PHILLIPS — The town of Phillips is set to unveil a memorial basketball court honoring Michaela Morgan, 15, and Thomas Deckard-Madore, 17, who died in a car crash in February. The M&T Basketball Court will open with a “dedication day” on Saturday, Aug. 14 at the North Franklin Park in Phillips.
Volunteers assemble the basketball hoops at the new M&T Memorial Basketball Court. Brenda Wilcox, one of the organizers, said that many people, businesses and organizations have donated their time, money and services to bring the basketball court to life. Photo courtesy of Brenda Wilcox
Brenda Wilcox, an organizer of the court and president of the Phillips Chamber of Commerce, said “so many individual hands and backs that have put their heart into this project,” including monetary and material donations from businesses, organizations and private donors in Franklin County.
Wilcox said that a group of residents in Phillips got together and came up with the idea to honor Morgan and Deckard-Madore with a basketball court because “they were outstanding athletes” and “they both excelled in basketball.”
“Hopefully it brings some closure to this accident, losing these young lives. Not complete closure but the kids will have a place to go to play ball and remember Michaela and Thomas,” Wilcox said.
Wilcox noted that among others, E.L. Vining & Son, Mike Auger, Pike Industries, King & Sons Paving, Rob Elliot Trucking, and Signworks all donated their services and equipment to help create the basketball court. This includes donations of gravel, hot-top mix, paving services, and a sign for the court.
The support that businesses, organizations and individuals in town have offered has been “overwhelming, almost bringing you to tears,” Wilcox said.
“The generosity, the outpouring of support for this court, for these two kids, it was just amazing,” Wilcox said. “Every time we turned around, someone was calling and asking ‘what can we do, how can we help?’ It’s such a great community effort.”
Next year, the town plans to hold the first annual M&T Memorial Hotshot contest at the new court.
This year, the “dedication day” will be held at North Franklin Park in Phillips at 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 14. Light refreshments will be available and there will also be many new basketballs available for children and adults alike to put the new court to use.
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