit your Organization please call the office or submit an appearance request at www.abileneruffriders.com .

This week Coach Brannen delivered the commencement speech to the Kenley School 8th grade class during the graduation ceremony. Coach Brannen had this to say, "the opportunity to speak to the youth of the Kenley School was a big honor for me and I was thrilled with the opportunity. I was very thankful when I was asked to speak and understand that these kids will be our future. I can only hope that some small piece of my words to them will one day lead them in the right direction as they continue their education and tread into the teen years. These types of community involvement opportunities are what I stand for and believe in as a coach. I expect our players to be eager to volunteer time for these events and to be involved in the community. It is only with our continued involvement in the community that the organization will build a support base in Abilene, develop the right image for the organization with the Abilene community and continue to further prove the organizations commitment to be a part of the Abilene landscape for years to come. The owners and myself are committed building a championship franchise on and off the field."

The Ruff Riders will continue the push towards being involved in the community this weekend. Friday night the Ruff Riders are providing a cookout for the residents of Bent Tree Apartments. Bent Tree is a sister Apartment complex to the official home of the Abilene Ruff Riders, Royale Orleans. The Ruff Riders will be sponsoring a cookout at the Royale Orleans Apartments during the month of June. The Players are excited to give back to the residents that share their home for the season. Scott Anderson had this to say, "We as an organization understand that in order for us to continue to find quality housing for our players each year we must expect our players to be respectful of the housing we provide and to become a part of the that small community where they live. We want them to know their neighbors by name and to interact with them daily as good citizens. I cannot say enough about the friendly atmosphere at Royale Orleans and the quality of the housing we have for our players this year. This is a great place for our players to enjoy and we hope to continue our partnership for years to come. The cookout is our way of saying thank you to management and residents of the apartment complex for making us feel at home."

Saturday the Ruff Riders will be at the 1st Assembly of God Church outreach event in Clyde Texas and will continue the day at Sam's Club working a fundraiser for the Children's Miracle Network. Coach Brannen is finalizing the details of a free summer youth camp during the Caring and Connecting Communities Summer Slam Event. More details to follow on that camp as they become final.

The Ruff Riders are looking forward to the Memorial Day Weekend of giving back to the Community and the upcoming Monday night game. On Sunday the team will continue preparations for the upcoming game on Memorial Day, this Monday May 28th. The Ruff Riders will take on the Houston Stallions at 7pm at the Taylor County Expo Center. This will be the first Monday Night Game for the Organization in Abilene. Joe Brannen commented, " This being a Monday night game changes some of our preparation schedule for the week but it is exciting to get back in front of our home crowd after being on the road for three weeks. I hope Abilene will continue their Memorial day celebrations at the Expo Center on Monday night cheering us on to a victory. We need a large, loud and crazy crowd to fill the arena as we take on Houston." Scott Anderson said, "It is our hope that Abilene will see the game on Monday as a good way to support our team as we take on a strong Houston team. I have talked to the coaches and they feel they are ready to have a great game on Monday. This will be the first home game for our new quarterback as well and I feel Abilene is going to enjoy watching him play. I hope that Abilene will decide to spend the day celebrating outside and come indoors for some air conditioned entertainment and great football at the end of the day."

Monday Night's game will be Military Appreciation Night and there are several special events taking place during the game that the citizens of Abilene will not want to miss. The Ruff Riders will have a specialty Jersey auction, more giveaways and special events during the game to honor our Military and Dyess AFB Personnel. "It is going to be a great show of support for the Military and military families. Their sacrifice is why we have our freedom today and we can never honor their service enough or thank the military enough for what they do." "But the Ruff Riders are going to try to honor our military in every way possible on Monday!" said Scott Anderson.

Tickets are on sale now for the Monday Night game by calling the office at 325-232-7816 or by stopping by at 1942 Industrial Blvd, Ste C. On game day the Expo Center box office will open at 11am on Monday and tickets will be sold on a first come first serve basis. There are still VIP and a few Box seat tickets available for the game. Don't miss out on the best seat in the house on Monday. Game Starts at 7pm. Go Ruff Riders! Help us thank the Military by filling up the arena on Monday Night!

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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