News : Trophy case to honor Pink Night success; basketball to be displayed at VSHS

Senior Viking Logan Williams presents Pink Night profits of $2,640 to Monica Stark of VGH.

All the Vikings signed the pink basketball that will take its place in the VSHS trophy case.

The trophy case at Vinton-Shellsburg High School contains the stories of decades of triumphs by dozens of teams. Those items serve a both a tribute to the successes of yesterday's students and an inspiration to today's students.

But the newest addition to that trophy case is not the result of winning a big game against a perennial rival. It’s there as a reminder of an off-the-field success, a team triumph in which every member contributed. It, too, will serve as both a tribute to the Vikings of 2011 and a challenge to future V-S students to do something memorable.

And, it’s pink.

The trophies honoring State Champion baseball and girls basketball teams, state wrestling tournament medalists, several post-season appearances by the Viking football team and other accomplishments, will soon make room for a pink basketball, auctioned during Pink Night to raise money for Virginia Gay Hospital breast cancer programs, and given back to the school by the winning bidders.

Jeff Peterson of Farmers Savings Bank & Trust-Vinton did the actual bidding during the auction, but he was representing his bank and two other local financial institutions: Cedar Valley Bank and Trust and University of Iowa Community Credit Union.

"They got together before the auction and decided to buy the ball and give it back to us, splitting the cost," said Viking Head Basketball Coach Joe Johnson of the joint generosity of the donors.

Like the championship baseballs on display, this basketball bears the signatures of coach Johnson and the rest of the Viking staff and players. It also includes the date – February 11, 2011 – of the auction that raised $2,460. During the game, Vikings wore black and pink warm-up jerseys with their last names printed on the back. Those were sold by auction during halftime. The ball brought $350; the jerseys each brought three-figure bids (many by the parents of the players).

The V-S Vikettes also had a Pink Night, and will present another check to VGH in the near future.

Monica Stark of the VGH Imaging Services Dept. said that the proceeds from this event will go toward the purchase of a mammogram unit the hospital plans to purchase in the coming fiscal year.

The hospital’s efforts to fight breast cancer and help cancer survivors and patients include several areas, said Stark.

“We do a lot with early detection, as well as offering support and information for survivors,” she said.

The hospital, she said, relies on and appreciates the support from the community.

The funds donated to VGH for its breast cancer programs is used in a variety of ways, said Stark. Last year, the Vikettes raised $1,000. Part of that went to send Stark to an international expo that offered the latest information about radiological imaging technologies and techniques.