Runaway success
David Malone sat in the press box at Mountain Brook High School’s football stadium and marveled at the scene before him.
He almost couldn’t believe it.
On a recent Wednesday evening, hundreds of elementary students stood in the bleachers as they cheered for their peers on the track and field below. Some tested their endurance in the 1,600 meters, while others elected to flash their speed in the 100-meter dash.
Nine events in total were featured at the Mountain Brook Elementary Track Meet on May 8. The event served as a fundraiser for the Mountain Brook City Schools Foundation and netted close to $50,000.
“I knew it would be the thing to do at some point,” said Malone, the event organizer and a foundation board member, “but I didn’t dream it would grow this quickly.”
Malone, a 1992 Mountain Brook High graduate, said 525 students from the city’s four elementary schools — Brookwood Forest, Cherokee Bend, Crestline and Mountain Brook — registered for the meet.
That was a substantial leap from the 364 that competed in 2018, when the event raised around $30,000.
Last year’s elementary meet was the first since the early 2000s. It used to be an annual tradition and, according to Malone, drew close to 1,100 participants at its peak.
A fashion show replaced the meet as the foundation’s primary fundraiser for many years until Malone decided to resurrect it.
“The city schools foundation decided they wanted to change courses on their fundraisers,” he said. “This was the natural choice: something that could rally the community, that could bring people together and expose younger families to what the foundation does.”
The foundation was started in 1992 and raises money to supplement state funding for all six Mountain Brook Schools. It focuses on funding professional development, library enhancements and new technology.
“It allows Mountain Brook parents and corporations, if they want, to have a direct impact on the kids,” Malone said.
Malone has four children in Mountain Brook Schools and said his concern for their education prompted him to become involved with the foundation in early 2017.
Two of his kids, Andrew and Sarah, competed at this year’s meet. They were well-prepared.
In the spring, MBS elementary students complete a track and field unit in their physical education class. The unit introduces them to the sport’s various disciplines: running, hurdling, jumping and throwing.
At the meet, they have a chance to showcase what they’ve learned.
“This supported the track curriculum that the coaches have already implemented,” Malone said, “so it was a win-win on all fronts.”
Hufham Orthodontics, Bedzzz Express, Iron City and Morris-Shea Bridge Co. served as the leading sponsors for the meet, which cost $30 per student.
Moving forward, Malone said he would like to see it continue to grow in both size and impact.
“It’s things like this that make you want to come back here,” he said. “A thriving community repeats itself over and over again.”